Personal Injury Law Journal

Vicki W. Beyer

vbeyer@stark-stark.com
609.896.9060

Vicki W. Beyer is a Shareholder and member of Stark & Stark’s Workers' Compensation Group where she concentrates her practice in workers' compensation claims, social security disability, and disability pension appeals for public employees before the Office of Administrative Law. In March 2008, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in favor of Ms. Beyer's client, a permanently disabled former New Jersey Corrections Officer. The case, Guadagno v. Board of Trustees, Police and Firemen's Retirement System, was the first to expand accidental disability retirement compensation under the Police and Firemen's Retirement Systems to include mental disabilities that arise absent an accompanying physical harm.

MRIs are a very common diagnostic tool, but what do the results actually mean?  Medical terminology can be confusing and radiologists may use different words to mean the same thing.  Here are some basic definitions that may help you understand what’s really going on with your back.

These are some of the common diagnoses you might see on an MRI.  

Degenerative disc disease is not caused by an accident or injury to the spine.  You may also hear this referred to as spondylosis or arthritis. It is a condition that takes years to develop and is due to the natural aging process.  Because it happens slowly over time, you may not know you have it and you may not have had any symptoms before your injury.  However, an injury can aggravate this condition and can make the recovery process more difficult.  In NJ workers’ compensation, if this aggravation has a permanent impact on your home or work life, you may be entitled to a monetary award. This link shows the difference between a normal spine and one with degenerative changes.

Spinal stenosis is also a condition that is not caused by an accident or injury.  It is a term used to describe a small space between the vertebra for the nerves to travel up and down the spine.  Some people are just born this way.  However, if you suffer a spinal injury, people with a small spinal canal are at a disadvantage.  After an injury the body will work to heal itself and this causes swelling.  When you have a small space, there is not as much room for the swelling and this can cause pain when the swelling is too close to the nerves.  This means that two people with the same injury, one with a narrow spinal canal and one with a normal spinal canal, can have very different outcomes.  This image will help you better understand what stenosis looks like. Stenosis is not a condition that you can be compensated for in New Jersey workers’ compensation, however, you may still be entitled to a monetary award of the injury to the spine has a permanent impact on your life.   

Probably the most confusing back diagnosis is the difference between a bulging disc and a herniated disc.  

A bulging disc is a common occurrence and can be caused by an injury to the spine.  A bulging disc may also be called a protrusion or slipped disc. A bulging disc stays contained within the disc itself. The ligament is not perforated.

A herniated disc is less common than a bulging disc, but is more likely to cause pain. It may also be called a ruptured disc.  Here, the disc membrane is ruptured and the disc material is invading the spinal canal, probably touching the nerves and causing the pain. This image may help you understand the difference between a herniated disc and a bulging disc. Bulging and herniated discs are often caused by an accident or injury, especially if your job is physical and requires heavy lifting.  A very common cause of either of these conditions is lifting and twisting simultaneously.  These conditions can be treated, but often times, an injured workers has symptoms that may limit their activities at home or work.  In that case, he/she would be entitled to a monetary award.  

If your work related back injury has a permanent impact on your life, please call us for a complimentary consultation.

Vicki Beyer is a Shareholder in Stark & Stark’s Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Workers' Compensation Law. For more information, please contact Ms. Beyer.

Your work can be a dangerous place. A recent news article based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010 report states that an average of 12 workers die on the job every day. While mining and police work top the list of 2010's most dangerous jobs, two out of every five fatalities involved transportation workers, namely truck drivers.  

The New Jersey Turnpike is a main artery in our state and an integral part of the transportation of goods up and down the East coast. It is not surprising that serious accidents, including fatalities occur. Many of these accidents involve workers from other states. An injured worker may be eligible for benefits in either their home state or in New Jersey, whichever is most beneficial to the injured worker. In addition, where there is a fatality, the deceased worker’s dependents are entitled to file for benefits in their own right. It is important to seek advice from counsel in New Jersey, as well as your home state, in order to be able to make an informed decision about your rights.  

At Stark & Stark, we have six experienced workers’ compensation attorneys who can help you in making this important decision.  You may contact any of our attorneys for a free consultation.

Vicki Beyer is a Shareholder in Stark & Stark’s Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Workers' Compensation Law. For more information, please contact Ms. Beyer.

My employer was negligent in maintaining the equipment which caused my injury. Why can’t I sue my employer in Superior Court?

The New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act contains what is known as the Exclusive Remedy Doctrine. This means that an injured worker’s only remedy for a work-related injury is through the Compensation System.

Under the law, an employer has immunity from negligence or tort actions by its employees. This provision was one of the compromises made when the Act became law in 1911. In return for providing employees with statutory medical and monetary benefits for work-related injuries, the employers in New Jersey were given this immunity.

