Workers' Compensation: Workplace Injury: No Civil Recourse

A recent decision by the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, highlighted the application of the Workers' Compensation Act's exclusivity bar in a case involving a fatal parking lot accident on employer property. The court in Faisal Jameel v. HMH Hospitals Corporation affirmed the dismissal of a civil lawsuit against the employer, finding that workers' compensation covered the tragic incident and did not meet the high standard for the "intentional wrong" exception.

The case involved an employee of HMH Hospitals Corporation who was fatally struck by a coworker's vehicle in an employee parking lot owned and maintained by HMH. The plaintiff, the administrator for the deceased employee's estate, filed a civil action alleging negligence in the design and operation of the parking lot and that the employer committed an intentional wrong by creating a substantially certain risk of serious injury or death.

The court, however, determined that the facts presented did not satisfy the stringent test for establishing an intentional wrong as defined by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Millison v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.. The Millison exception allows an employee to bypass the workers' compensation bar and sue an employer in civil court only if the employer knew their actions were substantially certain to result in injury or death and the resulting injury and circumstances were plainly beyond what the Legislature intended the Workers' Compensation Act to cover.

In Jameel, the Appellate Division agreed with the trial court that there was no evidence that HMH committed intentional acts that were substantially certain to result in injury or death. While acknowledging that a parking lot lacking certain safety features poses risks, the court found that the decision to forgo additional safety measures in the employee parking lot did not constitute an intentional wrong. The court noted the absence of evidence of deception, a record of prior accidents or employee complaints, or "close-calls" as a result of the lack of safety features, which would support a finding of substantial certainty of a fatal accident. This contrasts with cases like Laidlow v. Hariton Machinery Co., where an employer's deceptive removal of a safety guard on a dangerous machine, despite prior incidents and complaints, was found to meet the intentional wrong standard. The Jameel court emphasized that the dividing line between negligence or recklessness and an intentional wrong must be drawn with caution to avoid circumventing the Workers' Compensation Act.

Furthermore, the court explicitly stated that it did not consider the application of the recent amendment to N.J.S.A. 34:15-36 in reaching its conclusion. This amendment, which took effect after the accident occurred, expanded the definition of "employment" under the Workers' Compensation Act to include injuries sustained while an employee is in an employer-provided or designated parking area, even if the parking area is separate from the place of employment and the employee is traveling directly to or from work. Because the accident in Jameel happened before this statutory change, the court's decision was based on the prior interpretation of the law and the specific facts of the employer's ownership and control of the lot where the injury occurred.

The Jameel decision underscores the narrowness of the intentional wrong exception in New Jersey and the significant hurdle employees face in pursuing civil litigation against employers for workplace injuries covered by workers' compensation.

Faisal Jameel v. HMH Hospitals Corporation, DOCKET NO. A-1225-23, (NJ App Div 2025)

UNPUBLISHED OPINION. CHECK COURT RULES BEFORE CITING.

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

This opinion shall not “constitute precedent or be binding upon any court.” Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Additional Resources:

NJ Supreme Court Limits Employer Insurance Coverage for Worker Injuries 12/24/2024

Recommended Citation: Gelman, Jon, Workplace Injury: No Civil Recourse, www.gelmans.com (04/29/2025) https://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/2025/04/workplace-injury-no-civil-recourse.html

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ORDER NOW

*Jon L. Gelman of Wayne, NJ, is the author of NJ Workers' Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise Modern Workers' Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). For over five decades, the Law Offices of Jon Gelman 1.973.696.7900
jon@gelmans.com has represented injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational illnesses and diseases.