Attention Corrections and Juvenile Justice Officers

It appears that there is erroneous information concerning the present right of such Officers to receive SLI benefits rather than Workers’ Compensation Temporary disability benefits (70% of salary subject to a cap) when injured by direct contact with inmates in the performance of an officer’s duties.

Unfortunately, no such SLI benefits currently exist and those who say it does are incorrect. While there is proposed legislation to reinstate the SLI program in these situations, it is not yet an actual law.

…
Continue Reading

New Jersey workers’ compensation benefits are governed under N.J.S.A. 34:15 et seq. There are three benefits you are entitled to when you get hurt at work in New Jersey: payment of medical bills, payment of temporary disability benefits or wage replacement and payment of an award of permanent disability. I will address each of these in a series of blogs.

This is the third in a series of three blogs. The previous blogs can be found here: Part 1, Part 2.

This blog will focus on the benefit known as permanent partial disability. After medical treatment has been provided and the authorized doctor tells you there is nothing more he can do, you may be entitled to a monetary award even if you have returned to work full duty (see prior blogs). This benefit is payable if the injury has a permanent impact on your life.

…
Continue Reading

New Jersey workers’ compensation benefits are governed under N.J.S.A. 34:15, et seq. There are three benefits you are entitled to when you get hurt at work in New Jersey: payment of medical bills, payment of temporary disability benefits or wage replacement and payment of an award of permanent disability. I will address each of these in a series of blogs.

This is the second in a series of three blogs. Blog one can be read here: Part 1.

When you are hurt at work and the authorized doctor (see previous blog) indicates that you must be out of work to recover from your injury, you may be entitled to receive a portion of your wages. The law in New Jersey entitles you to 70% of your gross weekly wage. However, if you earn in excess of $1,221.50 per week, you can never receive more than $855.00 per week.

…
Continue Reading

New Jersey workers’ compensation benefits are governed under N.J.S.A. 34:15 et seq. There are three benefits you are entitled to when you get hurt at work in New Jersey: payment of medical bills, payment of temporary disability benefits or wage replacement and payment of an award of permanent disability. I will address each of these…

Generally, petitions filed by injured workers for occupational disease claims are barred if they are not filed within two years of the date the injured worker discovered the nature of the disability and it relationship to employment. This is addressed in the workers’ compensation law under N.J.S.A. 34:15-34.

Unlike an accident, which has a specific date, the precise onset of an occupational disease may be hard to determine. …
Continue Reading

Generally speaking, a person who is assaulted at work to receive workers’ compensation benefits must show that the assault is related to the employment relationship and not from a purely personal relationship. If the assault arises out of a clearly personal dispute, the injured employee may be barred from obtaining workers’ compensation benefits. The injured party may, however, be able to pursue a common law negligence claim against the co-worker who perpetuated the assault.

In a recent case, Lesley Joseph v. Monmouth County, Mr. Joseph appealed a workers’ compensation Judge’s decision to dismiss his claim after he was assaulted by another employee at work. The Judge found that the assault lacked any connection to the workers’ employment, as it arose out of the worker’s involvement with the other employee’s pyramid investment scheme. The injured worker appealed arguing that the fact that the assault happened in the workplace was enough to make it arise “out of and in the course of” employment.

…
Continue Reading

According to the Insurance Journal, the five most common Workers’ Compensation claim injuries include:

• Strains and sprains (30%)
• Cuts or punctures (19%)
• Contusions (12%)
• Inflammation (5%)
• Fractures (5%)”

The Department of Labor also lists strains and sprains as the top workplace injury. Many of these injuries take place while working in traditional blue collar jobs. For example:

• Strains and sprains can occur from overexertion in material handling jobs.
• Eye injuries most often happen while working in construction or manufacturing jobs.
• Object impact and injuries from machinery or tools often arise in warehouses, manufacturing, and construction jobs.

…
Continue Reading