Plaintiff’s Third-Party Observers May Attend Defense Medical Examinations [DME]

A Defense Medical Examination [DME] is an adversarial proceeding. The NJ Supreme Court has ruled that a trial judge should review any objections made by the defense counsel to prohibit the attendance of a neutral third-party observer [TPO]. While the case arises from a personal injury claim, the Court’s ruling will have applicability to matters before the N.J. Division of Workers’ Compensation [NJDWC]. The NJDWC has not yet promulgated any rules concerning TPOs at DMEs.

Cybersecurity is an imminent and costly threat to lawyers and their clients

Cybersecurity is a critical issue in handling the workers’ compensation claims process. Regulatory authorities and clients are mounting an increased concern that the legal profession must employ adequate measures to protect data from cyber attacks. The fragmented century old social insurance system is complex and expensive to operate and is now confronted with security measures that are more time consuming, cumbersome and expense to implement.

The progress of technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) is advancing logarithmically. The participants in the present workers’ compensation system need to be aware of the seriousness of cyber vulnerabilities as well their responsibilities to maintain the confidentiality of client’s interests and protect the legal strategies of the case.

Hot Topics in Workers' Compensation Law Seminar 2016 - Available from NJICLE

This seminar is now available from NJICLE-Click here

Hot Topics in Workers' Compensation Law Seminar

Wed. Sept. 14, 2016  Ÿ Law Center, New Brunswick 5-8:35p

This year’s program will focus on professional and ethical responsibilities concerning disclosure and protection of client confidential information throughout the course of discovery and litigation, with specific emphasis on the pretrial conference.

The seminar +reviews the Professional Code of Responsibility and it’s integration with the Rules and procedures of The Division of Workers' Compensation, and The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). 

Privacy: Court Mandates Protective Order for Workers' Compensation Discovery

Plaintiff in mesothelioma case sought production of defendant's (Union Carbide Corp) employees' workers' compensation claim records. The corporate defendant, Union Carbide Corp) sought to restrict access and limit dissemination of the records of the workers' compensation matters sought through discovery.

Confidentiality is a two sided sword. Historically asbestos litigation had its genesis in workers' compensation claims. In this instance the Corporate Defendant sought the utilization of privacy restrictions as a defense.

The Security of Metadata in Workers' Compensation Claims

Metadata Ethics Opinions Around the U.S.
Source: aba.org

Confidentiality is a crucial element in workers' compensation matters and the removal of metadata in electronically transmitted documents are a critical factor in the process of maintaining the level of security embraced by the system. Metadata is all hidden data in a PDF file, including text, metadata, annotations, form fields, attachments, and bookmarks.

Keeping privacy in focus

Confidentiality has been the hallmark of Workers' Compensation since the inception of the program. Has been challenged federally through the portability act concerning the privacy of medical records. All that reach was bad enough, a data breach from and a governmental site is even worse. It is becoming more than obvious, but the weak financial infrastructure, of the patchwork of worker's Compensation systems for the country are creating serious challenges. Instead of attempting to run 50 different programs throughout the country, it is probably A good idea to start looking inward, and establishing a single solid system that can meet the needs required to run A multibillion-dollar benefit system the rep country and also maintain the confidentiality and privacy that the parties participating in it require. Today's post shared from therepublic.com Hackers gained access to the personal information of about 26,000 Pennsylvanians who use debit cards to receive jobless and workers' compensation benefits, the Pennsylvania Treasury Department said Thursday. The incident was part of a wider security breach affecting 465,000 holders of JPMorgan Chase & Co. prepaid cash cards nationwide. The breach affects only cardholders who used the JPMorgan Chase UCard Center website between mid-July and mid-September, the Treasury Department said. Michael Fusco, a spokesman for JPMorgan, said the bank found no evidence any information was used improperly. JPMorgan first contacted the Pennsylvania Treasury Department on Tuesday, agency spokesman Gary Tuma said. JPMorgan has referred the matter to law enforcement and would not explain details of how the breach occurred, the Treasury Department said. The Pennsylvania agency wants details from JPMorgan Chase about the bank's response to the breach, including an explanation for any delay in notifying it and the additional measures it will undertake to protect against a recurrence. The department said most of the personal information that might have been viewed includes card numbers, dates of birth, user IDs, email addresses. Information on external bank accounts might have been exposed, as well, if a cardholder completed a transaction to it, the department said. Cardholders are being contacted by letter with instructions and are being urged by JPMorgan Chase in the meantime to...

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