Archives for May 2017

May 31, 2017 By Leave a Comment

is-workers-compensation-your-only-remedy-for-a-work-related-injurySo you have been hurt on the job. In New Jersey, as in other states, you are entitled to seek workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained during the course of employment. The workers’ compensation laws were enacted to provide a benefit to both parties in the aftermath of a work-related injury. For the worker, there’s the opportunity to start receiving benefits within weeks of the injury, with benefits retroactive to the date of injury. You don’t have to incur the expense of a lawsuit and you won’t have to wait for compensation until the legal process is exhausted. As an employer, you don’t have to worry that a sympathetic jury will come back with a huge damage award. Payments are generally fixed under the workers’ compensation system.

But is that your exclusive remedy in the aftermath of a workplace injury? It depends.

The workers’ compensation laws are intended to compensate a worker for the negligence of an employer or a co-worker. If your injuries were caused entirely by the carelessness of your employer or a colleague, you must look only to the workers’ compensation system for reimbursement of any losses. However, if you can show that your injuries were caused, in whole or in part, by an unrelated third party, you can still pursue damages in a lawsuit against that third party. In fact, you can file a lawsuit simultaneously with a workers’ compensation claim.

So what does a third party claim look like? Some of the more common ones include:
• Injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident caused by a third party
• Injuries suffered as a result of the malfunction or breakdown of tools, equipment or products manufactured or marketed by a third party
• Injuries caused by the negligence of someone on adjoining property

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to men and women throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

We handle all workers’ compensation claims on a contingency basis. There will be no attorney fees unless we recover damages for your losses.

Filed Under: Work - Related Injury, Workers Compensation
May 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

man with knife

Though deaths on the job remained about the same nationwide in 2015, New Jersey unexpectedly saw an increase of nearly 10% in fatalities in the workplace during the same time period. Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicated that 97 New Jersey residents died from work-related accidents, up from 87 a year earlier. Officials could not identify a single factor that contributed to the increase.

Here are some of the findings included in the BLS study:

  • Violent deaths nearly doubled, from 11 in 2014 to 18 in 2015
  • More than a third of the New Jersey deaths—37—were in motor vehicle accidents
  • Falls from heights accounted for 24 workplace fatalities in 2015
  • The construction industry experienced the largest number of deaths—22, and more than half of those (12) were of workers who fell from high elevations
  • The occupation that saw the highest number of deaths was motor vehicle operator, with 15. This was also true with respect to work-related deaths nationwide.
  • More than two-thirds of the workers who died across the country were Caucasian—that statistic was significantly lower in New Jersey, with only 54% of workplace fatalities involving white workers
  • Men are far more likely to die in the workplace than women—nationally, 98% of job-related deaths are of men. In New Jersey, 94% of workplace fatalities are men
  • There’s a lot less risk if you are self-employed—only 14% of deaths nationally were of people who worked for themselves
  • 40% of the deaths in New Jersey involved workers over the age of 55, as compared to 35% across the country.

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to injured people throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

Filed Under: Work - Related Injury Tagged With: , ,