NJ Supreme Court to Review Workplace Insurance Exclusion

The NJ Supreme Court will review whether a workers’ compensation insurance company has a duty to defend an employer against personal injury claims brought by the employer’s employee under an employer's liability insurance policy.

Intentional Tort v Negligence

A New Jersey appellate court found that an employee could not proceed with an intentional tort claim against an employer because the evidence needed to meet the two-prong standard was lacking.

No Duty to Defend Intentional Tort Claim

In a per curiam opinion, the NJ Appellate Division affirmed that a workers’ compensation insurance company is not required to defend an intentional tort claim following a Section 20 resolution.

Trench Injury Not an Intentional Wrong

A Federal Court held that injuries sustained while cleaning a trench conveyor trim removal system at a paper manufacturing facility did not meet the threshold test for an intentional tort.

Not A Violation of Public Policy

In rejecting an employee’s attempt to go forward with a lawsuit directly against an employer, the NJ Appellate Division ruled, in an unreported case*, that an employee, in a novel argument,  may assert the “violation of public policy” as an allegation.

OSHA Cites Main Line Contractor Corp. of Newark NJ for 21 Violations and $333,052 in Penalties

A series of inspections by the U.S. Department of Labor has found a Newark-based construction contractor defying federal safety regulations by exposing employees to more than 20 violations, including potentially deadly falls, at six southern and central New Jersey work sites in early 2023.

United Hospital Supply Corp. faces $498K in penalties after amputation incident

An employee's first day of work at a southern New Jersey manufacturing facility ended tragically when he suffered the amputation of three fingers while operating a press brake without required safety guards, similar to violations cited by federal safety investigators at the facility in 2010 and 2015.

Federal Joint Study on Workplace Violence Released

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released Indicators of Workplace Violence, 2019, which provides findings on fatal and nonfatal crimes that occurred in the workplace or away from work but over work-related issues. Findings are presented for 13 indicators of workplace violence, using data from five federal data collections.

Dual Employment Status Bars Double Recovery

An employee may have dual employers but ultimately can only receive a single recovery from only one employer for work-related injuries. The “exclusivity doctrine,” permitting a complete recovery of damages against an employer, limits an injured worker’s benefit recovery to the compensation system, barring an intentional tort.

Injury Caused by Defeated Machine Guard Results in OSHA Fine of $159,522

An employee working at Crystal Finishing Systems Inc.’s aluminum extrusion facility in Weston was hospitalized with serious injuries after being struck by a puller machine while trying to unjam a piece of aluminum.

The Risk of Working in a Factory

A Federal Court in NJ has dismissed a civil action for intentional tort brought by an injured worker against the employer. 

Amazon Settles with California Over Concealment of COVID Data From Warehouse Workers COVID-19

Historically workers have been denied adequate occupational exposure information, which has led to epidemics of disease/death and lawsuit, including workers' compensation claims. Exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus) virus has been no exception.

The Exclusivity Rule Is Not A Bar to a Discrimination Action

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that an employer could be liable under both the Law Against Discrimination Act [LAD] and the Worker's Compensation Act (WCA). Court reasoned that the dual remedies can work in harmony as they are both statutory claims. The Court noted that the common law remedies of the LADs are not prohibited by the WCA since they are statutory in nature. By allowing both claims to go forward, a worker is not limited to the statutory caps for recovery under the Worker's Compensation Act.

NJ Supreme Holds Employers Responsible for Workers' Compensation Medical Marijuana Costs

The NJ Supreme has recognized that the workers’ compensation system has a legislative mandate to provide the safest medical care to cure and relieve occupational injuries. The Court acknowledged both state and Federal trends to provide non-addictive and non-fatal pain relief in place of the dangerous opioids. 

 

The intent that embraced the creation and development of the social insurance system has given the Court a rational and logical basis, consistent with public policy, to order medical marijuana for palliative care.

Over 46% of High-risk Adults Are Endangered by Workplace Exposures to SARA-CoV2

A recent study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) this week finds that workplace-exposures to SARS-CoV2 endanger, not only the workers but also imperil the lives of their household contacts. 

Intentional Tort Claim Barred by the Exclusivity Rule

The New Jersey Workers Compensation Act (WCA), N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 to -146, generally prohibits employees from suing their employers for injuries sustained in workplace accidents. In a recent case the Court probed the boundaries of the "intentional wrong" exception to that general rule.

Lessons from Asbestos Litigation Apply to COVID Claims

The rapid emergence of COVID-19 creates new challenges for the nation’s patchwork of state run workplace benefit delivery systems. This paper draws a comparison between COVID claims and asbestos claims, the “Largest and Longest” wave of occupational disease claims in the United States. The comparison offers insight into avoiding past economic, administrative and benefit delivery pitfalls. The lessons from asbestos claims provide an insight into maintaining a sustainable workers’ compensation system to meet the surge of COVID claims.

Better Chemistry Through Regulation

The newly released movie, Dark Waters, provides a dramatic insight into the corporate disregard to human safety and life. The film, to be nationally released this weekend, puts into focus the chemical industry's utter disregard for human life that is compounded by the lack of governmental regulation of an out-of-control business.

When active shooter drills lead to workplace injuries

Today's guest author is Jon Rehm, Esquire of the Nebraska Bar.

The United States has one of the highest rates of gun violence in the developed world. Unfortunately the workplace is no sanctuary from this violence.

Horseplay Is Not an Intentional Tort

Pranks at work may be considered “arising out of the course of employment” and compensable events. Those same injuries are not considered intentional events and would not give rise to cause a civil action against an employer for damages for pain and suffering.