Key Appellate Case Explains Confidentiality Rules in New Jersey Workers’ Comp
The most expansive discussion of confidentiality in workers’ compensation comes ironically from a civil law suit in the matter of Seymoure v. A.O. Smith Water Products Company, et. al., A-3967-14T3 (App. Div. May 11, 2016). The case arose from an asbestos law suit filed by Gwendolyn Seymoure, who sued several defendants, including Union Carbide Corporation […]
When Should an Employer Order a Fitness-For-Duty or Functional Capacity Exam?
This is the second article devoted to fitness-for-duty examinations and Functional Capacity Exams (FCE) in workers’ compensation. The first segment focused on how such examinations can lead to significant cost savings for employers and common mistakes that are made by employers. This segment will focus on when to order a fitness exam or FCE and […]
Fitness-For-Duty and Functional Capacity Exams: Important Tools in Reducing Workers’ Compensation Costs
We have all seen this situation: an employee with a physical job has major surgery and is given restrictions by the treating doctor, who issues an MMI note (maximum medical improvement). When temporary disability benefits are stopped, the employee immediately calls to see about returning to work. The employer indicates that it cannot take the […]
Appellate Division Sides With Petitioner in Dispute Over Compensability on Motion Trial
It can be difficult to predict the outcome of appeals where the issue before the Judge of Compensation is credibility of witnesses as opposed to pure legal issues. In Frank Hodson v. C. Abbonizio Contractors, Inc., A-2083-14T3 (App. Div. May 2, 2016), Mr. Hodson said that while working as a laborer on May 9 and […]
Past Medical History Remains the Key to Controlling Costs in Workers’ Compensation
Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it, wrote George Santayana. In workers’ compensation, those who do not know the past are doomed to pay for it. Winning in workers’ compensation in almost every state comes down to developing past information about injuries, car accidents, chiropractic care, sports activities, second jobs, […]
CDC Releases Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
Pain management has become a major health issue and cost driver in most state workers’ compensation programs with the proliferation of prescription opiates and consequential addictions arising from workers’ compensation injuries. One of the central problems that practitioners face in file handling and in court is the absence of any clear standards to decide whether […]
Are You Covered for Comp When You Tear Your Knee Playing for the Company Softball Team or Dancing at the Holiday Party?
Most employers have some recreational or social activities throughout the year, and unfortunately, injuries tend to occur at these events. There used to be so many of these kinds of claims that the New Jersey Legislature enacted new legislation in 1980 under N.J.S.A. 34:15-7, which provides that recreational and social activities do not arise from […]
Ohio State University Medical Center Did Not Violate the ADA in Requiring a Psychiatric Fitness Examination
Sometimes alarming statements made at work justify a fitness examination. In the case of Barnum v. The Ohio State University Medical Center, 2016 App. LEXIS 2957 (6th Cir. 2016), the plaintiff worked as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. In 2011, she was having issues at home due to a divorce and other family matters. A […]
Answers to Common Questions Regarding Partial Permanent Disability Awards in New Jersey
Permanent partial disability awards are often mysterious, partly because New Jersey compensation is so different from our neighboring states. For those who are used to the laws in Pennsylvania and New York, permanency awards in New Jersey can make no sense. Here is a sample of common questions about our system in New Jersey: Question: […]
School Board Properly Terminated Teacher Who Failed Two Fitness Exams and Who Requested Hiring Part-Time Aide
Reasonable accommodation has its limits as is noted in the case of Belasco v. Warrensville Heights City School District, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 21493 (6th Cir. 2015). Norma Belasco, a long-time teacher, began to have serious health issues in 2007, starting with renal failure with an eventual kidney transplant in 2013. She also had heart […]
Plaintiff Cannot Extinguish Section 40 Lien Rights By Setting Arbitrary Dates To Provide Lien Amounts
The case of Cabrera v. Cousins Supermarket, A-5287-13T1 (App. Div. February 23, 2016) covers a point not previously addressed under N.J.S.A. 34:15-40, the provision dealing with the employer’s subrogation rights to third party recoveries. Jose Cabrera injured his right hand while operating a meat perforating machine and recovered workers’ compensation benefits under an order approving […]
Federal Court Upholds Wellness Program and Rejects Law Suit Filed By EEOC Challenging Health Risk Assessment Procedures
Wellness programs are becoming a new area of litigation as can be seen in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Flambeau, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173482 (W. D. Wisconsin December 31, 2015). The case involved a manufacturer of plastic products which offered its employees various employee benefits, including participation in a health insurance plan. Employees […]
Medicare Revamps the Conditional Payment Process
By Nancy Johnson, Esq. Many of you have been contacted by petitioners’ attorneys about their inability to obtain conditional payments over the past several months due to a revision in Medicare protocols and processes. This article gives an overview of the changes to the process and we will provide more information as the full extent […]
School Board Did Not Violate ADA in Non-Renewing Teacher but May Have Violated His FMLA Rights
Terrence Preddie was employed from 2010-2011 as a fifth-grade teacher at Columbus Signature-Codrea Elementary School in Indiana. Dr. Diane Clancy assessed Preddie’s job performance in the first school term as effective in some areas and needing improvement in others. One specific area where improvement was needed was in leaving organized lesson plans for substitute teachers. […]
Township Violated ADA in Requiring Employee to Submit to a Fitness Exam Without Showing a Job-Related Reason for Exam
Paul Williams worked for ten years for the Township of Lakewood in the Department of Public Works (DPW). On March 28, 2013, the Township Manager received an anonymous letter concerning Mr. Williams. The writer said he was a co-worker and that he and other co-workers were in fear of their safety because Williams allegedly exhibited […]
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