Court Rejects Respiratory Reopener Claim of Detective Investigator Who Alleged Her COPD Condition Worsened Due to Work Exposures
One of the hallmarks of the New Jersey workers’ compensation system is that awards of partial permanent disability can be reopened for more medical, temporary or permanent disability benefits. In this case, Rebecca Weston, a detective investigator for the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, received an award of 55% of partial total, 31% of which was […]
Employee Defeats School Board’s Motion for Summary Judgment in Case Involving Possible Use of Air-Conditioned Bus
The Clayton County School District in Atlanta, Georgia employed Edith Hill as a bus driver. During the school year 2009-2010 Hill was assigned a non-air-conditioned bus for special needs students. The temperatures inside the bus rose above 100 degrees and Hill found she was experiencing serious difficulty in breathing. She filed an “Employee Request for […]
Strategies in Winning Occupational Disease Claims
In part one we examined the law surrounding New Jersey occupational disease claims and trends in our state (see last week’s blog). In this segment, we will explore strategies and tactics employers can take to win occupational disease claims. Winning workers’ compensation claims depends more than any other factor on obtaining past medical history. Experience […]
Defending Occupational Disease Claims in New Jersey
This is a two part analysis of the defense of occupational disease claims in New Jersey workers’ compensation. The first segment will focus on the proofs in occupational disease cases and why this practitioner believes that these kinds of claims will be filed increasingly in coming years. The second segment will focus on how employers […]
Employer Improperly Failed to Allow Employee to Cure Defect in FMLA Medical Certification before Terminating Employee for Excessive Absenteeism
Cases in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals have great importance for New Jersey employers in connection with the FMLA. The case of Hansler v. Lehigh Valley Hosp. Network, 790 F.3d 499 (2015 U. S. App. LEXIS 10444) (3d Cir. June 22, 2015) is worthy of study. It involved a technical partner who was hired […]
Appellate Court Refines Rules on Workers’ Compensation Lien Rights
The case of Jose Moreira v. Carlos Peixoto, et. al., A-5741-12T1 (App. Div. September 10, 2015) presents a complex tale of insurance fraud that ends with an important clarification about the lien rights of an employer and the potential challenges to lien calculations by employees. Jose Moreira was injured working privately on a house owned […]
Court Holds that Need for Knee Treatment Is Not Related to Prior Work-Related Meniscal Repair but to Preexisting Arthritis
Employers always struggle with this dilemma: if a claimant receives an award for knee surgery related to a repair of a torn meniscus, does that mean that future knee treatment for arthritis in the knee must be the responsibility of the employer? This issue arises often when the subject at issue is a possible total […]
Accelerating Permanency Payments Where There Is a Large Third Party Award
In the past month three clients have asked what they should do when there is a third party award larger than the comp award and the adjuster needs to pay a permanency award. For example: the claimant recovers $750,000 in a third party law suit. The total medical and temporary disability benefits are $150,000, and […]
Petitioner’s Claim Was Not Time Barred Because He Did Not Know the Precise Nature of His Medical Condition
New Jersey has a statute of limitations for occupational disease claims. In Rajpaul v. McDonald’s Corporation, A-4681-13T4 (App. Div. August 28, 2015), the proper application of the statute became the issue on appeal. In this case, the petitioner worked as a maintenance person from August 1995 until November 2005 at McDonald’s. He began to have […]
Law Firm Properly Terminated Support Services Assistant with Permanent Lifting Restrictions of No More than 20 Pounds
Charlesetta Jennings worked as a Support Services Assistant (SSA) at Womble Carlyle, a 500 lawyer firm based in North Carolina. Her job required performing a wide variety of tasks, including managing supplies, delivering or picking up packages, copying and scanning documents, setting up conference rooms, filing for receptionists, operating copy and scanning machines, and binding […]
Limousine Driver in Business not Unlike Uber Found to Be Independent Contractor
In a surprising decision that is particularly topical with various states facing similar issues with the popular company UBER, the Appellate Division held in Babekr v. XYZ Two Way Radio, A-3036-13T3 (App. Div. August 6, 2015) that a limo driver was not an employee when his vehicle was involved in a crash during the course […]
New Jersey School Board Did Not Violate FMLA When It Terminated Custodian Who Exhausted FMLA Time
Colleen Pizzo worked as a custodian for the Lindenwold Board of Education in Camden County, New Jersey. She went out of work beginning June 19, 2012 for depression. She filed the formal FMLA request on June 26, 2012. The Board approved the leave beginning June 19, 2012. While she was out, Pizzo requested an extension […]
Federal Court Rejects ADA Suit by Security Officer but Allows Workers’ Comp Retaliation Claim to Go to Trial
Patrick Vasnaik worked for Providence Health & Services – Oregon as a security officer from 2006 to 2012. His performance evaluations over the years fluctuated between requiring improvement to exceeding expectations. However, he required several coachings over the years for not arriving on time to work. In May 2010 he received a “documented coaching” after […]
Appellate Court Explains How an Employer Can Protect Its Lien Rights by Filing Suit in the Name of the Injured Worker
Employers are aware that if the claimant has not pursued his or her third party civil action within a year of the injury, the employer can provide a 10-day notice and then sue in the name of the injured worker. But what happens if the injured worker will not cooperate with the law suit? Can […]
Door Remains Closed to Suits by Employees Against Employers for Intentional Harm
In New Jersey it remains extremely difficult to bring an intentional harm claim against one’s employer. Mere knowledge and appreciation of a risk is not intent. That was the holding in Keller v. Township of Berkeley, A-5767-12T3 (June 22, 2015). Mr. Keller worked as a laborer for the Township sanitation department and suffered serious injuries […]
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