New Jersey Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Workers' Compensation Defense

September 17, 2018 New Jersey

Idiopathic Injuries: Dealing with Injuries that Occur at Work, But Are Not Work-Related in New Jersey

We have all come across the case where an employee is injured at work, but the injury doesn’t seem to arise from something we would consider work-related. The injury could have just as easily happened at some time or place other than while the employee was at work. For example, the worker is walking down an aisle toward his workstation, his ankle gives out, and he falls. He didn’t trip. He didn’t slip. There was nothing wrong with the condition of the floor. His ankle …

July 16, 2018 General / New Jersey

Got Insurance? What You Need to Know if You Are An Uninsured Employer in New Jersey

Under New Jersey law, every corporation, limited partnership, as well as any employer required by law to submit an annual report, must provide valid proof of workers’ compensation coverage as part of its annual report. There are two ways that an employer can demonstrate valid proof of workers’ compensation coverage. An employer can either show proof of having coverage with an insurance carrier or by being self-insured. A self-insured employer must provide documentation by way of a current order from the Commissioner of Banking and …

July 7, 2017 Going and Coming Rule / New Jersey

Your Injury Happened Where? New Jersey Appellate Division Rejects Two Attempts to Avoid the Going and Coming Rule

Two recent decisions by the New Jersey Appellate Division upheld the strength of the “going and coming” rule to bar workers’ compensation claims that did not occur at work. In New Jersey, injuries that occur during routine travel to and from work are not compensable. This comes from principle found in N.J.S.A. 34:15-36 (defining “employment”) that generally, employment starts when the employee arrives at his place of employment, and terminates upon leaving the place of employment. Section 36 was amended in 1979 to decrease the …

May 9, 2017 New Jersey / Post-Accident Drug Testing

Post-Accident Drug Testing: Part 1 — New Jersey

For New Jersey, a post-accident drug test can be helpful. In an unreported decision, the Appellate Division found that an injured employee terminated after he was placed on light duty, due to a failed drug test, is not automatically entitled to temporary disability benefits. Gioia v. Herr Foods, Inc., No. A-0667-10T4 (App. Div. Oct. 11, 2011). The employer provided testimony that it would have offered the injured employee light duty if not for the failed drug test. Since the lost income was not a …

April 26, 2017 Disability Benefits / New Jersey

Is That Offer Bona Fide?

Did you know that a voluntary offer to settle a workers’ compensation claim in New Jersey must meet three specific criteria to comply with state law?

The offer must meet the 26-week rule — this means the offer must be made within 26 weeks of the last active treatment or return to work, whichever is later.
The letter to the petitioner must explain the weekly payments are meant to be a bona fide offer of permanent disability. The start and end dates of the benefits

March 20, 2017 Disability Benefits / New Jersey

Lessons from Daniel

On August 2, 2016, the Appellate Division upheld a Judge of Compensation’s denial of a petitioner’s motion for medical treatment and temporary disability benefits. In upholding the Division’s decision, the Appellate Division agreed that the petitioner had not met his burden of proof that the need for surgery arose from and was causally connected with the same trauma complained of in the original claim petition. Daniel v. United Arlines, No. A-1252-14T3 (App. Div. August 2016).

The petitioner in Daniel sustained a compensable accident in …

February 9, 2017 Medical Expenses / New Jersey

Appellate Division Provides Clarity: Medical Expenses are Recoverable by Workers’ Compensation Carriers under Section 40

The Appellate Division issued a published decision on August 24, 2016 confirming the right of workers’ compensation insurers to recover medical expenses from the proceeds of any recovery the worker obtains from a third-party tortfeasor under Section 40 of the Workers’ Compensation Act, N.J.S.A. 34:15-40. The decision, Lambert v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of America, No. A-1073-14T3, __ N.J. Super. __, __ (App. Div. 2016), offers welcome clarity concerning reimbursement of medical payments under Section 40.

Following the unpublished 2013 decision of Dever v. …