July 20, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Most people feel some level of stress at work. But what if your job exposes you to a high level of stress on a daily basis—maybe you’re a police officer, emergency room nurse or firefighter. Or suppose you witness a traumatic event at work—the serious injury or death of a co-worker, or an act of workplace violence, such as a shooting. Are you entitled to file for workers’ compensation benefits if the effects of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) make it difficult or impossible for you to do your job? The answer depends, but it’s clear that mental illness can be the basis for a workers’ compensation claim.

When you file for workers’ compensation benefits based on a mental illness, your claim will fall into one of three categories:

  • Physical-mental injuries
  • Mental-physical injuries
  • Mental-mental injuries

A physical-mental injury is one that is initially entirely physical, but ends up creating mental health challenges. For example, you might hurt your knee lifting boxes or performing some other task at work. If the knee doesn’t heal quickly, and you can’t maintain the active lifestyle you had before the injury, you may become depressed, and the depression can contribute to your inability to work.

A mental-physical injury works in exactly the opposite manner. You may be exposed, for example, to a high level of stress on your job, which in turn can elevate your blood pressure, or cause you to either gain or lose a lot of weight. High blood pressure or increased weight can put you at risk of stroke, heart attack or joint injury.

A mental-mental injury is one that starts with a psychological event and manifests with PTSD, such as witnessing a traumatic injury or act of violence.

Contact the Law Office of Taylor & Boguski

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

Filed Under: Work - Related Injury, Workers Compensation Tagged With: , , , ,
July 6, 2016 By Leave a Comment

So you’ve been hurt at work—maybe you sprained your left knee unloading a truck—and you seek medical care for the knee sprain. Because of the pain and stiffness in your left knee, you naturally favor the left leg, putting additional stress on the right side of your body. Your knee gets better, but a couple weeks later, you wake up to terrible pain in your right heel. Your doctor diagnoses it as a heel spur, the result of changing your gait because of the injury to your left knee. Can you file for workers’ compensation benefits if the pain from the heel spur makes it impossible to do your job?

What we’re talking about here is what the law refers to as a “consequential” injury, i.e., one that is not immediately caused by a work accident, but arises only because of your work injury. Under workers’ compensation laws you have a right to file a claim for any injuries that can be shown to have “reasonably” been the result of a work-related injury. If you can bring in medical evidence to show that a subsequent injury (here, the heel spur) would not have happened “but for” the work accident, you can obtain workers’ compensation benefits for that injury.

Of course, the challenge, when an injury is not immediately apparent, is demonstrating that it resulted from the work accident. That’s one of the reasons it’s so important, when you see a doctor, to carefully describe everything that seems abnormal and to document every pain or injury. It’s a pretty common occurrence that injury to one part of the body will lead to overcompensation and injury somewhere else.

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

Filed Under: Work - Related Injury, Workers Compensation Tagged With: , , ,
June 30, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Most people understand that, when you’ve been hurt at work, your first (and often exclusive) remedy for lost wages and medical expenses is a workers’ compensation claim. But what if it’s not an injury suffered in an accident, but an illness caused by something at your job? Can you still seek benefits if your job has made you sick?

The good news—yes, workers’ compensation laws in New Jersey allow claimants to recover benefits for any disease or illness caused by conditions at work. If you work in an environment with toxic chemicals or other substances, you may have a valid claim for workers’ compensation if you contract cancer or some similar illness. If your job involves exposure to dust, fumes or fibers, you may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim for silicosis or for asthma-like conditions. In addition, if you are employed in a high-stress job, working as a law enforcement officer, a firefighter or an EMT, you may be able to file a claim for workers’ compensation if you develop high blood pressure, or suffer a heart attack or stroke.

In order to successfully recover workers’ compensation benefits for an occupational disease, you must demonstrate a clear connection between the job and your illness. If you suspect that you have a health problem because of exposure to something at work, your first course of action should be to see a physician. Be certain to document exactly when the symptoms first appeared and where you were working at the time.

It’s also important to understand that, if the substance that caused your illness was manufactured or installed by someone unrelated to your employer, you may be able to file a lawsuit in court against that party. You will likely have to wait longer to resolve the dispute, but you won’t be limited to the damages available through a workers’ compensation claim.

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

Filed Under: Work - Related Injury, Workers Compensation Tagged With: , , ,
June 3, 2016 By

New Jersey waste and recycle giant Action Environmental Group has implemented company-wide measures to improve employee safety and minimize the risk of workers’ compensation claims.

According to the company’s Director of Safety, Ken Levine, the company has been using video cameras for more than a year, filming employees as they go about their duties on the road and during trash pickups. The stated objectives of the program—to learn from any accidents or incidents that do occur, and to provide training opportunities to all employees.

