"....The ‘but for’ or positional risk doctrine includes as one of its components the nature of the risk that causes the injury. These include:
(1) The risk distinctly associated with the [e]mployment – all the obvious kinds of injury .... machinery breaking,
(2) Neutral risks – uncontrollable [c]ircumstances that do not originate in the [e]mployment but rather happen to befall the [e]mployee during the course of – acts of God[, s]uch as lightening. Such injuries are [c]ompensable.
(3) Risks personal to the employee – the [p]ersonal proclivities or contacts of the [e]mployee which give rise to the harm"
The assault occurred in the break room, while the employee was sleeping and arose out of pyramid money scheme that was known as a “susu.”
"....that the attack in this case arose from personal motivation and was not attributable to a risk of employment or to uncontrollable circumstances. Had petitioner not been a participant in his assistant's susu, the attack would not have occurred. Once he became involved and questioned his assistant about the “invested” money, he was attacked at a location that just happened to be their place of employment.
Joseph v Monmouth County, DOCKET NO. A–4044–13T3, (N.J. App. Div. 2015), 2015 WL 8547502. (This decision was not approved for publication.)
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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
