Understanding The Idiopathic Defense
We hear the term “idiopathic claim” quite frequently in workers’ compensation, but what does it really mean? To begin with, “idiopathic” is a combination of two Greek words: “idio” relating to “one’s own” and “pathic” suggesting suffering or disease. It has come to mean any disease or condition of unknown cause. Lawyers and practitioners have […]
Appellate Court Rejects Trucker’s Injury While Dressing After Showering During Trip From California to New Jersey
Samuel Kamenette drove over-the-road trucks for Sangillo & Sons. He was injured on October 9, 2015 in the State of Wyoming. He was driving a load from California to New Jersey. He slept the night before in his truck, and in the morning he drove for an hour to a Flying J, part of a […]
Liability Carrier’s Exclusion of Coverage for Workers’ Compensation Injuries Applies to Section 79 General Contractor Determinations of Employment
New Jersey has a sensible provision that protects employees of subcontractors who are injured on construction jobs. If an employee of a subcontractor is injured on a job, and the subcontractor has no workers’ compensation insurance, the injured employee becomes covered by the general contractor’s workers’ compensation policy. But what if the injured employee instead […]
Appellate Division Rules Accident in Access Driveway of Employer after Lunch Was Compensable
George Washington, an employee of Runnells Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, left work on March 5, 2015 and drove his car to pick up lunch at a nearby restaurant. Returning from lunch, his car struck a guardrail on a snow-covered access driveway owned by Runnells. He completed an accident report at the scene, exited his […]
Discovery Rule Keeps Alive Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice Case and Respondent’s Lien Rights
Lynda Ferrari was injured at work falling down steps in April 2006. She sought treatment for her right knee and lower back. Dr. Joan O’Shea performed authorized surgery to address Ferrari’s right-sided herniated discs at L4-5 and L5-S1. Ferrari experienced increased pain following surgery. She saw multiple physicians after the surgery, seeking relief for her […]
Appellate Division Bars Civil Claim by DPW Worker Who Planned to Leave Work Early But Was In A Car Accident on the Way Back to DPW Office To Fill Out Paperwork for Supervisor to Sign
Victor Campos worked for the Department of Public Works for the City of Passaic. On December 23, 2013, he was performing maintenance work at City Hall when he began to feel ill. He made the decision to go home early, but first he had to notify his employer that he was finished for the day […]
Widow Loses Dependency Claim Based on Failure to Prove That Her Husband Was Exposed to Asbestos
Dennis Lomet worked for Lawes Coal Company from 1987 to 2012 when he died of lung cancer at the age of 47. He installed, removed, or repaired heating and air conditioning equipment. He never smoked cigarettes. Before he died, he told one of his treating physicians that he thought he had been exposed to chemicals, […]
Appellate Division Reverses Substantial Award to Custodian Who Contended Five Years of Custodial Work Caused a Need for Bilateral Knee Replacements
Patrick Malone began working for the Pennsauken Board of Education in 2007 as a custodian. He said he would sweep floors, take out the trash, clean the blackboards and desktops, remove gum and shoe marks from floors, sometimes climb ladders, and clean toilets, floors and walls. He also said in the summer he would remove […]
Employer Has Lien Rights on High/Low Agreement In Medical Malpractice Case Arising From Workers’ Compensation Claim
In Marano v. Clifford J. Schob, M.D., A-33915-16T2 (App. Div. June 20, 2018), the Appellate Division held that New Jersey’s lien provision does apply to funds that an injured worker received in a medical malpractice suit pursuant to the terms of a “high/low” agreement. The case affirmed a prior ruling in Pool v. Morristown Memorial […]
The End of Voluntary Offers in New Jersey?
On June 21, 2018 the New Jersey Assembly passed Senate 2145, which is a bill long lobbied for by counsel for injured workers. The measure passed by a 2-1 margin and now goes to the Governor for signature, the Senate already having passed the bill. The legislation makes a significant change in removing the incentive […]
Court Holds That Federal Law Trumps State Marijuana Law
Twin Rivers Paper Company cannot be compelled to reimburse the costs of an injured worker’s medical marijuana because the federal Controlled Substances Act trumps the state’s Medical Marijuana Law. Gaetan Bourgoin suffered a work related back injury while employed at Twin Rivers Paper Company in 1989 in the State of Maine. Eventually he received total […]
Accident Walking To Car Found Compensable In Application for Accidental Disability Pension
New Jersey public employees who are unable to work due to work accidents may apply for generous accidental disability pensions, providing approximately two thirds to 70% of pay with no federal taxes owed. The standards for an accidental disability pension are rather similar to those in a workers’ compensation case, as is shown by the […]
Employer Did Not Violate FMLA in Firing Employee Recovering From Workers’ Comp Injury
Robert Stein worked for Atlas Industries. He tore his meniscus at work and ten weeks into his recovery he saw the treating surgeon, who allegedly said that Stein would not be released from work until August 10th. Stein admitted that the surgeon gave him a release slip to return to work on July 20th but […]
The Most Common Mistake In Permanency Assessments: Evaluating Medical Records, Not Individuals
Assessing permanent disability is such a vital aspect of every formal workers’ compensation claim petition. New Jersey is a loss of function state unlike the more common wage loss states. An employee can return to his or her job following treatment or surgery, perform the very same work tasks, and still remain eligible for a […]
Why Prompt Reporting Policies Are Crucial Even If New Jersey’s Notice Statute Remains Weak
The failure to report a claim in a timely manner generally leads to powerful defenses that help employers prevail in workers’ compensation court. But lack of timely notice is seldom one of those defenses in New Jersey. That sounds like a conundrum. Shouldn’t lack of timely notice be the first defense that jumps to one’s […]
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