However, this immunity is not absolute. In certain limited cases an injured worker may sue his or her employer for injuries sustained in the course of employment. These situations are rare, however, are difficult to prove, and usually involve intent to injure.  

The attorneys at Stark & Stark can provide you with advice if you feel your employer may be liable to you for more than worker’s compensation benefits. Please contact me if you have questions regarding your workers’ compensation case. I’d be happy to meet with you, here in my firm’s Marlton, New Jersey office, free of charge to review your case in more detail.

Many people injured on the job express dismay at the fact that in New Jersey an employer has the right to choose the treating doctor and other health care providers. After all, they say, medical treatment is very personal and an injured worker usually feels he or she should at least have a say in the selection of the doctors.

The reason for this state of affairs goes back to the creation of the New Jersey worker’s compensation system. Prior to the enactment of our Compensation Law, an employee injured on the job was required to file a lawsuit to prove entitlement to damages for the injury. There was no concept of “benefits” in an administrative proceeding such as we have today. Rather, it was necessary for an injured worker to prove damages in court against their employer, just as he or she would have to prove damages against a neighbor or some stranger who caused them injury. This was difficult since employers enjoyed many defenses to these lawsuits, such as, employer immunity, acceptance of the risk of employment by the worker, contributory negligence by the employee and lack of negligence by the employer or co-employee. Recovery of damages by an employee against the employer was therefore rare.

In order to remedy this situation, the legislature, in 1911, created the Compensation Act we know today, which provides for statutory medical and monetary benefits to an injured worker without regard to the worker’s fault. In order to create this law, compromises were necessary. In return for (in theory) automatic benefits the employer was given the right to “control and direct” the treating physicians. This allowed the employer to control and limit costs of treatment.

While many injured workers disagree with this system, it is one of the most important reasons we have a worker’s compensation system today. Of course, even though an employer controls and directs treatment, they must follow proper procedures under the law.  If you have any questions regarding treatment for a work-related injury, the Workers’ Compensation attorneys at Stark & Stark are always ready to assist injured workers.

In New Jersey, your workers’ compensation claim can be settled in one of two ways: an Order Approving Settlement or an Order Approving Settlement With Dismissal. 

An Order Approving Settlement is presented to the Judge of Compensation for approval after the parties have negotiated a settlement that ascribes a percentage of disability to the injured area of the body. For example, if you twisted your knee and had surgery to repair a torn meniscus, you might get an award of 20% disability of the leg. This would entitle you to receive a monetary award in accordance with the schedule of benefits. The entry of this award does not mean that you cannot work; it simply means that you have an injury that has a permanent impact on your life. As long as the injury affects your daily or working life, you have proven that you have a permanent injury.

In addition to the monetary award, you also retain the right to reopen your case. The right to reopen your case expires after two years from the date that you receive your last payment of benefits. It is not an automatic right; you must file an Application to Review or Modify Formal Award within the two year window in order to preserve your rights. If you can show that your injury has become significantly worse, you may be entitled to additional medical treatment, temporary disability benefits if you have to be out of work and possibly even an additional award of permanent disability. While you have the right to reopen your claim, you must show that the original injury has gotten worse and that you have not had any new accidents or injuries affecting your leg.

An Order Approving Settlement with Dismissal is a lump sum settlement that closes the case forever. The parties present this type of settlement to the Judge of Compensation for approval when there are issues in the case that would make it difficult for the injured worker to prove her case. Those issues might be whether or not the court has jurisdiction to hear the case, whether or not the accident was directly caused by the work effort or if there was some other reason; whether or not the employer is liable for the injuries alleged, and in the case of death – whether or not anyone in the deceased workers’ household was a dependent as defined by the law.

Jurisdictional issues arise if you live and work in another state, but got hurt in New Jersey or vice versa. There are certain circumstances where New Jersey may not be the proper forum for that case. Causal relationship issues arise if you had a prior or subsequent accident involving the same part of your body and you are unable to determine how much of the overall disability was caused by the work accident. Liability issues arise if you may not have been performing your job at the time of the accident or if the injury could have occurred at anytime and it was a coincidence that it occurred at work. For example, if you are injured on your way to or from work or during a lunch break or you sneeze and suffer a neck or back injury. Dependency issues arise if you do not meet the definition of dependent under the workers’ compensation statute. It is not defined the same was as in family court or even for income tax purposes. In these types of cases, rather assume the risks inherent in a trial, the parties reach a compromise and present a settlement to the judge that once approved ends the case. The settlement requires the injured worker to give up any future rights that they might otherwise be entitled to.