ADVERSE REACTIONS TO COVID 19 VACCINE MAY BE COMPENSABLE UNDER NEW JERSEY WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW

December 29, 2020

December 28, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark COVID-19 vaccines are being administered across the nation.  Little is known about the full effects of the vaccines, and as time progresses, we will begin to know more about the effectiveness and possible side effects and adverse reactions.  A big question for Workers’…

NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR MURPHY SIGNS NEW WORKERS COMPENSATION LAW AFFECTING HAND AND FOOT INJURIES

November 14, 2020

Submitted by New Jersey Workers Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. Signed October 30, 2020 Changes were made this year as to New Jersey’s Workers’ Compensation recovery for hand, foot and fingers injuries.  Governor Phil Murphy recently signed legislation amending L 2019, c. 387 to clarify which cases the law would apply to. As far as the…

Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS) Board and Accidental Disability

June 25, 2020

Slater v. Bd. of Tr., Police & Firemen’s Ret. Sys.: Submitted by New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark.          Petitioner appealed the final agency decision by the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS) Board denying her request for accidental disability benefits and instead awarding her ordinary disability benefits. The key issue in dispute is…

Notice to Bar – Workers’ Comp. Courts Closed to Public until June 29, 2020 (COVID-19)

June 6, 2020

All N.J. Workers’ Compensation Courts shall continue to be closed to the public and to non-essential court personnel until Monday, June 29, 2020.  Judges of Compensation shall continue to hear as many workers’ compensation matters as possible by telephonic and video conferencing, including emergent and non-emergent matters, such as, trials, pre-trial conferences, motions for medical…

New Jersey Workers’ Comp Courts Set for Limited Reopening April 6th

March 31, 2020

Submitted by New Jersey Workers Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. The New Jersey Workers’ Compensation court calendars were suspended March 17, 2020 through April 3, 2020.   On Monday, March 30, 2020, the Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, Hon. Russell Wojtenko, Jr. advised in a Notice to the Bar that a limited reopening will occur on Monday,…

Liranzo v. Morales Auto Repair

February 19, 2020

Submitted by New Jersey Worker’s Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. This case, Liranzo v. Morales Auto Repair, was brought to the Superior Court of N.J. from the N.J. Department of Labor & Workforce Development, Division of Workers’ Compensation. The appeal challenges a judge’s compensation’s award to an employee of Morales Auto Repair (“MAR’S”). The previous judge’s…

Curative or Palliative” Care — The Statute require the court compel on treatment that will ‘probably relieve petitioner’s symptoms and improve ability to function.

December 15, 2019

Martin v. Newark Pub. Sch., N.J. Super. App. Div. Decided December 12, 2019 (Approved for Publication) Submitted by New Jersey Workers Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. Procedural History: Petitioner Samuel Martin, III appeals from an August 13, 2018 order of the Workers’ Compensation Court denying his application for medical and temporary disability benefits (Also know as Motions…

Who to believe? The treating doctor or a doctor who performs a 1 time examination?

December 15, 2019

Martin v. Newark Pub. Sch., N.J. Super. App. Div. Decided December 12, 2019 (Approved for Publication) Submitted by New Jersey Workers Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. This is an interesting case and an interesting argument by the petitioner’s attorney.  Here, the petitioner filed a motion in workers compensation court to have the court order the employer’s physician…

How a workers compensation judge exercises his discretion and rules in favor of one party over another?

December 15, 2019

Martin v. Newark Pub. Sch., N.J. Super. App. Div. Decided December 12, 2019 (Approved for Publication) Submitted by New Jersey Workers Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. This is an interesting case and an interesting argument presented by the petitioner’s attorney. There are several different legal issues at play here which I will address in several different blogs.…

How to get out from under the Workers Compensation Bar from suing your employer…. The intentional Tort exception

December 4, 2019

Submitted by New Jersey Workers Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. Issue: The “intentional wrong” exception to the Act’s exclusivity bar of civil claims is a purposefully narrow exception that imposes a heavy burden of proof. Millison, 101 N.J. at 177. Nothing in the record suggests the motion court erred in finding plaintiffs failed to sustain that…