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Appellate Court Rejects Trucker’s Injury While Dressing After Showering During Trip From California to New Jersey
Samuel Kamenette drove over-the-road trucks for Sangillo & Sons. He was injured on October 9, 2015 in the State of Wyoming. He was driving a load from California to New Jersey. He slept the night before in his truck, and in the morning he drove for an hour to a Flying J, part of a […]
Court Upholds City’s Termination of Worker with Lupus Based on Doctor’s Note Prohibiting Outdoor Work
Jimmy Mathis worked as a laborer for the City of Red Bank in Tennessee. Eventually he rose to the position of Assistant to the Director of Public Works. Initially he would inspect for building code violations, handle animal control problems, oversee street projects and handle citizen requests. A written job description described his duties, which […]
OSHA Attacks Employer Post-Accident Drug Testing Policies
Many employers have a policy of mandatory post-injury drug testing. Those policies must now be reconsidered and largely jettisoned. The underpinning of the new OSHA policy on drug testing is the belief that blanket post-injury drug testing policies deter proper reporting of injuries. On May 12, 2016 OSHA published new final rules against discrimination and […]
Second Hand Smoke Cancer Claim Is Barred For Late Filing
In Pulejo v. Middlesex County Consumer Affairs, A-3133-14T4 (App. Div. July 14, 2016), the petitioner, an investigator for the County, alleged that he worked along side a chain smoker four to five hours per day, five days per week, from 1976 to 1997. Mr. Pulejo was diagnosed in 2000 with lung cancer and underwent a bilobectomy. Mr. […]
Court Finds Herniated Disc Condition Meets Test of Disability under ADAAA
Anthony Mazzeo provided technical and sales services to customers in Florida and southern Georgia for Color Resolutions International LLC. He was diagnosed with a herniated disc in his low back in 2007. His employer was aware of his condition. Between January and March 2009 Mazzeo had three discussions with his supervisor regarding possible back surgery […]
Workers’ Comp Lien Applies to Medical Payments That Could Have Been Paid Through Plaintiff’s PIP Carrier
Ever since the decision in Dever v. New Jersey Mfrs. Ins. Co., No. A-3102-11T2, (App. Div. Oct. 23, 2013), plaintiffs’ counsel have been arguing that respondents do not have a lien for medical bills paid in workers’ compensation from a work-related car accident where the plaintiff had PIP coverage. But civil courts have not been […]
Court Finds That Severe Neck Pathology Was Not Due To Occupational Activities But Rather To The Natural Aging Process
Lois Scafuri filed three workers’ compensation claims alleging occupational exposures as a sales assistant caused her severe neck pathology. She worked at the Short Hills Mall for two employers: Sisley Cosmetics and Neiman Marcus Group. She later worked for Bloomingdale’s/Macy’s in the same capacity. All three employers denied her claims asserting that her neck pathology […]
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 […]
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: […]
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 […]
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 […]
New Jersey Governor Vetoes Two Major Workers’ Compensation Bills Opposed by Employers
On Monday, January 11, 2016, Governor Chris Christie issued vetoes of two bills long supported by the petitioners’ bar in New Jersey and strongly opposed by employers and carriers. S-374/A-3403 involved legislation sponsored by attorneys for injured workers to increase their legal fees. This particular legislation was aimed at voluntary offers that employers have been […]
Appellate Division Allows Petitioner with Total Disability Award to Reopen a Prior Claim for Partial Total Disability
Employers often find New Jersey to be a very frustrating state for workers’ compensation because it is very difficult to close a file for good, unless the parties have grounds for a Section 20 disposition and the proposed Section 20 meets with the approval of the Judge of Compensation. Now those employers will have added […]
Barnabas Health System Wins Coveted “Teddy” Award at National Workers’ Compensation Convention in Las Vegas
The signature workers’ compensation event in the United States takes place each year at the National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, Nevada. The highlight of the conference is the presentation of the “Teddy” award to a select few companies, chosen from hundreds of applicants, for outstanding achievement in workers’ compensation. […]
Accelerating Permanency Payments Where There Is a Large Third Party Award
In the past month three clients have asked what they should do when there is a third party award larger than the comp award and the adjuster needs to pay a permanency award. For example: the claimant recovers $750,000 in a third party law suit. The total medical and temporary disability benefits are $150,000, and […]
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