NJAccident.com

09/16/2021

On Tuesday 9/14/2021, a tractor-trailer rear-ended a vehicle on Westbound Route 280 Westbound in East Orange. The roadway was closed for a fatal accident investigation causing a traffic backup on the roadway extending through the towns of Newark, Harrison, Kearny, and the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 15W.

Nicole A. Greco, 51 years old, died as a result of the crash. Greco's vehicle sustained substantial damage. The Accident Investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed as of this post. Three other vehicles were involved in the accident.

https://abc7ny.com/tractor-trailer-crash-newark-car-route-280/11020551/?fbclid=IwAR09TImJrhhrL7QUjmE1P13hP5cj7jAfewFoCXeHKzoLfDYs3cvYXND7UlQ

04/02/2021

FDA slams “Real Water" water which is linked to liver failure. If you have this water, it has been recalled, do not drink it.

A lawyer for the water company said it can't find its plant manager or lead technician.

08/08/2020

As the Covid 19 Coronavirus spread in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy deemed in Executive Orders certain individuals as essential workers. Those essential workers went beyond public safety workers and included individuals who worked in grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, gas stations, delivery personnel, and financial institutions including banks. As previously pointed out in an article on NJAccident.com, the definition of public safety workers did not include grocery store workers, pharmacy workers, restaurant workers, gas station workers, delivery personnel, and financial institutions or bank workers. These workers although deemed “essential workers” were contained within the definition of “Public safety workers”. The Legislature after several months of negotiations and opposition from insurance carriers recently passed an amendment extending protections currently provided to Public Safety Workers to essential workers. The Governor has not signed the law as of August 8, 2020. Read more click link.

https://njaccident.com/2020/08/protection-for-essential-workers-awaits-governor-murphys-signature/

07/03/2020

Should I tell my Bankruptcy Attorney About My Workers Compensation Case?

A Bankruptcy applicant must reveal all assets some of which are exempt from bankruptcy but must be stated on the Bankruptcy application as part of the Bankruptcy application. The Bankruptcy Trustee will review the application and question the applicant to ensure that full candor and truthfulness is reflected in the Bankruptcy Petition paperwork. A pending Workers Compensation matter is important to list on the Bankruptcy application ... Read More By Clicking picture below.

When someone suffers a work accident, their income may be significantly reduced. New Jersey Workers Compensation insurance provides three fundamental benefits, medical treatment, temporary disability

05/30/2020

Essential Workers deserve our thanks and praise. This video provides information on the Three Basic Rights of New Jersey Workers Compensation Benefits if an essential worker acquires Covid 19 corona virus in the course of their work.

05/23/2020

9/11 Hardships Spurred Thomas P. Canzanella Act

The New Jersey Legislature in the passage of the Thomas P. Canzanella First Responder Protection Act last year drew on the experiences of residents of New Jersey in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Many public safety workers went to Ground Zero to assist in rescue and recovery efforts. Many of these workers were denied Workers Compensation benefits and forced to litigate their claims that their cancers and respiratory diseases were caused by their exposure to fumes and dust in the course of their work. By establishing a presumption of compensability, the Governor and Legislature recognized the importance of public service workers in getting on a timely basis the basic benefits provided under the New Jersey Workers Compensation law. The Legislature in drafting the law could not have imagined the current Covid 19 corona virus pandemic would require more than Public Safety Workers as defined by the statute. The two identical bills seek to extend the benefits to Essential Workers who have ensured that there is access to food and essential goods so that residents can Stay At Home as much as possible.

https://njaccident.com/2020/05/nj-legislature-set-to-extend-covid-19-protections-to-all-essential-workers/

05/15/2020

Not all Essential Workers Are Covered Under NJ Workers Compensation Law currently.

05/12/2020

Why A Presumption of Compensability In Covid-19 Coronavirus Is Necessary for Essential Workers.

Governor Phil Murphy deemed in Executive Orders certain individuals as essential workers. Those essential workers went beyond public safety workers and included individuals who work in grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, gas stations, delivery personnel and financial institutions including banks. Last year, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Thomas Canzanella 21st Century First Responders Act (hereinafter First Responders Act) which provides public safety workers, as defined by the statute, a presumption that if the worker contracts a serious communicable disease or related illness, like COVID 19 Coronovirus, that it is deemed by law to be related to their job. This is a crucial designation that opens up the right to obtain Workers Compensation benefits which include temporary disability benefits, payment of medical bills, and a monetary award based on a percentage of permanency due to the virus.

As currently defined, public safety workers do not include grocery store workers, pharmacy workers, restaurant workers, gas station workers, delivery personnel, and financial institutions or bank workers. These workers although deemed “essential workers” are not currently contained within the definition of “Public safety workers” in the First Responders Act.

What does this mean for Essential Workers?

The current New Jersey version of the First Responders Act does not provide the presumption to all essential workers. The current version provides the presumption that its related to their job if you are a police or fire department worker, correction facility officer or employee, EMT, nurse, or advanced medical technicians.

All other “essential workers” could potentially be entitled to benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation law but without the presumption, in place, the worker would have to establish a connection between the employment and the illness. It is not an insurmountable burden but workers compensation insurance carriers are more likely to deny the claim on the onset and make the essential service worker prove that their illness “arose out of or in the course of their employment.” Since the Coronavirus COVID 19 can infect a person outside of work and can be acquired from an asymptomatic person, the advantage goes to the workers' compensation carrier defending a claim who can point to such medical evidence and even if there are other co-workers infected with COVID 19 Coronavirus, a denial can be justified as not being in bad faith.