Levine said that the cameras, mounted on the dashboard of each vehicle, monitor both the driver and the road ahead, so that company officials can determine reactions to different situations. Company officials do not review the videos, but send them over to a third party for analysis and to determine if drivers are following safety guidelines and abiding by the laws, specifically with respect to seat belts and other safety measures. If the third-party vendor observes violations, the tapes are sent to Action Environmental and are used to coach employees to avoid safety risks.

According to Levine, during the first three months of the program, there was nearly a 50% drop in the incidents of risky behavior by drivers. He said the company has also seen a similar decrease in workers’ compensation claims filed by company employees. The company has also used videotape as evidence in workers’ compensation proceedings.

Contact the Law Office of Taylor & Boguski

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 us online or call us at 856-200-8989.

Filed Under: Workers Compensation Tagged With: , , , , ,
May 23, 2016 By Leave a Comment

So you’ve been hurt on the job and you’ve filed an application for workers’ compensation benefits. If your injury isn’t permanent, you may be looking forward to returning to work, but fear that your position will be filled in your absence. Can you protect your job? What can you do to ensure that you’ll have a job to return to when you’re healthy?

As a matter of law in New Jersey, your employer cannot terminate you because you’ve filed a workers’ compensation claim. In fact, your employer cannot discriminate against you in any way because of your claim. So you can’t be denied benefits that workers in similar jobs receive, can’t be denied a raise or a promotion, or given undesirable assignments as punishment for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Obviously, it can be difficult to prove some of these things, but if you can, you will have a claim for discrimination against your employer.

You also have rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a federal statute that protects workers. The FMLA allows you to take up to 12 weeks off (without pay) for legitimate medical reasons without the risk of losing your job. If your employer must fill the position in your absence, you are entitled to your job or a similar position when you return to work.

If you belong to a union, you should also check with union officials regarding the protection of your job. Most union agreements include provisions guaranteeing the right to return to the same or a similar position after a legitimate medical leave.

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

Filed Under: Workers Compensation Tagged With: , , ,
May 6, 2016 By Leave a Comment

When you’ve been hurt on the job, the first thing you want to do is notify your employer and file a workers’ compensation claim? But what if you’re not on the company’s payroll? Maybe you’re paid off the books, so the company can avoid payroll taxes. Maybe the company wrongfully considers you an independent contractor, a fairly common way that employers try to avoid responsibility for paying workers’ compensation claims.

If you are simply paid off the books, you will always have the opportunity to collect workers’ compensation benefits from the employer. If you meet all the tests to be an employee, other than being on the payroll, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits as long as two conditions are met: you were working for the company and your injury occurred at work.

If you have been designated as an independent contractor, the situation becomes a little more complicated. The IRS has a test to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The workers’ compensation judge will typically look at the test and see whether you meet the criteria for being an employee. If you do, you can file a workers’ compensation claim, regardless of how the employer classifies you. The workers’ compensation board generally won’t let an employer avoid responsibility for a work-related injury simply by calling an employee an independent contractor.

If, however, you meet the test to qualify as an independent contractor, you won’t be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits unless you can show fraud or misrepresentation by the employer. For example, if you were led to believe that you were an employee, there’s a good chance you will be treated as such.

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

Filed Under: Work - Related Injury, Workers Compensation Tagged With: ,
April 21, 2016 By Leave a Comment

When you’ve been hurt on the job, your first (and often only) recourse is to file a workers’ compensation claim. But don’t be surprised if what is obviously a legitimate claim is turned down. A large percentage of initial claims are rejected as a matter of course, as your employer and the workers’ compensation insurance company seek to minimize costs. One of the most common arguments used to deny workers’ compensation benefits is the assertion that the injury was pre-existing or only happened because of a pre-existing condition.

Alleging that your injury was caused by a pre-existing condition simply says that you had some prior injury and what you are experiencing now is due to that prior injury. For example, if you were in a car accident and hurt your back, your employer and/or the workers’ compensation insurance company may assert that any discomfort you experience because of work-related trauma is only because of your prior injury—that the pain you feel is entirely because of your earlier injury or that the work-related injury exacerbated a condition that made you more susceptible to injury.

Just because your employer can show the existence of a pre-existing condition, however, does not mean that you can receive workers’ compensation benefits. If you can show that your employer was negligent and you would not have suffered any injury without that negligence, you can still receive compensation. Furthermore, if you can show that the pre-existing condition had completely healed, any new injury is compensable. For example, if you had a car accident 20 years ago and hurt your back, you can still recover workers’ compensation benefits for a back injury at work if you can demonstrate that you had medical treatment for the car injury and that it had healed.

