A Capehart Scatchard Blog

New Jersey Legislature Passes Supplemental Benefit for Certain Public Employees or Dependents of Those Employees

On February 25, 2019, the New Jersey Legislature voted to send to the Governor’s desk Senate Bill No. 1967.  The Senate passed the bill on October 29, 2018 and the General Assembly passed it on February 25, 2019. The Governor is expected to sign the bill shortly. The original bill was intended to provide a […]

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New Jersey Supreme Court Rules That Volunteer Firefighter Is Entitled To Maximum Temp Benefits Even Without Proof Of Employment Or Lost Wages

By on February 22, 2019 in Court Rulings, NJ Workers' Comp with 1 Comment

Jennifer Kocanowski, a member of the Finderne Fire Department in the Township of Bridgewater, was injured in March 2015 while carrying equipment in response to a multi-alarm fire.  She fractured her fibula, tore ligaments in her ankle, and injured her back. Prior to the injury, Kocanowski had not worked for over a year.  She had […]

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Appellate Division Holds Officer’s Injury to Knee Wearing 25 Pounds of Equipment Was Not Idiopathic

By on February 20, 2019 in Compensability, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

The idiopathic defense is not an easy one for employers to prevail on in New Jersey.  The basic concept is that the injury is not a result of any particular work effort and could happen anywhere, such as walking along a work corridor and suddenly feeling pain in one’s knee without falling or tripping.  But […]

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Injuries Post Job Termination

What happens if an employer terminates the employment of a worker, who then has an accident before leaving the work premises?  Is there workers’ compensation coverage? Does it make a difference if the employee quits as opposed to being fired and then has the injury on premises while leaving?  Does the moment of job termination […]

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Health System Properly Withdrew Job Offer Due to Failure of Applicant to Complete Vaccine Testing

By on February 5, 2019 in ADA, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

Janice Hustvet worked for Courage Center, which merged with Allina Health System in 2013.  Hustvet worked for 15 years at Courage Center as an Independent Living Skills Specialist, educating, supporting and assisting clients with disabilities including spinal cord and brain injuries. On May 13, 2013, Hustvet completed her pre-placement health assessment.  She acknowledged that she […]

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Medical Providers Have Six Years To File Claims in Division of Workers’ Compensation

By on January 24, 2019 in Claims, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

The New Jersey Appellate Division decided an important case on January 17, 2019 entitled The Plastic Surgery Center, PA. v. Malouf Chevrolet-Cadillac, Inc,.  The case centered on how long a medical provider has to file a claim petition in the Division, namely whether providers have two years, like claimants, or six years.  The case has […]

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The Very Sensible Premises Rule In New Jersey Workers’ Compensation

By on January 17, 2019 in NJ Workers' Comp, Policy with 1 Comment

Until 1979 New Jersey had a doctrine known as the “going and coming rule,” and that rule basically said that employees were not covered for workers’ compensation when they were going to work or coming from work.  Scores of exceptions emerged over the years, creating a patchwork of inconsistency, thus prompting the New Jersey Legislature […]

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County Did Not Violate ADA When It Proposed A Half-Time Office Job With Full Pay But Refused To Grant Other Accommodations Requested By Plaintiff

By on January 14, 2019 in ADA, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

One of the most difficult issues for employers to deal with is the work injury which leaves an employee with lasting difficulties in performing job duties.  Employers encounter this frequently with occupational claims such as carpal tunnel or epicondylitis where the employer settles the compensable workers’ compensation claim and then places the employee back in […]

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Triennial Recalculation Issue Decided in Favor of Respondents and 2nd Injury Fund

By on December 26, 2018 in Awards, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

The Honorable Joshua Friedman decided an issue this month that has been pending for several years regarding calculation of the Social Security Disability offsets in workers’ compensation cases for petitioners under the age of 62.  A petitioner’s attorney had brought motions in five cases including one handled by our office, asserting that the SSD offset […]

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Section Twenty Settlements and Subrogation Rights

Section 20 settlements are not technically payments of workers’ compensation benefits except for insurance rating purposes.  These settlements are popular with employers because the file can be closed for good with no potential for a reopener claim.  In many states, the Section 20 settlement is called a full and final settlement.  But does a Section […]

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Appellate Division Approves Suit By Comp Carrier Against Third Party Tortfeasor Even Where Injured Worker Had A Verbal Threshold Policy

By on December 5, 2018 in Court Rulings, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

One of the most significant cases to be decided by the Appellate Division with respect to subrogation rights was issued on December 4, 2018 in New Jersey Transit Corporation v. Sanchez, A-0761-17T3 (App. Div. December 4, 2018).  The case will have an impact on how employers deal with a very common scenario in New Jersey. […]

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The Amazing Rise of Medical Claim Petitions in New Jersey Workers’ Compensation

By on November 29, 2018 in Claims, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

Just six years ago, former Governor Chris Christie signed into law a bill which vested exclusive jurisdiction within the Division of Workers’ Compensation over any disputed medical charge arising from any claim for compensation for a work-related injury or illness.  That was the beginning of what we now call “Medical Claim Petitions” or MCPs filed […]

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Do Voluntary Offers Still Make Sense in New Jersey Comp?

By on November 16, 2018 in Awards, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

By now all workers’ compensation practitioners know of the law change in 2018 with respect to voluntary offers or bona fide offers of permanency.  The new law amended the 1927 law that allowed employers to make voluntary offers within certain time limits free from counsel fee.  The law passed in 2018 provides that if there […]

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New Jersey Plaintiff Failed to Prove His Obesity Met Standard of an ADA Disability

By on November 9, 2018 in ADA, NJ Workers' Comp with 1 Comment

Richard Helmrich worked as an Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at Mountain Creek Resort.  He was a large man, six-feet-tall with a body mass index between 40.27 and 47.53, above the threshold for obesity.  During his employment with the Resort he informed his boss of his weight and heart conditions.  His doctor diagnosed him […]

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UBER Style Business Found To Be Employer of Driver

By on October 31, 2018 in NJ Workers' Comp, Other with 0 Comments

Julio Pendola fractured his ankle in 2014 picking up a customer and filed a petition in the Division of Workers’ Compensation.  He asserted that he worked exclusively as a driver for Classic, which had over 100 cars.  He purchased his own car after consulting with Classic.  The company required Pendola to paint the car silver […]

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