Insurance Company Liable in Tort for Delay of Medical Treatment

A US District Court Judge held that a valid cause of action existed directly against an insurance company for the delay treatment to an injured worker. The court, in denying a motion for summary judgment, held that when an insurer negligently ignored the advice of its own medical expert concerning medical treatment, a claim against the insurer itself was not barred by the Exclusivity Doctrine.


Davis v One Beacon, et al., 2010 WL 2629053 (D.N.J.) Civil Action No. 09-cv-4179 (NLH)(KMW) Decided June 28, 2010.


Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon  Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.

World Trade Center Registration Deadline September 13, 2010

The deadline to register with the NY State Workers' Compensation Board is September 13, 2010 if you participated in the rescue, recovery and clean-up of the World Trade Center following the attack of September 11, 2010. The work duty covers Ground Zero, Fresh Kills Landfill, the barges, the piers and the morgues.


Registration form WTC-12.


Click here to read more about World Trade Center Claims.

Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon  Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.

Outsourcing is the New Carve Out for Government

The economic consequences of the Depression of 2007 is causing a huge drop in governmental employment and a rebound of that job market is not anticipated in the foreseeable future. In order to save payroll costs, including the expense of workers’ compensation benefits, governmental entities are looking to privatization to avoid expenses. A pattern of furloughing staff, laying off employees and eventually outsourcing work, is the present trend.  This pattern mirrors the original workers’ compensation carve out provisions utilized to lower costs originated by Bechtel and other large employers.

Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon  Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.

Workers Compensation Takes a Bigger Bite Out of the Big Apple

The Workers' Compensation costs for the City of New York are trending upward while the number of cases are declining. In its latest yearly report on Workers Compensation costs it was revealed that in 2009 $12.9 Million were paid out to injured workers in 14,430 cases. Uniformed employees, ie. fire and police, are not covered under the workers' compensation.


Click here to read more about workers' compensation and claims for benefits. For over 3 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 asbestos related illnesses.

Lung Cancer Risk High Despite Absence of Asbestosis Diagnosis

Asbestos workers continue to have a higher risk for lung cancer even if asbestos findings are not present on x-ray. A recent report in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine concludes, "Workers from an Ontario asbestos-cement factory who did not have radiographic asbestosis at 20 or 25 years from first exposure to asbestos continued to have an increased risk of death from lung cancer during an additional 12 years of follow-up." 


Click here to read more about workers' compensation and claims for benefits. For over 3 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 asbestos related illnesses.

Getting the Right Count on Injured Workers--Self-Reporting

The massive underreporting of occupational injuries and illness has been a major focus of concern in the evaluation of the true efficiency of the present patch work of State workers' compensation programs. A recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlights the feasibility of complementing existing occupational injury surveillance through the use of population-based surveys.


The report concludes that, "....additional research is needed to understand the reasons for nonpayment of worker-reported occupational injuries by workers' compensation insurance programs."  The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a non-employer based data reporting system.


Click here to read the report.


Click here to read more about workers' compensation and claims for benefits. For over 3 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 asbestos related illnesses.

New Jersey Task Force Recommends Privatization of Workers Compensation

A NJ Task Force has recommended to Governor Chris Christie that workers' compensation should be privatized in the State. The Task Force looked to the West Virginia system in making its recommendation.


"West Virginia Governor Joseph Manchin signed a law in 2005 fully privatizing the state's Workers' Compensation Commission, transforming it into a private insurance carrier, BrickStreet Insurance. Since the completion of the process in 2008, workers' compensation rates have declined an average of 30 percent statewide, translating to more than $150 million in annual employer savings. BrickStreet—formerly the state monopoly—is now competing for business in other states."

The State of New Jersey, like other major industrial states, is suffering from major economic deficits that have resulted n curtailed state services including the furlough of Workers' Compensation staffs and closing of offices. The state's financial woes are mirrored in the local municipalities and it is anticipated that those governmental entities will also follow the State's lead to jettison the administration of workers' compensation programs. In california some localities have gone even further and privatized their staffs to lower costs.

Click here to read the complete report.

Click here to read more about workers' compensation and claims for benefits. For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered asbestos related illnesses.