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

Filed Under: Workers Compensation Tagged With: , ,
April 7, 2016 By

According to a statistics gathered by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), automatic nailers or nail guns are responsible for nearly 40,000 ER visits every year. But the risk is not limited to construction workers. The CDC found that almost a third (32%) of annual nail gun injuries are sustained by consumers.

Nail guns are generally one of two types: contact nail guns or sequential nail guns. With a contact nail gun, there’s a spring loaded safety mechanism at the tip of the “barrel.” You can hold down the trigger and the gun will automatically fire when you make contact with something, as it will disengage the safety mechanism. With a sequential gun, you must first depress the safety mechanism and then pull the trigger. If you have already pulled the trigger and try to depress the safety mechanism, it won’t work. Not surprisingly, the CDC found twice as many injuries involving contact guns.

The Principal Causes of Nail Gun Injuries

Researchers found a number of causes of nail gun injuries:

  • Unfortunately, in many instances, people are hurt because they have bypassed or permanently disengaged the safety mechanisms
  • It’s not uncommon for a gun to double fire, with the second nail coming out after the gun has been pulled away from the board
  • A nail can ricochet off a metal surface or even a knot in a board
  • A framing nail can easily penetrate a stud, causing injury if a worker’s hand is on the back side of the board
  • A worker may accidentally push the gun against a leg, hand or other body part
  • A worker may miss the board, even though the safety mechanism has been depressed

Contact the Law Office of Taylor & Boguski

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 us online or call us at 856-200-8989.

Filed Under: Construction Accidents, Personal Injury, Work - Related Injury, Workers Compensation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
March 27, 2016 By

According to an annual census compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly 4,700 people (4,679) died in 2014 as a result of occupational injuries, an increase of approximately two percent over the previous year. The death toll equates to about three workers out of every 100,000 in the United States.

Here are some of the key conclusions from the 2014 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries:

  • Deaths from slips and fall rose approximately 10%, from 724 to 793
  • There were more deaths among people who were self-employed—also a 10 percent increase, from 950 to 1,047
  • Occupations that saw the greatest increases included mining (17%), agriculture (14%) and manufacturing (9%). Deaths declined for government workers (12%) and in private, service-related sectors.
  • Older workers suffered more occupational deaths—there was a 9% increase in fatal accidents involving workers over 55.
  • Among ethnic workers, Asians and African-Americans saw increases, while Latino/Hispanic workers saw a decline
  • Work-related deaths involving women increased 13% over the prior year

Types of Workplace Accidents

In 2014, motor vehicle accidents accounted for four of every 10 occupational deaths. More than half of those fatalities involved collisions, and 17% involved pedestrian deaths. There was also a 34% increase in rail vehicle deaths.

Deaths caused by workplace violence declined over the prior year, from 773 to 749. One telling statistic—in workplace homicides where the victim was female, the perpetrator was most likely to be a relative or domestic partner. However, in workplace homicides where the victim was male, the greatest likelihood was that the assailant was attempting to rob the business.

Less than 10 percent (372) workers were killed in so-called “catastrophic” accidents, where more than one worker was killed in a single accident.

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

 

Filed Under: Personal Injury, Work - Related Injury, Workers Compensation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
March 17, 2016 By

Seven construction workers were injured in a Hackensack scaffolding collapse in early December—three critically. Authorities say the workers were performing repairs on the roof of an apartment complex on Tracy Place around 3:30 in the afternoon when the scaffolding fell. There were six workers on the scaffold at the time it collapsed. The workers fell approximately 45 feet to the ground.

The accident occurred at an apartment complex known as ‘The Brookdale’, which has approximately 200 apartments in 10 buildings.

According to witnesses, the scaffold was a makeshift one. One neighbor, who declined to be identified, said that it wasn’t “a real scaffolding,” but was “jerry-rigged” together with ladders and planks. The neighbor said the way the system was set up, it did not seem reasonable that it could support the weight of all the workers. Authorities confirmed that no permit had been pulled to do the work on the roof. Both OSHA and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification reportedly came to the site for an investigation.

Under state and federal laws and regulations, building owners and general contractors have to take certain steps to minimize the risk of injury to workers. Specifically, when workers are employed at levels above the ground, they must be provided with adequate safety equipment, which may include:

  • Properly installed scaffolding
  • Safety harnesses or hoists
  • Well-maintained and sufficient ladders

Witnesses said that the “scaffold” setup at the apartment complex consisted of so-called “ladder jacks” holding walk-boards between two extension ladders. Preliminary investigations indicated that there were no rails on the scaffolding, and that the workers did not have safety harnesses or similar devices. Authorities believe that the workers, who were unsupervised at the time, exceeded the weight limit of the walkboard.

Contact a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Today

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

Filed Under: Construction Accidents, Current Events, Personal Injury, Work - Related Injury, Workers Compensation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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