Boy Scouts File for Bankruptcy But Won’t Preclude Abuse Survivors Compensation

Boy Scouts File for Bankruptcy But Won’t Preclude Abuse Survivors Compensation

On February 18, 2020, the Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection as it faces hundreds of lawsuits from Scouts that claim they were sexually abused.  The Bankruptcy filing should not bar abuse survivors from receiving compensation.  The Bankruptcy Court will likely create a Compensation Fund for abused victims but there is likely a shorter filing deadline to make a claim than the time period in the Superior Court of New Jersey.

If you or a loved one were sexually abused by someone associated with the Boy Scouts, please call us at (973) 481-4364 to speak with an attorney to protect your rights.

Ten Year Prison Term For Paramus Bus Driver Possible

Ten Year Prison Term For Paramus Bus Driver Possible

Paramus Board of Education School Bus driver, Hudy Muldrow Sr., pled guilty to two counts of Reckless Vehicular Homicide, five counts of Assault by Auto and five counts of Endangering the Welfare of Children arising out of the May 17, 2018 School Bus Accident on Route 80 in Mt. Olive. The Prosecutor has recommended a 10-year prison term. Sentencing is scheduled for February 2020.

As previously reported on NJAccident.com, the driving maneuver attempted by Hudy Muldrow Sr. was described as crossing in an almost perpendicular to the lanes of traffic on Route 80 to reach an Official Vehicle U-Turn in the middle median in Route 80 in Mt. Olive.  Tragically, the driving maneuver ended in a tragic accident when the school bus driven by Hudy Muldrow, Sr’s was struck by a Dump Truck traveling the speed limit resulting in the passenger part of the bus being torn off of the frame of the bus.  The impact caused the death of Teacher Jennifer Williamson and fifth-grader, Miranda Vargas. In addition, 43 passengers including children and teachers were injured.

Hudy Muldrow, Sr. license had been suspended over 14 times in his over 40-year driving career. Bus Driver Hudy Muldrow, Sr. was 77 years old at the time of the accident and is now 79 years old. A ten-year sentence would mean he would be 89 before he was released from jail.

Route 280 Crash Injures 3 State Troopers

Route 280 Crash Injures 3 State Troopers

(West Orange, NJ, July 30, 2019)  The morning commute for motorists coming down into the Newark area in New Jersey was all but normal today.  Commuters are used to slow-moving traffic but motorists realized that today’s delay was different. Traffic came to a complete stop for over an hour.

A crash between a Commercial Construction Van and a motor vehicle resulted ultimately in a multi-vehicle crash by a Dump Truck which collided with a State Trooper SUV, an Ambulance and a Fire Truck on the scene of the earlier crash.

The roadway was open temporarily to allow the miles of backup vehicles to move off the roadway.   In the interim, three New Jersey State Troopers were transported to the hospital along with a number of civilians who were involved in the accident.  After the backlog was moved, the roadway was closed and the task of reconstructing what happened began.

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Boy Scouts File for Bankruptcy But Won’t Preclude Abuse Survivors Compensation

NJ Supreme Court Reverses Lower Courts to Help Volunteer Firefighters

A couple weeks ago NJAccident.com published an article urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to overturn a Workers Compensation Judge’s decision and an Appellate Division Three-Judge panel’s decision upholding the denial of temporary disability benefits to Volunteer Firefighter who was injured during a fire call but who was unemployed because she was caring for her ailing father.  We are glad to report that the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed the lower court decisions and awarded temporary disability benefits to Volunteer Firefighters Jennifer Kocanowski temporary disability benefits as urged by our article.

Supreme Court Summary

The New Jersey Supreme Court summarized its decision in the Syllabus of its decision released on February 19, 2019 as follows:

Jennifer Kocanowski was a volunteer firefighter for seventeen years and was injured in the course of her duties. Kocanowski applied for and was denied temporary disability benefits because she did not have outside employment. In this appeal, the Court considers whether volunteer firefighters must be employed to be eligible for temporary disability benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act, N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 to -146.

Kocanowski served fifteen years at the Finderne Fire Department in the Township of Bridgewater. In addition to her volunteer work, Kocanowski usually had outside paid employment, including working as a nanny and home health care aide. Kocanowski took a six-month leave from volunteer firefighting after her father’s death to care for her ill mother and settle her father’s estate. She returned to volunteer firefighting around July 2014, but did not resume outside employment.

Severely Damaged Ankle

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