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.
Appellate Court Affirms Some Sanctions Against Employer and Reverses Other Sanctions
Sanctions against an employer in workers’ compensation are rather rare, and the case of Pschunder-Haaf v. Synergy Home Care of South Jersey, A-3138-13T3, (App. Div. May 12, 2015) provides some guidance on conduct that may lead to such sanctions. The petitioner, Pschunder-Haaf, a home health aide, injured her low back when a patient fell on […]
Plaintiff’s Disability Discrimination Claim Doomed by Contradictory Statements to Social Security
Alphonso Myers worked as a security guard and was injured in that position. He applied for and received social security disability benefits. In his application, he advised the Social Security Administration that he was in pain all the time during the period of his application, he could only stand for twenty minutes and could only […]
Does New Jersey Have Something Similar to Partial Temp Benefits in Workers’ Compensation?
The old adage is that New Jersey is a not a partial temp state, but is that really true? In some states, like New Hampshire, an employee who returns to work but due to disability cannot earn the amount he or she was earning before the work injury may be eligible for significant benefits. The […]
Judge of Compensation Properly Denied Employee’s Request for Commutation of Settlement
Unlike many states, most settlements in New Jersey are paid out over a period of weeks, often with payments carrying out well into the future. For example, if an employee receives an award of 40% permanent partial disability, the award is paid over 240 weeks in equal payments beginning with the last payment of temporary […]
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 […]
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