Is Living in New Jersey enough to bring a Workers Compensation Claim?
No. In order for the Workers Compensation Court to have jurisdiction over a work accident, one of three things must occur.
The first is the work accident occurred in New Jersey. The second is the contract of hire was in New Jersey. Thirdly, a substantial amount of employment for the respondent occurs in New Jersey.
The only basis of jurisdiction that is not self-explanatory is the latter. The New Jersey Appellate Court in Phillips v. Oneida Motor Freights Inc., 163 N.J.Super. 297 (App. Div. 1978) held that New Jersey had jurisdiction over a dependency claim despite the fact the Decedent did not live in New Jersey and the accident did not occur in New Jersey. The Court found that there was jurisdiction because all of the decedents delivers stared in Carlstadt, New Jersey and terminated in New York. The Petitioner also paid the Decedent out of New Jersey although income tax deductions were made for the state that the Decedent resided.
Even if the Contract of Hire and the accident did not occur in New Jersey, there will be jurisdiction in New Jersey if the employee works substantially in New Jersey. The fact that the Petitioner lives in NJ is a factor but residence alone is not sufficient to give jurisdiction to the New Jersey Workers Compensation court.