Employer Waived Its Objection to Policy Cancellation by Waiting Seven Years before Raising Issue of Proper Cancellation
Janice Davis was injured on April 23, 2007 in a work-related accident. She filed a claim petition promptly against Yassien Mobility Assistance & Ambulance, Inc., her employer. On October 1, 2007, Yassien filed an answer stating that it had no insurance for workers’ compensation. The Uninsured Employers’ Fund (UEF) was joined in the matter as […]
Court Allows Claimant to Reopen Previously Dismissed Claim Based on Dishonesty of Claimant’s Attorney
Cases dismissed under N.J.S.A. 34:15-54 for lack of prosecution are permanently closed if not reinstated within one year. The matter of Kost v. GPU Energy, A-0858-13T3 (App. Div. 2015) offers one exception to the rule. Richard Kost filed seven claims against GPU Energy/JCP&L in 2003. He also filed a parallel civil action which was pending […]
PIP Carrier’s Claim Petition Is Rejected for Failure to Show Work Connection
What can a PIP carrier do when it believes the bills it has paid arise from a workers’ compensation case but the injured party has never filed a claim? In New Jersey, the PIP carrier has a right to file a workers’ compensation claim petition in the name of the injured worker, but there is […]
Appellate Court Fine Tunes Standards for Motions for Medical and Temporary Benefits
Sometimes the seemingly minor cases have significant long-term impact. The case of Amedeo v. United Parcel Service, A-1013-13T2 (App. Div. April 8, 2015) may be one of those cases. Thomas Amedeo suffered a work injury in 2009 in the employment of UPS. He filed a workers’ compensation claim petition and ultimately received an award of […]
Misuse Of The Term “Aggravation” Causes Huge Overpayments In Workers’ Compensation
SCENARIO ONE: An employee has a preexisting arthritic knee condition that his personal physician says will require imminent knee replacement. Three months later this employee steps off a truck at work and feels pain in the knee. He reports the incident to his employer, who sends him for treatment. The doctor orders an MRI, stating […]
Court Holds that Employee With Restrictions Who Was Terminated Should Have Chance to Prove Reasonable Accommodations Could Have Been Made by Employer
Many employers have 100% healed policies that can redound to their detriment in court. That was the situation in Kauffman v. Petersen Health Care, VII, LLC, 769 F.3d 958 (7th Cir. 2014). Debra Kauffman worked as one of two hairdressers at Mason Point Nursing Home in central Illinois. On Mondays and Tuesdays, she would wheel […]
Court Rejects Claim for Employee Injured on Ground Floor Elevator in Multi-Tenant Building
The case of Burke v. Investors Bank, A-1551-13T1 (App. Div. March 16, 2015) underscores an important point for New Jersey practitioners: one is not considered to be at work in a multi-tenant building until one arrives at the employer’s business. On December 3, 2012, Laura Burke parked her car in the parking garage of the […]
City That Cancelled Health Insurance After Firefighter Exhausted FMLA Did Not Violate COBRA
Very few cases have focused on the relationship between COBRA and FMLA. The case of Neal v. City of Danville, Virginia, 2014 U.S. Dist LEXIS 17126, W. D. Va. (December 11, 2014) provides employers with important insight on this issue. Barry Neal, a firefighter, was severely injured in a non-work accident on February 1, 2013. […]
Superior Court Judge Rejects Dever Case and Holds Walmart Not Barred from The Recovery Of Its Workers’ Comp Lien
Desirae Cintron was injured in a motor vehicle accident on September 20, 2011 while walking in the parking lot of a Walmart store where she worked. She was struck by a vehicle driven by Marvin Thomas. Cintron was eligible for PIP benefits because she lived with her father who had an insurance policy with NJM. […]
Access to Medical Records in the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation
A number of clients have inquired recently whether claimants in workers’ compensation cases have a right to request their treating medical records from the insurance carrier, third party administrator, or the authorized treating physician. The answer to this question comes from both the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act and from the rules of the New […]
Recent Developments in New Jersey Workers’ Compensation
There have been a number of developments in the Division of Workers’ Compensation in 2015 of which practitioners should be aware: Retirement of Director Peter J. Calderone, After 13 years of service as Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation and 39 years of service to the State of New Jersey, Chief Judge and Director […]
Federal Court Holds that Employer Does Not Have to Remove Essential Job Functions as a Reasonable Accommodation Under ADA
Joe Wilkerson worked for Boomerang Tube, LLC first as a general laborer and then as a mill operator. He injured his left hand on December 13, 2010 while operating the mill. He returned to work on restricted duty on December 17, 2010. On that evening at work, he reinjured his hand requiring another visit to […]
Appellate Division Reverses Dismissal of Case for Failure to Show Good Cause
Robin Williams was injured working for Ready Pack on May 18, 2006 and May 22, 2006. A settlement was approved for 10% of partial total for the left shoulder on August 11, 2008. Thereafter, Williams moved to Philadelphia and left the employment of Ready Pack. On August 10, 2010, petitioner filed a reopener application alleging […]
Superior Court Decision Refused to Follow Unreported Decision in Dever V. New Jersey Manufacturers
There has been a great deal of controversy about respondent’s lien rights in motor vehicle accident cases since the unreported ruling in Dever v. New Jersey Mfrs. Ins. Co., No. A-3102-11T2 (App. Div. October 23, 2013). In one decision from last summer, an Atlantic City Superior Court Judge rejected the application of the Dever rule […]
Appellate Division Affirms Large Award to Airline Employee
It is very difficult to appeal a Judge of Compensation on the level of permanency awarded following trial. That lesson can be seen in Huesser v. United Airlines, A-5959-12T3, (App. Div. July 14, 2014). Elaine Huesser worked as a flight attendant for United Airlines since 1998. She suffered her first injury on September 28, 2005 […]
Connect with Capehart Scatchard