Link between repetitive stress injury and your job
If you are afflicted with a repetitive stress injury (RSI), or a wear and tear injury, it may have been caused by your job. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), there are more than 100 various kinds of injuries (RSIs) that can take place at work. Actually, most work-related injuries are RSIs, […]
Workers’ compensation benefits for contracting the flu at work
Last year saw an epidemic of the flu. The flu was so severe, that it impacted the occupational health arena, and produced challenges that were unanticipated by those who drafted the workers’ compensation acts in New Jersey. The flu epidemic, forced offices and schools to close or reduce operations, and illness and deaths in the […]
Studies show that standing desks are not beneficial to workers’ health
A recent study indicates that the use of standing workstations and treadmills by employers to aid in the prevention of repetitive motion claims, is nothing more than an ineffective trend. Such workstations are said to be ergonomically safer for the health of employees. They have been praised as a way in which to improve posture […]
Study shows long-term opioid prescription may increase recovery time of lower back injuries
According to a recent study conducted by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI), prescribing opioids for a longer period of time can significantly increase the length of temporary disability among workers who suffer work-related lower back injuries. Temporary disability is the time that workers spend outside of work recuperating from the injuries they sustained at […]
Employees v. independent contractors and their rights to workers’ compensation
Climbing trees to clear utility lines or trim dead limbs can be dangerous. A man fell 30 feet out of a tree while trimming trees in Mahwah, New Jersey. To obtain compensation in New Jersey, employees need to be categorized as either an employee or an independent contractor. The Mahwah tree cutter worked for a […]
Judge orders public employer to pay for injured worker’s marijuana
A workers’ compensation judge in New Jersey ordered Freehold Township to reimburse a public employee for his marijuana. While this was the first time a workers’ compensation judge in New Jersey ordered a public employer to reimburse an injured worker for medical marijuana, a New Jersey workers’ compensation judge previously ordered a private employer to […]
Court rules employee gets compensation after accident during commute leaves him injured
An employee’s drive to work can be considered compensable, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey ruled in a unique, unreported case. During a snowstorm, Friends Village at Woodstown kitchen worker Antoine Minter alerted his supervisor, the executive chef, that he would not be able to make his shift because Minter’s regular […]
Pennsylvania governor vetoes workers’ compensation bill
Democratic Governor Tom Wolf vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would have restricted the types of prescription drugs injured workers receive. Senate Bill 936 called for a list of pre-approved drugs that could be prescribed under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation program. Supporters included insurance companies and business groups that said the bill could curb opioid abuse and […]
New Jersey workers’ compensation statute applies to employees and employers
Lawyers for workers’ compensation carriers frequently make fraud arguments, and in some instances, succeed in terminating workers’ benefits. However, injured workers do not generally file claims alleging fraud against employers and/or their insurance companies, who habitually and incorrectly deny benefits to injured employees. The New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Fraud Statute is applicable to employees and […]
Temporary disability benefits in New Jersey
Workers’ compensation benefits in New Jersey are controlled by N.J.S.A. 34:15, et seq. If you become injured in the workplace in New Jersey, among the benefits to which you are entitled are temporary disability benefits. If you suffer an injury in the workplace, and the doctor who is authorized to treat you, states that you […]