Appellate Court Rules Employer Has Subrogation Rights in Three Key Cases
Three cases were heard together in the New Jersey Appellate Division regarding the right of employers to obtain reimbursement under N.J.S.A. 34:15-40 in situations involving car accidents where medical treatment was potentially recoverable under PIP. The cases are Lambert v. Travelers Indemnity Company of America, Reed v. Qual-Lynx and Township of Marlboro, and Agar v. […]
EEOC Guidelines on Unpaid Leave Complicate Matters for Employers
The new EEOC Guidance issued on May 9, 2016 upsets many of the assumptions employers routinely make in regard to leaves of absence. The EEOC states, “An employer must consider providing unpaid leave to an employee with a disability as a reasonable accommodation if the employee requires it, and so long as it does not […]
Pro or Con: Reducing Pay While Employee Is On Light Duty?
I received an excellent question today from a reader of this blog. The question was this: “I’m looking for some information on whether it is acceptable to bring an employee back for light duty at a wage that is lower than their pre-accident wage provided that they are paid at least at the temporary total […]
Workers’ Comp Lien Applies Even if PIP Benefits Are Not Recoverable Against Tortfeasor
On January 13, 2011, Paulette Dorflaufer was hit by a car while working as a part-time crossing guard for Livingston Township. She filed a workers’ compensation claim and filed a negligence law suit against the tortfeasor. She settled that case for $95,000 for pain and suffering. PMA Management Corporation put plaintiff on notice of its […]
Court Rejects Petitioner’s Request For Shoulder Surgery on Second Reopener
Just because an employer accepts an injury to a body member as part of an award does not mean that all future treatment to that body member will be found work related. That is the rule in Daniel v. United Airlines, No. A-1252-14, 2016 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1816 (App. Div. August 2, 2016). Petitioner, […]
Appellate Division Reverses Comp Award For Underpaying Claimant Due To An Incorrect Social Security Offset Calculation
Josephine Lucciola appealed from an order denying her request to vacate a February 23, 2012 order establishing her social security offset. She contended that the order contained the wrong offset calculation and that she was being shorted tens of thousands of dollars by her employer, Home Depot. There was no dispute that Lucciola had been […]
Appellate Division Allows Comp Retaliation Case To Proceed To Jury
Workers’ compensation retaliation claims are rare birds in New Jersey, and the case of Robinson v. Armadillo Automation, Inc. explains the standard for proving such cases. Spencer Robinson worked as a valve technician from May 2005 until August 2011. He alleged that when he was hired, he disclosed a prior low back condition, and he […]
Second Hand Smoke Cancer Claim Is Barred For Late Filing
In Pulejo v. Middlesex County Consumer Affairs, A-3133-14T4 (App. Div. July 14, 2016), the petitioner, an investigator for the County, alleged that he worked along side a chain smoker four to five hours per day, five days per week, from 1976 to 1997. Mr. Pulejo was diagnosed in 2000 with lung cancer and underwent a bilobectomy. Mr. […]
Court Finds Herniated Disc Condition Meets Test of Disability under ADAAA
Anthony Mazzeo provided technical and sales services to customers in Florida and southern Georgia for Color Resolutions International LLC. He was diagnosed with a herniated disc in his low back in 2007. His employer was aware of his condition. Between January and March 2009 Mazzeo had three discussions with his supervisor regarding possible back surgery […]
Workers’ Comp Lien Applies to Medical Payments That Could Have Been Paid Through Plaintiff’s PIP Carrier
Ever since the decision in Dever v. New Jersey Mfrs. Ins. Co., No. A-3102-11T2, (App. Div. Oct. 23, 2013), plaintiffs’ counsel have been arguing that respondents do not have a lien for medical bills paid in workers’ compensation from a work-related car accident where the plaintiff had PIP coverage. But civil courts have not been […]
Court Finds That Severe Neck Pathology Was Not Due To Occupational Activities But Rather To The Natural Aging Process
Lois Scafuri filed three workers’ compensation claims alleging occupational exposures as a sales assistant caused her severe neck pathology. She worked at the Short Hills Mall for two employers: Sisley Cosmetics and Neiman Marcus Group. She later worked for Bloomingdale’s/Macy’s in the same capacity. All three employers denied her claims asserting that her neck pathology […]
Rotator Cuff Tear May Be A Covered Disability Under ADA
Michael Cannon applied for a job with Jacobs Field Services (hereinafter JFS) as a field engineer for a Colorado mining site. The company made him a job offer conditioned on his passing a post-offer medical examination. During the post-offer exam, Cannon revealed to the doctor that he had an inoperable rotator cuff tear and had […]
Judge of Compensation Rejects Medical Reimbursement Claim and Adopts Paid Fees as Being Most Reliable Measure of Reasonable and Necessary Care
The New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation has thousands of medical reimbursement claims in various stages of negotiation and litigation. Few cases actually get tried because most medical providers do not want to come to court to defend their charges. The vast majority of cases get settled through negotiations. One recent case, however, involved testimony […]
Obesity Is Not An Impairment Unless It Results From An Underlying Physiological Disorder
An important ADA decision has come from the Court of Appeals in the Eighth Circuit in Morriss v. BNSF Railway Company, 817 F.3d 1104 (8th Cir. 2016). The case stems from a post-offer medical examination. Melvin Morriss applied for a machinist position and received a conditional offer of employment. He was required to undergo a […]
Appellate Court Upholds Termination of Employee Who Exceeded Light Duty Limit
Most employers put limits on light duty and do not allow permanent light duty. That was the case of the employer in the matter of Frazier-White v. David Gee, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 6318 (11th. Cir. 2016). Plaintiff Frazier-White worked as a community service officer for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO). She was responsible […]
Connect with Capehart Scatchard