Read more by following this link: https://njaccident.com/2020/05/why-a-presumption-of-compensability-in-covid-19-coronavirus-is-necessary-for-essential-workers/

05/11/2020

Why A Presumption of Compensability In Covid-19 Coronavirus Is Necessary for Essential Workers.

Governor Phil Murphy deemed in Executive Orders certain individuals as essential workers. Those essential workers went beyond public safety workers and included individuals who work in grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, gas stations, and financial institutions including banks. Last year, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Thomas Canzanella 21st Century First Responders Act (hereinafter First Responders Act) which provides public safety workers, as defined by the statute, a presumption that if the worker contracts a serious communicable disease or related illness, like COVID 19 Coronovirus, that it is deemed by law to be related to their job. This is a crucial designation that opens up the right to obtain Workers Compensation benefits which include temporary disability benefits, payment of medical bills, and a monetary award based on a percentage of permanency due to the virus.

As currently defined, public safety workers do not include grocery store workers, pharmacy workers, restaurant workers, gas station workers, delivery personnel, and financial institutions or bank workers. These workers although deemed “essential workers” are not currently contained within the definition of “Public safety workers” in the First Responders Act.

What does this mean for Essential Workers?

The current New Jersey version of the First Responders Act does not provide the presumption to all essential workers. The current version provides the presumption that its related to their job if you are a police or fire department worker, correction facility officer or employee, EMT, nurse, or advanced medical technicians.

All other “essential workers” could potentially be entitled to benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation law but without the presumption, in place, the worker would have to establish a connection between the employment and the illness. It is not an insurmountable burden but workers compensation insurance carriers are more likely to deny the claim on the onset and make the essential service worker prove that their illness “arose out of or in the course of their employment.” Since the Coronavirus COVID 19 can infect a person outside of work and can be acquired from an asymptomatic person, the advantage goes to the workers' compensation carrier defending a claim who can point to such medical evidence and even if there are other co-workers infected with COVID 19 Coronavirus, a denial can be justified as not being in bad faith.

Occupational Injury Cases A Possible Avenue to Benefits

New Jersey Workers Compensation law does provide for “occupational injury” cases. In other words, an illness acquired due to exposure to substances that are known to cause illness when an employee has worked with those substances for some time. A common occupational injury when asbestos was widely in use was mesothelioma. Asbestos occupational claims have decreased as the use of asbestos use decreased. Other airborne illnesses can be related to exposure at work but those illnesses can be attributed to specific chemicals, compounds, or dust that are prevalently found at the worksite and not outside of work. The argument to be made is even if you acquired COVID 19 Coronavirus is that it was not acquired during employment but outside the work environment. Although COVID 19 Coronavirus is more contagious and deadly than the annual flu, the argument will be made that an employer is not responsible for consequences of a Flu so why should it be responsible for the consequences of COVID 19 Coronavirus.

Insurance Company Denials Will Make Life More Difficult.

There are cases that Workers Compensation Judges have found that diseases that can be acquired outside of work, are nevertheless found to be work-related. Lyme disease is caused by a tick bite. A tick bite can occur while hiking through the woods or a recreational path and in some neighborhoods by ticks transported by deer into residential areas. So when a groundskeeper at a country club was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, the insurance carrier rejected the claim.

Read more by clicking the link below:

Why A Presumption of Compensability In Covid-19 Coronavirus Is Necessary for Essential Workers. by NJLawyer | May 11, 2020 New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy deemed in Executive Orders certain individuals as essential workers. Those essential workers went beyond public safety workers and included indiv...

05/04/2020

New Jersey Law Provides Public Safety Workers with Workers Compensation Benefits for Coronavirus Covid 19 But Needs Expansion

On July 8, 2019, before the Covid 19 Cornonvirus pandemic hit the State of New Jersey hard, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Thomas Canzanella 21st Century First Responders Act. The legislation provides Workers Compensation benefits to public safety workers which have been broadly defined. The Legislation, however, did not envision at the time it was passed that an epidemic would require not only the assistance of public safety workers but frontline grocery and delivery workers. The New Jersey Legislature is considering legislation to expand worker compensation coverage to those frontline workers as well.

The Thomas Canzanella First Responders Law broadly defines a public safety worker to include fire department personnel, police officers, community emergency response team members that was approved by the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management or a correctional facility, a basic or advanced medical technician of a first aid or rescue squad, or any other nurse, basic or advanced medical technician responding to a catastrophic incident and directly involved and in contact with the public during such an incident.

So firefighters, police officers, EMTs, Ambulance personnel, First Aid personnel, Rescue Squad personnel, nurses, medical technicians who are directly involved, and in contact with patients are entitled to New Jersey Workers Compensation Benefits.

Workers Compensation Benefits in New Jersey include related medical bills paid in full (no deductible), temporary disability benefits (70% of gross salary up to a maximum weekly benefit), and a permanency award after treatment is completed. In addition, there are Dependency Benefits payable to spouses and children if the public safety worker death is caused by the Covid 19 Coronavirus.

Read more by clicking article below.

New Jersey Law Provides Public Safety Workers with Workers Compensation Benefits for Coronavirus Covid 19 But Needs Expansion. On July 8, 2019, before the Covid 19 Cornonvirus pandemic hit the State o

04/08/2020

Rutgers University Coronavirus Test Could be a game changer for efficient and rapid testing.

Researchers call it a game-changer in the fight against COVID-19.