Need Help With Your Workers Compensation Case?

How to Prove Your Injury Really Happened at Work

By Albert Talone | December 8, 2021 | 0 Comments

Your New Jersey workers compensation benefits depend on the fact that you were injured on the job, while working your job. If you can’t prove otherwise, you could be personally liable for your injuries, and, if you don’t have disability insurance, may be left with no way to pay your wages in the event of an accident or illness. Here are the steps you’ll need to take to help reduce the likelihood of a workers compensation claim dispute.  Proving Injuries The first step happens while you’re still at work. Even if you’re working from home, calling your supervisor always needs to be the very next thing you do. You should also contact HR and make sure they get the incident report directly, often via email. The next step is very like the steps you’d take a car accident. You need to take pictures of the accident site, of your injury,

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How Do Scars and Disfigurement Impact a New Jersey Workers Comp Claim?

By Albert Talone | November 20, 2021 | 0 Comments

Some work-related injuries are truly terrible, and leave physical scars that will never heal. New Jersey workers compensation law recognizes this fact. Disfiguring scars can play into a determination of whether a worker has become permanently disabled as a result of their accident. This is true in cases where the scars are permanent, unsightly, or limiting.  The location of the scars can also matter a great deal: scars on the hands, neck, face, or head are treated with more severity than a scar on the shoulder or abdominal area.  No provisions are made for whether the scars cause emotional distress.  What makes scars a special case is that if you can show that your scars meet the “permanent, unsightly, or limiting” criteria then you don’t have to prove any other restriction of bodily function to be awarded permanent disability.  Permanent partial disability benefits are equal to 70% of your average

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Are Employers Required to Give Employees Hiring Preference After an NJ Workers Compensation Case?

By Albert Talone | November 7, 2021 | 0 Comments

Earlier this fall Governor Phil Murphy signed Bill A-2617/S-2998 into law. This short, one page bill is an amendment to existing workers compensation law. It says, essentially, that employers with 50 or more employees must give “hiring preference” to employees when: Those employees have reached maximum medical improvement. They are unable to work but unable to return to their old positions, even on light duty. The employer has an unfilled position or existing position with a vacancy that the employee can, physically, perform. While the bill sounds good on paper it has several key weaknesses. First and foremost, “hiring preference” isn’t defined at all. As JD Supra reports: “First, such a preference could mean that if all things are equal among candidates, it serves as a tiebreaker. It could also mean that it trumps the higher or better qualifications of other candidates, so if the minimum qualifications are met, the

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How is Vacation Pay Resolved in an NJ Workers Compensation Case?

By Albert Talone | October 15, 2021 | 0 Comments

Vacation, PTO, and sick pay are part of your overall compensation package. Often in a workers compensation case these benefits get used while you’re waiting for your benefits to start. This would be paid at your regular pay rate. In addition, sick pay, vacation pay, and PTO pay are not counted against your 26 weeks of allowable workers compensation benefits. The disability can’t be moved just because you took vacation or sick pay. Employers may also require you to use up to two weeks of PTO prior to receiving workers compensation benefits. If you use these benefits and are later awarded workers compensation benefits you can have the PTO refunded to you. When that happens they will take a credit on the pay you received. You should consult your attorney before you do this as it can have an impact on the amount of workers compensation benefits you may receive.

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What Are Your Rights When You Return to Work After an NJ WC Claim?

By Albert Talone | September 14, 2021 | 0 Comments

Returning back to work after an injury can be a nerve wracking experience. You know that your employer’s interests and your interests may not be aligned. Yet if you don’t return to work when you are cleared to do so you jeopardize your job, your workers compensation benefits, and any unemployment benefits you could receive if, for whatever reason, your job disappears through no fault of your own. Here’s what you need to know. You have the right to have your restrictions respected. Talk to your doctor about what your old job entailed so that he can make the most useful list of restrictions possible. We recommend getting a written acknowledgement from your employer to indicate that they understand these restrictions and are able to work with them.  Make sure you get them in writing. Carry copies of the restrictions with you. Don’t be afraid to hand them to your

