How Employers Can Win Trials On Reopeners
Last week I wrote about how employers should not handle reopener claims, namely trying them on reports without expert testimony. The case of Kalucki v. United Parcel Service, A-3486-15T3 (App. Div. August 15, 2017) demonstrates the winning strategy for employers to adopt in reopener claims. The case involved an injury that took place many years […]
Respondent’s Decision Not To Produce Live Testimony Costs Dearly On Reopener Award
There is a cardinal rule in workers’ compensation trials that employers and defense counsel must follow: never try a case on reports unless the exposure is minimal. To put it another way, where the exposure is significant, the employer must bring in a medical witness for testimony and cross examine the petitioner’s expert. The employer […]
UPS Prevails By Means of Occupational Statute of Limitations Defense on Claim for Bilateral Knee Replacement Surgery
The best defense against an occupational disease claim is often the statute of limitations. That is how the employer won in Mara v. United Parcel Service, A-3691-15T4 (App. Div. August 4, 2017). The case involved a package car driver named Craig Mara who began working for UPS in 1983. He filed a claim petition in […]
How Employers Can Reduce Permanency Awards In New Jersey At No Cost
Permanency awards in the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation can amount to very significant dollars. An award of 40% partial permanent disability at 2017 rates amounts to $114,720 – tax free. Furthermore, the case can be reopened within two years from the last date of payment for further permanency benefits. If the employee reopens […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Rejects Summary Judgment for Hospital in Terminating Disabled Employee
Workers’ compensation claims often lead to complex disability discrimination law suits, and the recent New Jersey Supreme Court case of Grande v. Saint Clare’s Health System (A-67-15) (July 12, 2017) provides a good example of this. The case concerned the termination of a registered nurse by the hospital following a series of work-related injuries involving […]
Appellate Division Finds Employee Status, Not Casual Employee Or Independent Contractor Status
Michael Savio was injured on a job site on June 1, 2006. He stated that he worked for Matthew Giambri for four weeks on two job sites, pouring concrete on one site, and doing plumbing work on the other site. Giambri paid him $150 per day to pour concrete; otherwise, he paid him $100 to […]
Appellate Division Affirms Award of UPS Driver’s Motion for Med and Temp
Roy Hendrickson worked for thirty years at UPS. His first 19 years were as a package car driver making over 100 stops per day to deliver or pick up packages. He injured his back in 1992 but did not file a workers’ compensation claim. In 2002 he injured his back lifting a heavy package, losing […]
Injury To Officer On Unscheduled Day Is Found Compensable Because Officer Was Not Just Picking Up Paycheck But Checking Scheduled Court Dates
In a surprising but unreported decision, the Appellate Division affirmed an award to a police officer who fell in the municipal parking lot on December 9, 2011 on a day when he was not supposed to be at work. The officer said he came to work to collect his paycheck and also to check his […]
The Critical Importance of a Thorough Supervisor’s Report Form in Workers’ Compensation
In every state, two investigative forms have an enormous impact on helping employers save money and win cases in workers’ compensation: first, a detailed Employee Accident Form filled out entirely by the injured employee and signed by the employee, and second, a detailed Supervisor’s Report Form. This practitioner has tailored both forms for the use […]
County GPS System Defeats Petitioner’s Comp Claim on Appeal
A good Global Positioning System can make all the difference in certain kinds of cases. Longstreet v. County of Mercer, A-3361-152 (App. Div. June 20, 2017) illustrates how effective this technology can be for claims involving injuries while driving work vehicles. The case involved a claim by a heavy equipment operator against the County of […]
Answers to Often Bewildering Questions about New Jersey Comp Settlements
Clients often ask questions about the permanency phase of the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation system. Frankly our system with respect to awards of permanent partial disability is so vastly different than those of neighboring states that it is no wonder there is confusion. Here are some of the questions this practitioner regularly receives. Question (1): […]
Court of Appeals Holds Request for One-Year Leave of Absence is Unreasonable
A leave of absence can qualify as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, but how long should employers consider granting such leaves? In Echevarria v. Astrazeneca Pharmaceutical, LP, 33 A.D. Cases 673 (1st Cir. 2017), some practical guidance emerges on this issue. The case involved a Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist named Taymari Delgado Echevarria (hereinafter Delgado) […]
When Is A Commute To A Job Site Covered For Workers’ Comp Purposes?
Don Drysdale, a skilled carpenter, works for Craftsmen Trades and seldom goes to the company office in Mt. Laurel, N.J. He generally spends weeks or even months working at major job sites. On May 1, 2017 he drives his personal vehicle from his home in Cherry Hill, N.J. to a job site in Woodbridge, N.J. […]
Employer Is Required To Inquire Of Employee Requesting Leave To Care For Grandfather Whether Grandfather Raised The Employee
While the ADA does not require an employer to inquire whether an employee needs reasonable accommodation, the FMLA does require an employer to reasonably determine whether the FMLA may apply to a leave request which does not even mention the FMLA. This burden can be very onerous on an employer as one can see in […]
Why New Jersey Comp Law Holds That One Who Has Been Fired Is Not Entitled To Temporary Disability Benefits Unless He Or She Would Have Been Working Another Job
One of the most controversial issues in New Jersey workers’ compensation has to do with whether an injured worker who has been fired is entitled to temporary disability benefits. The leading case is Cunningham v. Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co., 386 N.J. Super. 423 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 188 N.J. 402 (2006). That case was […]
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