Due Process in the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation System

In an ideal workers’ compensation system, all parties would keep to the letter of the law. However, courts’ rules are oftentimes relaxed within our system and often not followed. In handling any New Jersey workers’ compensation claim petition, employers, employers’ attorneys and claims professionals must be diligent in making sure that employers’ fundamental rights are not violated by this relaxed approach. All parties, petitioners, and respondents have the right to due process. This right includes procedural due process and substantive due process. For instance, one …

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The Importance of Investigating a Petitioner’s Medical History and How It Can Help Employers Save Money

Upon the filing of a New Jersey workers’ compensation claim petition, it is extremely important to thoroughly investigate the history of the alleged injured worker to ensure you attain the best possible outcome and to prevent unnecessary expenses. This is a relatively well-known strategy.  However, in a rush to close or settle a matter, this strategy can sometimes be overlooked, which can result in significant costs to an employer.

In a recent unpublished opinion by the New Jersey Appellate Division, the appellate court affirmed the …

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The Interstate Medical Provider Claim: Unsettled Jurisdictional Questions Open the Floodgates in New Jersey

As overall filings in the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Courts have been falling, one particular type of claim is on the rise: the Medical Provider Application for Payment or Reimbursement of Medical Payment. The statutory authority for these “Medical Provider Claim Petitions” (MCPs) is found in a single sentence in the depths of New Jersey Statutes Annotated 34:15-15: “[e]xclusive jurisdiction for any disputed medical charge arising from any claim for compensation for a work-related injury or illness shall be vested in the division.” The precise …

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Verbal Threshold Does Not Bar Employers’ Subrogation

Section 40 of the New Jersey workers’ compensation statute allows employers or workers’ compensation carriers to automatically receive reimbursement of benefits paid to an injured worker from a third party tortfeasor – either directly from the tortfeasor, or from an award received by the injured worker in a third party claim.

But what happens when an injured worker is barred from suing the third party tortfeasor? Can the employer or carrier still seek reimbursement for benefits paid in the workers’ compensation claim? The Appellate Division …

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