John H. Geaney
John H. Geaney, Esq. is a Shareholder and Co-Chair of Capehart Scatchard's Workers' Compensation Group. Mr. Geaney began an email newsletter entitled “Currents in Workers’ Compensation, ADA and FMLA” in 2001 in order to keep clients and readers informed on leading developments in these three areas of law. Since that time he has written over 500 newsletter updates.
Mr. Geaney is the author of Geaney’s New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Manual for Practitioners, Adjusters & Employers. The Manual is distributed by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE). He also authored an ADA and FMLA Manual also distributed by NJICLE. If you are interested in purchasing “Geaney’s New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Manual for Practitioners, Adjusters & Employers,” please contact NJICLE at 732-214-8500 or visit their website at www.njicle.com.
Mr. Geaney represents employers in the defense of workers’ compensation, ADA and FMLA matters. He is a Fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers of the American Bar Association. He is one of two firm representatives to the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network.
A graduate of Holy Cross College summa cum laude, Mr. Geaney obtained his law degree from Boston College Law School.
Mr. Geaney was selected to the “New Jersey Super Lawyer” list (2005-2017, 2021 in the area of Workers’ Compensation). Only 5% of attorneys are selected to “Super Lawyers” through a peer nominated process based on independent research and peer evaluation. The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters. For a description of the “Super Lawyers” selection methodology, please visit https://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process.html
For the years 2022-2024 Mr. Geaney was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® list in the practice area of Workers’ Compensation Law - Employers. The attorneys on this list are selected based upon the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. A complete description of The Best Lawyers in America® methodology can be viewed via their website at https://www.bestlawyers.com/methodology.
*No aspect of this advertisement has been submitted to or approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Capehart Scatchard is a full service law firm with offices in Mt. Laurel and Hamilton, New Jersey. The firm represents employers and businesses in a wide variety of areas, including workers’ compensation, civil litigation, labor, environmental, business, estates and governmental affairs.
Explosion in Employee’s Personal Vehicle Held Compensable Based on Special Mission
One of the most interesting workers’ compensation cases in a long time is Van Sciver v. Jersey Mechanical Contractors, Inc., No. A-3525-20 (App. Div. November 15, 2022). There are layers of legal issues in this case, which involved a very serious accident injuring Mr. Van Sciver when a tank filled with acetylene gas exploded. Mr. […]
Appellate Division Vacates Penalties and Fees Against Employer Pending New Hearing
In Saiti v. Garden Homes, No. A-1328-20 (App. Div. October 11, 2022), the petitioner received an award for $66,074 on September 3, 2020. The terms of the settlement were memorialized in an order signed by the Judge of Compensation and both parties. Petitioner’s attorney made numerous phone calls in the ensuing 60 days regarding non-payment […]
New Law Lowers Cost of Obtaining Medical Records
We are living through a period of sharp inflation in almost everything from food and gasoline to automobiles and airfare, but one area where costs are sharply declining in New Jersey pertains to the cost of getting copies of medical records. Governor Phil Murphy signed S 2253 on September 22, 2022. This legislation dramatically lowers […]
New Jersey Division of Workers’ Comp Has Its First Woman and Hispanic Director
Few readers of this blog may know that the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation achieved a number of notable firsts this year with the appointment of the Honorable Maria Del Valle Koch as Director of the Division in June 2022. Director Koch is the first woman Director and the first Hispanic Director in the […]
What Costs and Legal Fees Are Deducted From the Lien of the Employer or Carrier?
One recurring question which adjusters and practitioners are often asked is this: in computing the workers’ compensation lien, does the employee get to reduce the employer’s lien by the amount the injured worker had to pay for costs and expenses in the third party action? Further, does the employee get to reduce the employer or […]
Kids’ Chance of New Jersey Needs Your Help in Fundraising Raffle for Students
On behalf of Capehart Scatchard and Kids’ Chance of New Jersey, I want to thank all of you who have been supporting KCNJ over the past several years. We deeply appreciate all your assistance in helping KCNJ accomplish its mission of providing college scholarships to children whose parents have been seriously injured or killed in […]
Guidance on Recording Defense Medical Examinations and Having Non-parties Present
One of the most nettlesome questions in New Jersey workers’ compensation is whether a non-party can attend an IME and whether a petitioner or a physician can record a medical examination without the other party’s consent and use it at trial. It is important to observe that the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act provides very […]
Appellate Division Reverses Judge of Compensation’s Decision That Employment Separation Agreement Constituted a Payment for a Disputed Workers’ Compensation Claim
The case of Donald Servais v. Ocean Wholesale Nursery, LLC., A-2988-20, (App. Div. July 14, 2022) presents an unusual legal issue in workers’ compensation. The case involved a dispute about an employment separation agreement and whether that agreement could have been construed to constitute a payment of workers’ compensation benefits, thereby tolling the statute of […]
Appellate Division Endorses a Penalty Assessed by the Judge of Compensation for Late Payment of a Permanency Order but Not for Respondent’s Delays Prior to Date of Settlement
There are few cases in the Division that discuss penalties for late payments of permanency awards, so the recently published Appellate Division decision in Ripp v. County of Hudson, No. A-2972-20 (App. Div. June 3, 2022) should be studied by workers’ compensation practitioners. The Ripp case was not about delayed temporary disability benefits, which are […]
What Does The Rebuttable Presumption Mean In A COVID-19 Claim?
The concept of legal presumptions in workers’ compensation is not new in New Jersey. The first presumption legislation in New Jersey was passed in 1964 concerning volunteer firefighters who contract respiratory disease in certain circumstances. The second presumption legislation was passed in 1988 in regarding to firefighters with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular injuries or death in […]
Book Review Of “Workers’ Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis”
For those readers who are interested in learning about current issues in workers’ compensation, I highly recommend the 2021 LexisNexis book entitled “Workers Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis.” I was asked to review this book and found it to be chock full of cutting-edge articles written for attorneys, employers, physicians, adjusters, carriers and third party administrators. […]
FCE Supported County’s Decision To Terminate Employee Following Workers’ Comp Injury
Functional capacity examinations (FCEs) can be very useful in determining the ability of a worker to perform essential job functions by removing the guesswork and instead providing accurate data on an employee’s physical abilities. In The Matter of Thalia Tretsis Middlesex County, Sheriff’s Office, No. A-3682-19 (App. Div. February 15, 2022) provides some important guidance […]
Superior Court Could Not Compel A Plaintiff Who Filed In Civil Court To Also File A Claim Petition In The Division of Workers’ Compensation
The case of Brian Smith v. Township of South Hackensack, No. A-3258-20 (App. Div. February 18, 2022), addressed an unusual procedural question seldom, if ever, seen before. The Appellate Division decision provides hardly any factual background at all other than this brief summary: “Plaintiff, a volunteer firefighter, was struck by a South Hackensack fire truck […]
Understanding The Deviation From Employment Defense
Workers’ compensation practitioners have all heard of the defense of deviation from employment. But where does the defense come from? The New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act has well over 100 sections to it, but nowhere will you find any reference to the defense of deviation from employment. Yet the defense does exist. We know that […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Finds Parking Lot Accident Compensable
On January 18, 2022, the New Jersey Supreme Court concluded round three of Diane Lapsley v. Township of Sparta, a case that dates back to February 3, 2014. On that date Mrs. Lapsley, a librarian for the Township, left work early when the Township closed the library due to a snowfall. Her husband picked her […]
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