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.
Court in New Mexico Orders Employer to Reimburse Injured Worker for Costs of Medical Marijuana
The State of New Mexico has a Compassionate Care Act, which provides for medical marijuana when a patient is certified for the program by his or her health care provider. In the case of Vialpando v. Ben’s Auto. Servs., 2014 N.M. App. LEXIS 50 (N.M. Ct. App. May 19, 2014), the New Mexico Court of […]
Law Suit Improperly Filed in Civil Court Could Not Be Transferred to Division of Workers’ Compensation
Sometimes attorneys, unfamiliar with workers’ compensation, file civil suits that really belong in the Division of Workers’ Compensation. That was the situation in Garofalo v. East Whitehouse Fire Department, A-3649-12T2, A-4687-12T2, (App.Div.March 28, 2014). The case began with an injury on March 11, 2009 to Anthony Garofalo, who was a podiatric surgeon in New York […]
Can an Employee Be Paid Less on Light Duty than the Employee Was Receiving in Temporary Disability Benefits?
New Jersey has a powerful provision allowing employers to terminate temporary disability benefits on an offer of light duty, provided that the offer is made. If it is made, the employee must return to the light duty job or temp benefits will be terminated. But what happens if the light duty offer involves fewer hours […]
Worker With a Severe Eye Injury Was a Special Employee and Could Not Sue His Joint Employer
There are many instances in which an injured worker argues that he was not employed so as to be able to bring a negligence action. The case of Hernandez v. Port Logistics, A-3558-12T3 (App. Div. 2014) illustrates this situation. Daniel Hernandez was placing a box onto a load of pallets on August 23, 2011, when […]
Ninth Circuit Court Rules Employee Can Decline FMLA Rights Even If Absence Would Have Been FMLA Protected
Maria Escriba worked for Foster Poultry Farms, Inc. for 18 years. She met with her immediate supervisor on November 19, 2007, to request two weeks’ vacation time to care for her father in Guatemala who was very ill. Her daughter purchased round-trip airfare for Escriba for November 23, 2007 with a return date of December […]
Pulmonary Award Is Reversed for Failure of Judge to Explain Why She Credited the Testimony of Petitioner’s Expert Over Respondent’s Expert
Frank Ascione worked for U.S. Airways at Newark Liberty International Airport as a fleet service agent since 1981. He handled baggage and drove equipment to push back planes. He would work in the “bag room,” transporting baggage to and from the plane. He assisted in de-icing of planes about 20 times in his career and […]
Supreme Court Finds County Employee’s Injury Not Compensable
In a surprising decision from the New Jersey Supreme Court, an award to Cheryl Hersh, an employee of Morris County, was reversed on April 1, 2014. Ms. Hersh was employed by the County since September 2002 as a Senior Clerk in the Board of Elections. In 2004 the County assigned her free parking at a […]
New Jersey Court Rejects Common Law Marriage as Basis for Dependency Benefits in Workers’ Comp Claim
Bobbie Kehoe and Scott Sunkimat began cohabiting in their home in Point Pleasant, New Jersey in 1999. They made a life-long commitment to each other to spend their lives together but declined to marry. They shared utility bills and bank accounts and both of their names were on the deed to their home. Bobbie Kehoe […]
High Blood Pressure and Temporary Vision Problems Are ADA Disabilities
The ADA Amendments Act has substantially broadened coverage under the law. An example comes in Gogos v. AMS Mechanical Systems, Inc., 737 F.3d 1170 (7th Cir. 2013). Mr. Gogos worked as a pipe welder and had been taking medication to reduce his elevated blood pressure for the past eight years. He commenced employment with the […]
Slip And Fall At Work Accelerated Need for Surgery In Claimant With Severe Arthritic Hip Condition
Among the hardest cases for employers to contend with are those where the claimant already has an advanced degenerative or arthritic condition and then has an injury. That was the situation when Veronica Graham, a 55-year-old Certified Nursing Assistant, fell on a wet floor at work on June 25, 2011. She landed on her left […]
Casual Employment and Independent Contractor Defenses Often Overlap
Many clients ask what the difference is between the defense of independent contractor and casual employment. The truth is that the defenses are very similar, and one important case, Berkeyheiser v. Mollie S. Woolf, 71 N.J. Super. 171, (App.Div. 1961), illustrates this point. The case involved a man who worked full time for St. Regis […]
Bungled Post-Offer Medical Examination Leaves School Liable to Job Applicant
A well-done post-offer medical examination requires great skill and expertise. These elements were lacking when Adam LaFata applied for a job as Plant Engineer, essentially a custodial position, with the Dearborn Heights School District. One critical fact is that LaFata had been doing this kind of work for 10 years for the Lincoln Park Community […]
Employee Can Be Fired for Reasons Discovered While on FMLA Leave
Adesina Mercer worked for the Arc of Prince George County from 2004 to 2011. Her job included applying for and processing initial applications for benefits for Food Stamps and Social Security. In May 2007, The Arc put Mercer on conditional employment status due to poor work performance. She was returned to regular status the next […]
Volunteer Firefighters May Be Employees under FMLA
The City of Gibraltar employed 41 employees, excluding its “volunteer” firefighters. When it fired one of the firefighters, Paul Mendel, he sued under the FMLA. The city countered that it was not covered under the FMLA because it had less than 50 employees. There were 25-30 “volunteer firefighters” whom the City contended were not truly […]
Eighteen-Foot Fall from Ladder Did Not Aggravate Preexisting Back Condition
Remi Beausejour had problems with his lower back dating back to 2006, when he injured his back at work. He had pain in his back, and down through his right leg. An MRI showed degenerative disc disease and a disc herniation at L3-4 and L4-5 levels. He also experienced radiculopathy at the time, and was […]
Connect with Capehart Scatchard