by NJLawyer | May 11, 2020 | Accident Cases, Contagious Disease, Coronavirus, Covid 19
Governor Phil Murphy deemed in Executive Orders certain individuals as essential workers. Those essential workers went beyond public safety workers and included individuals who work in grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, gas stations, delivery personnel and financial institutions including banks. Last year, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Thomas Canzanella 21st Century First Responders Act (hereinafter First Responders Act) which provides public safety workers, as defined by the statute, a presumption that if the worker contracts a serious communicable disease or related illness, like COVID 19 Coronovirus, that it is deemed by law to be related to their job. This is a crucial designation that opens up the right to obtain Workers Compensation benefits which include temporary disability benefits, payment of medical bills, and a monetary award based on a percentage of permanency due to the virus.
As currently defined, public safety workers do not include grocery store workers, pharmacy workers, restaurant workers, gas station workers, delivery personnel, and financial institutions or bank workers. These workers although deemed “essential workers” are not currently contained within the definition of “Public safety workers” in the First Responders Act.
What does this mean for Essential Workers?
The current New Jersey version of the First Responders Act does not provide the presumption to all essential workers. The current version provides the presumption that its related to their job if you are a police or fire department worker, correction facility officer or employee, EMT, nurse, or advanced medical technicians.
All other “essential workers” could potentially be entitled to benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation law but without the presumption, in place, the worker would have to establish a connection between the employment and the illness. It is not an insurmountable burden but workers compensation insurance carriers are more likely to deny the claim on the onset and make the essential service worker prove that their illness “arose out of or in the course of their employment.” Since the Coronavirus COVID 19 can infect a person outside of work and can be acquired from an asymptomatic person, the advantage goes to the workers’ compensation carrier defending a claim who can point to such medical evidence and even if there are other co-workers infected with COVID 19 Coronavirus, a denial can be justified as not being in bad faith.
Occupational Injury Cases A Possible Avenue to Benefits
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by NJLawyer | May 3, 2020 | Accident Cases, Contagious Disease, Coronavirus, Covid 19
On July 8, 2019, before the Covid 19 Cornonvirus pandemic hit the State of New Jersey hard, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Thomas Canzanella 21st Century First Responders Act. The legislation provides Workers Compensation benefits to public safety workers which have been broadly defined. The Legislation, however, did not envision at the time it was passed that an epidemic would require not only the assistance of public safety workers but frontline grocery and delivery workers. The New Jersey Legislature is considering legislation to expand worker compensation coverage to those frontline workers as well.
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by NJLawyer | Feb 28, 2020 | Accident Cases
NJ
Accident previously reported on the 2018 Route 80 school bus accident that
resulted in the death of a teacher and a student along with multiple injuries
to other students and staff on the school bus.
The bus driver Hudy Muldrow Sr. pleaded guilty to reckless vehicular
homicide, assault by auto and child endangerment this past December
(2019). The maximum penalty was 10 years
in Jail and that is the sentence that was imposed by the Superior Court Judge
sitting in the Morris County Courthouse in Morristown, New Jersey this week.
A
school trip turned very tragic when a lead bus missed an exit on Route 80
resulting in a delay in reaching the field trips destination. Mr. Muldrow who was following the lead bus
made a decision to take a shortcut by utilizing an Official Vehicle turnaround
in the middle median rather than go a substantial distance to the next Exit and
turnaround. A turnaround used only by
State Police officers in the performance of their duties. To get to the turnaround,
Mr. Muldrow would have to traverse three lanes of traffic in a short distance
from the entry ramp onto Route 80. What
possessed Mr. Muldrow to attempt such a feat is unknown but his actions changed
the lives of many persons as a Dump Truck traveling on Route 80, not expecting
a school bus to attempt such a maneuver could not stop in time and hit the bus’
rear with such force that it separated the cab portion of the bus from its
frame. A roadway video camera captured
the maneuver and the moment of impact exonerating the Dump Truck driver. The
accident took the lives of Jennifer Williamson, a 51-year-old teacher along
with a Miranda Vargas, a 10-year-old student on the bus. Williamson’s husband
and Vargas’ twin sister and mother spoke prior to sentencing.
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by NJLawyer | Feb 24, 2020 | Accident Cases, Sex Abuse
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.
by NJLawyer | Dec 26, 2019 | Accident Cases
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.
