NJ Supreme Court Takes Up Volunteer Firefighter’s Case for Benefits

by NJLawyer | Jan 12, 2019 | Accident Cases, Work Injury

 In New Jersey, Volunteer Firefighters have a special section outlining their entitlement to Workers Compensation Benefits from the town they serve.  The special section for Volunteer Firefighters was enacted by the Legislature to make sure that a volunteer firefighter, who is performing a laudable job receives temporary disability benefits, medical bills paid and permanency benefits if they are injured on the job.  Volunteer Firefighters are deemed to be at work during their travel to the firehouse or site of a fire. With some exceptions, a worker isn’t covered under the Workers Compensation Law while commuting to work.  It makes good public policy to provide coverage to Volunteer Firefighters because their service saves townships throughout New Jersey a lot of money by eliminating the need for a full time fire service and Volunteer Firefighters also save lives and property a benefit to the communities they serve. 

Supreme Court Accepts Appeal

The New Jersey Supreme Court accepted an appeal from a decision by a three judge panel in the Appellate Division which upheld the decision of a Workers Compensation Judge not to award temporary disability benefits to an injured volunteer firefighter.  The Workers Compensation Statute provides temporary disability benefits to volunteer firefighters.  It even provides temporary disability benefits at the maximum rate allowed for the year of the accident.  So why was the temporary disability benefit denied.  The Workers Compensation Judge found that the Volunteer Firefighter did not have a “wage loss” because the Volunteer Firefighter, at the time of the accident, was not employed.  The Firefighter had stopped working to take care of her ailing father.  The Appellate Division agreed with the decision stating that without a “wage loss” there could be no temporary disability benefits.