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Taxes and Your Workers Compensation Settlement

By Albert Talone | September 2, 2021 | 0 Comments

For the most part, workers compensation benefits are not taxed either by New Jersey or by the IRS. Even the amounts meant to replace income are not counted as taxable income.  Here’s what you need to know. Do you still report workers compensation on your tax returns? No. Unless you meet one of the taxable exceptions listed below, you do not even have to report your workers compensation payouts.  It’s always a good idea to speak to an accountant before making assumptions, but you’re not even going to receive a tax form that tells you these benefits have been reported to the IRS.  Are there taxable exceptions? There are a few taxable exceptions.  For example, some of our clients have ended up with workers compensation claims that were, at first, denied. So they paid their own medical expenses, claimed those on their tax return, and then later got reimbursed. They

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What to Do If You’re in a Car Accident While on the Job

By Albert Talone | August 14, 2021 | 0 Comments

Getting into a car accident is always stressful, whether you’re driving a company vehicle or not. It’s easy to do things which could come back to bite you later. Yet if you keep your cool, you should be protected and covered regardless of whether or not you were at-fault for the accident. You were on the job, which means you’re covered by workers compensation law. Avoid Admitting Fault You aren’t personally liable when you’re in a car accident on the job. Your employer is liable. New Jersey is also a no-fault state for car accidents, which means each party’s liability insurance company pays the other.  Nevertheless, employers have a way of making things interesting. For example, if you’re a trucker you might want to be prepared for your employer to suddenly declare you an independent contractor. You don’t want to set yourself up for liability in this case. They may

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New Jersey Workers Compensation Advice for Remote Employees

By Albert Talone | August 3, 2021 | 0 Comments

Experts predict that remote work is here to stay.   While remote work is covered by worker’s compensation, it can create unique challenges for employees who are injured on the job.  What are the most common remote worker injuries? The most common remote worker injuries are repetitive stress injuries. RSIs might include: Carpal tunnel syndrome Ulnar tunnel syndrome Tendonitis Back pain Neck pain The correlation is of course that most people who work at home are doing the same work they could be doing in the office. This is work that typically involves lots of typing and sitting at your desk. Stress and mental health injuries are also common.  What’s different about a remote worker injury? You’ll have to prove you were acting in your employer’s interests at the time of the injury. You also need to be able to prove that you followed your employer’s policies.  For example, if your

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What Happens if Your Spouse Dies on the Job in New Jersey?

By Albert Talone | July 15, 2021 | 0 Comments

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 5,000 workers die on the job every year, leaving their survivors to carry on without them.  When your spouse dies on the job you, the surviving spouse, may be entitled to a workers compensation death benefit. As with workers compensation for surviving injured and disabled workers, the death benefit system exists in New Jersey to provide for families while protecting employers from the possibility of a personal injury lawsuit. This means you may get some money to support your family while you adjust to the loss of your loved one. Who is eligible for death benefits? In general, you may only claim a death benefit if you are the surviving, actively married spouse of a worker who died on the job, or a dependant child who lived in the worker’s household at the time of death. Surviving children may also qualify as

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Do I Need to Prove Fault in an NJ Workers Compensation Case?

By Albert Talone | June 13, 2021 | 0 Comments

In some accident and injury cases it is necessary to prove the other party was negligent before you can recover any form of compensation. This is not the case in a New Jersey workers compensation case. Instead, it is only necessary to prove that the injury or illness arose as a result of your activities and presence in the workplace.  This is part of the bargain that was made between New Jersey workers and employers when the workers compensation system first came into existence. Workers would lose the right to sue employers for negligence and employers would pay for injuries and illnesses sustained at work regardless of whether or not the employee played a role in causing those injuries. As always when the law is involved, there are of course both complications and exceptions that you should be aware of. Exception #1 – You Were in Violation of Certain Policies

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The Law Office Of Albert J. Talone
The Law Office Of Albert J. Talone is committed to providing for those with Workers Compensation cases throughout New Jersey.
302 N Washington Ave #101
Moorestown
New Jersey
08057
United States

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