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.

Fraud is a hot topic in workers’ compensation, not only in New Jersey, but across the country. If you are found to be guilty of fraud in New Jersey, you are subject to both criminal and civil penalties. Civil penalties may include: termination of your benefits, forfeiture of future benefits, and repayment of benefits obtained due to the fraudulent act with interest. Fraud is a crime of the fourth degree in New Jersey.

Fraud is defined as “a false or misleading statement, representation or submission concerning any fact that is material to that claim for the purpose of wrongfully obtaining benefits;”,see NJSA 34:15-57.4 (1). Aside from the most egregious cases, what constitutes fraud in New Jersey? Some not so obvious examples of fraud include misrepresenting your job status while collecting temporary disability, misrepresenting a previous injury, or knowingly misrepresenting the nature of your physical condition.

If you are working in any capacity, you may not also collect workers’ compensation temporary disability benefits. This includes working your part-time job if you were injured on your full-time job and vice versa. If your doctor told you that you could continue your part-time work because it does not require the same level of physical exertion that your full time job does, you may work, but you are not entitled to collect workers’ compensation benefits at the same time. Most people that have a second job do so to make ends meet and this rule puts injured workers in a tight spot. However, if you are caught, you may face criminal and civil penalties. If you had a previous injury to the same part of your body, and you do not divulge that information during the prosecution of your workers’ compensation claim, you could also be found guilty of committing fraud. It is important that you reveal any and all prior accidents, injuries and surgeries to guarantee your credibility. It may be difficult to remember which knee you injured in that car accident 25 years ago, but you should make every effort to provide enough information so that it can be further investigated. If you tell your workers’ compensation carrier or medical providers that you cannot do certain things and you are videotaped doing them, be prepared to see yourself on the news. In order to receive an award of permanent disability in New Jersey, you must have evidence of a permanent disability that affects your daily or working life. If you have no residual problems, then you do not have a permanent disability. You should never exaggerate or over state your physical problems to build up your case. You may very well have a serious injury and have an award coming to you, but if you fudge the truth, you may lose your right to the benefits.

It is important that you understand what your obligations under the workers’ compensation laws include. As always, we offer free consultations and our fees are contingent upon you receiving an award. Our experienced attorneys and staff look forward helping you navigate through the workers’ compensation system.

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

 

The New Jersey Department of Corrections recently added the names of corrections officers who lost their lives in the line of duty between 1894 and 1978. Until now, their stories were forgotten.  Thanks to the efforts of Lt. Wayne Sanderson, the stories of these brave heroes will never be forgotten.  Lt. Sanderson, himself a corrections officer, was researching his own family history when he found a newspaper article about the 1913 murder of an officer by an inmate.  If there was one story, he knew there must be more.  His research unearthed the names of men who had been shot, stabbed, beaten, suffered heart attacks and broken bones.  12 names altogether were added to the Memorial, which is on the grounds at the Department’s Central Office headquarters in Trenton.    Lt. Sanderson is pleased that the memorial gives identity to the officers and the relatives who never knew them.  

At the recent dedication ceremony friends and family members of some of those officers were present.  Speaking at the ceremony, Commissioner Gary Lanigan said, “by memorializing our fallen heroes in this fashion, all of us can gain a measure of appreciation of the impact these brave individuals had on the correction field, the communities they were sworn to protect and to protect and the lives of those who knew and loved them.”.  

Congratulations to the New Jersey Department of Corrections for keeping the memory of these, and all fallen officers alive.

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

My bills are getting paid and I’m getting checks from my workers’ compensation carrier, so why do I need a lawyer after a work-related injury?  

The New Jersey workers’ compensation system allows the insurance companies to manage your medical care. This gives them the ability to manage costs and make profits. On occasion, insurance companies abuse this right and injured workers’ suffer beyond the pain of the original injury. You may feel rushed to return to work by nurse case managers assigned by the insurance company to coordinate your care or have difficulty getting referrals or authorization to see specialists that have been recommended by the doctors authorized to treat you.  

In the worst case scenario, repeated refusal to comply with court orders and delays can be more trying than the original accident. Courts have repeatedly held that injured workers have no right of action against their workers’ compensation carrier for pain and suffering caused by such delay or obstinacies.  See Stancil v. Ace USA , decided August 1, 2012.  

When you are out of work due to a work-related accident and you are hurting you should not have to worry about the medical bills or getting your temporary disability benefits on time, you should be concentrating on getting better and getting back to work. The last thing you want to do is deal with the insurance company.

Therefore, we recommend, that in order to protect yourself, you hire an attorney to fight for your rights. At Stark & Stark, our experienced team of attorneys, paralegals and legal secretaries can make sure you are not taken advantage of by the insurance company. Our staff recently created a mission statement and we work each day to achieve the goals we have set forth for ourselves, “The workers’ compensation department’s mission is to provide quality, professional legal services to protect injured workers rights by working together to achieve the optimal results based on each client’s needs.” Please call us today for your free, no obligation consultation and leave the worrying to us!    

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

As the old adage goes, “…in this world, nothing can be said to be certain but death and taxes.”  With this in mind, we are pleased to inform New Jersey’s injured workers that none of the benefits payable to them under our workers’ compensation statute is taxable.  

Temporary disability benefits are payable while you are out of work recovering from a work related injury and are paid at 70% of her gross weekly wage.  It has the net effect of paying you at an after tax rate. Most workers receive about the same amount of money on temporary disability as they did while working.  The exception is a wage earner who makes in excess of $1158/week.  The maximum benefit payable to any worker injured in 2012 is $810 per week.

Permanent disability benefits compensate an injured worker if that worker’s injury has a permanent impact on their life and represents a loss of function and a potential loss of earning power.  You cannot be taxed on these kinds of losses.  See NJSA 54A:6-6.

You need not fear an IRS lien eating up your workers’ compensation award in New Jersey either.  However, that does not mean that you are free and clear.  After attorney’s fees and costs, New Jersey recognizes a number of liens, including but not limited to:  child support arrears (from any state), State disability liens for benefits paid in a contested workers’ compensation cases, Medicaid/Medicare, and private health carriers.  

If you have questions about your New Jersey workers’ compensation benefits, please call us for a complimentary consultation today.

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.

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.