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A SKILLED NEW JERSEY LAWYER ON YOUR SIDE

     Being injured on the job can be one of the most stressful and difficult times in life. Your routine, livelihood and body are broken. Your family, and family budget, are in jeopardy. In New Jersey, injured workers face a system where insurance companies deny legitimate claims, delay payment of income benefits, refuse to authorize necessary medical treatment and offer lowball settlements to those injured workers who do not have legal representation.

     At this point, you are probably confused and anxious. Rest assured, I shall take the time to personally review your case, using my skill as a New Jersey Attorney to apply NJ Law to your case for your protection and the best possible outcome. I take the time to get to know you, what you need and how I can help.

     I am proud that my law offices have been voted by the readers of the Courier Post newspaper as "One of The Best Law Offices in South Jersey" for the years 2011, 2009, 2007 and 2003.  This distinction follows our past "The Best Law Office in South Jersey" for the years 2010, 2008, 2006 and 2004.

HELPING INJURED WORKERS OBTAIN BENEFITS SINCE 1994

     Your mental and physical health, as well as your legal rights, need protection. You need a skilled New Jersey lawyer. I have the experience and dedication to provide you excellent service. I have been handling workers compensation cases since I established my firm in 1994. I have eighteen years of experience as a New Jersey lawyer. To find out how I can be of assistance in your case, contact my office for a free initial consultation with a member of my staff.

     I have heard the lawyer jokes. Please read my response below to one of the most famous misquoted lines from Shakespeare: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." I think you will find the context in which Shakespeare used that line instructive to understand just what in fact he meant. Some of your confusion and anxiety may include which lawyer to trust your matter. The greatest professional satisfaction I receive is the compliment from a client expressing gratitude and appreciation for the long hours of work on their matter and the result I achieved for them. They do not tell lawyer jokes after my representation.

PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS, FIGHTING THE INSURANCE COMPANY

     New Jersey Workers Compensation law is complex. There are numerous pitfalls for the unwary. The system can seem overwhelming. I am a straightforward and aggressive New Jersey lawyer who will navigate the system on your behalf. I handle all types of work injuries with a list of common work injuries listed on this page. Exceptional service with personal attention is the hallmark of my career as a New Jersey lawyer.

     I can promise you the following: representation from a diligent, dedicated New Jersey lawyer focused on thorough preparation, giving you personal attention and striving for the best possible outcome.

NO FEE UNLESS I GET RESULTS FOR YOU

     No recovery, no fee guarantee. There is no charge for me to review your potential claim. If I take your case, I do so on a contingency fee basis which means that you do not pay a fee unless I successfully resolve the claim in your favor.

     In choosing a New Jersey lawyer, remember the words of a famous poet of the Roman Empire named Manilus: "Finis Origine Pendet". The words translate into English as "The end depends on the beginning." Your choice of an attorney is the beginning. I invite you to begin by contacting me at (856) 596-8000.

     Thank you for visiting my site.

Work Injury Statute of the Week

NEW JERSEY WORK INJURY LAWYERS CONSIDER RECENT COURT OF APPEALS CASE INVOLVING THE DEFINTION OF AN OCCUPATIONAL INJURY AND THE REQUIRED LEVEL OF PROOF NEEDED TO PROVE THAT TYPE OF WORK INJURY BEFORE THE NJ WORKERS COMPENSATION COURT.

Singletary v. Wawa, 406 N.J. Super. 558 (App. Div. 2009)

 Petitioner Singletary had worked continuously at a Wawa convenience store from 1987 to at least 2007. In September 1992 and again in December 2001, she suffered work-related slip and fall accidents causing injury to her cervical spine. At the time of each accident, Wawa had a workers' compensation insurance policy with respondent AIG Domestic Claims, Inc., which paid Singletary's claims for medical treatment and partial disability caused by each accident. On January 1, 2002, Wawa became self-insured for workers' compensation claims. Approximately five years after the second accident, Singletary learned that she needed cervical fusion surgery. After a hearing, the judge of compensation found that “petitioner's continued employment at Wawa, as self-insured, legally and materially contributed to petitioner's disability.” Therefore, he concluded that Wawa was responsible for Singletary's medical treatment and for all temporary disability benefits attributed to this period of disability. The judge ordered Wawa to reimburse AIG for all medical expenses and temporary disability benefits paid on Singletary's behalf since the court order of September 20, 2007, and to begin paying her continuing medical expenses and temporary disability benefits.

Under the workers' compensation statute, N.J.S.A. 34:15-31a, “compensable occupational disease” is defined as “all diseases arising out of and in the course of employment, which are due in a material degree to causes and conditions which are or were characteristic of or peculiar to a particular trade, occupation, process or place of employment.” To receive an award for compensable occupational disease, “a petitioner must show that the alleged occupational exposure contributed to the resultant disability by an appreciable degree or a degree substantially greater than de minimis.” In that respect, the length of time worked for a particular employer may be relevant. Very short periods of employment may allow no reasonable inference of material contribution to disability, while long periods of physically taxing employment, such as the five years that Singletary worked at Wawa after her December 2001 accident, may reasonably support a finding of material contribution to disability. The court explained that credible evidence in the record supports the compensation judge's finding that “[t]here was a clear worsening of the petitioner's condition which ... is attributable in a material degree to the work she performed during the time Wawa was self-insured.” Thus, the compensation judge reasonably determined that Singletary's need for surgery was materially attributable to her job duties after January 2002, and that Wawa as self-insured was responsible for paying her workers' compensation benefits.

Work Injury Statutes & Law Archive