In many ways, a New Jersey workers compensation claim looks and feels just like a personal injury claim. In other ways they are completely different. In fact, the workers compensation system exists, in part, to protect employers from the kinds of liability that are invoked in a personal injury suit. Employers admit no fault, but take responsibility for the fact that employees do get hurt on the job. Here are some of the other key differences. Difference #1 – No Pain & Suffering Personal injury suits come with pain and suffering damages. In New Jersey, these damages are not capped and can be any amount based solely on the extent to which the victim’s life has changed as a result of the injuries.  As you can imagine these pain and suffering awards can get quite large, and so workers compensation law was written to allow employers to avoid them in

On its surface, workers compensation is a reasonably straightforward system. If you get hurt on the job, insurance exists to make sure your medical bills get paid. If you can’t work while you’re hurt, that same insurance pays you to stay home and recover. Sometimes, the system works as its meant to work. This is especially true when injuries are minor or the disability is temporary. It’s not worth your employer’s time to fight these claims in most cases, more is it worth the insurance company’s time. The accommodations you’ll need tend to be cheap and minor in these cases, and everyone is willing to play along as a result. When injuries are more extensive and expensive, the equation changes. Let’s assume you’ve done everything right during this process. You reported the injury to your employer, went straight to the correct doctor, filed your claim, and have followed your physician’s

On September 14th Governor Phil Murphy signed S2380 into law. This means that every essential worker who has to go into a physical location to do their job now benefits from a rebuttable presumption of worker’s compensation coverage for Covid-19 cases. The law took effect on the day of signing, and is offering retroactive coverage to March 9, 2020. This means if you got sick while on the job after that date you can now begin your worker’s compensation claim.  Note that the law does outline exactly who qualifies as an “essential employee.” The rebuttable presumption does not apply to everyone who might step into an office and get sick.  According to S380 an essential worker is: A public safety worker or first responder, including fire, police, or other emergency responders. Provides medical or health care services, including emergency transportation and social services. Performs services which involve physical proximity to

No. In most cases neither the state of New Jersey nor the IRS will tax your workers compensation benefits. They are not considered gross income under either state or federal law. There is a Social Security and Supplemental Security Offset that has to be considered if you receive either form of government aid in addition to your workers compensation. In some cases you may have to pay tax on those benefits in those cases. The specific amount will depend on whether you’re receiving permanent or partial benefits. In fact, if you’re receiving temporary benefits then the amount you’re paid is equal to the amount you would have typically received after taxes.  Do I still have to file a tax return? Yes, you will want to file a tax return. This will not create a situation where benefits that aren’t taxable become taxable. It merely reports your individual situation to the

Every business that has employees, even one, must take out a workers compensation policy. If you’re a small business owner like a sole proprietor, partner, or LLC member then you would generally add yourself to the policy at that time. You don’t have to, of course. It’s an optional thing, and it’s not done automatically. Yet you probably should.  After all, you’re just as likely to get hurt on the job as your employees are. In some cases, you may even be a “key” employee, as in your business cannot easily survive without you. While workers compensation won’t help with that (that’s what key employee insurance is for) your duties do help to demonstrate that as a small business owners you may well be taking actions, every single day, that could mean you get hurt. Even office workers and telecommuters can get hurt on the job, after all. When you

Many people in New Jersey work multiple jobs, or work part time in the gig economy while working full-time at more traditional pursuits. Yet many don’t know that having multiple jobs can complicate workers compensation. The first thing you have to know is that if you get injured on the job you only get workers compensation for the job you were injured at. This means if you get injured on your part-time job you’ll only get replacement wages for the part-time job, while being forced to quit work at your full-time job.  Life can get even more complicated if your problem is a repetitive stress injury. In that case you might have sustained the injury on both jobs but would have to prove it, with each employer trying to shift the responsibility to the other employer. Your full-time job will also be under no obligation to hold your job or

One reason some workers are reluctant to claim workers compensation benefits is they feel as though the accident was their fault. Sometimes anyone can have an off day and work a little clumsily, forget a vital safety precaution, or otherwise create a condition which can lead to an accident or an injury. Fortunately, New Jersey’s workers compensation system is a no-fault system. For the most part, the only condition you will have to meet to be eligible for benefits is to be injured at work and to report that injury. What Disqualifies You From Workers Comp? The first thing that can disqualify you is willful misconduct. That is you were horsing around, abusing alcohol or drugs, or were willfully ignoring or violating company policies. A self-inflicted injury also won’t be covered by workers compensation, i.e., slitting your wrists while you’re in the workplace bathroom. You can also lose your workers