Award of Temporary Disability Benefits is a Final Judgment and May Be Appealed
Submitted by New Jersey Workers Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark
Katzenstein vd. Dollar General:
This case address several issues which come up again and again in my office in Workers Compensation cases. First Issue: Once there is a Motion for Medical and Temporary disability actually heard by the court, and the court rules against the petitioner for any reason, can the petitioner appeal that decision? Is that an interlocutory appeal which the appellate division of late has frowned upon as not being a “Final Hearing”? This case reiterates the Della Rosa vs. Van-Rad Contracting Co. decision that reiterated the legal theory that a Motion for Med & Temp Order in Workers’ Compensation court is “FINAL” for the purposes of any appeal. See Della Rosa v. Van-Rad Contracting Co., 267 N.J. Super 290, 293- 94 (App. Div. 1993), and Hodgdon v. Project Packaging, Inc., 214 N.J. Super. 352, 360 (App. Div. 1986), that an award of temporary disability benefits is a final judgment and appealable as of right.
