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 Worker’s compensation is a formal name for an “on the job injury” claim. These cases refer to matters where an injured party makes a claim against another individual, company, or other entity for any medical bills related to the injury, lost wages and permanent partial disability, and in some cases future medical bills related to the accident. Worker’s compensation laws are set forth in New Jersey statutes which closely regulate how and when a claim is to be filed. Therefore, it is extremely important that you consult with a lawyer as soon as possible after your injury to ensure that you have satisfied all of the necessary requirements to obtain the maximum possible compensation.
Employers are required to carry Worker’s Compensation insurance and provide every worker with benefits when they are injured on the job. Almost every injured worker is entitled to temporary disability benefits if they are off work the statutory number of days, medical treatment paid by the employer and a lump sum settlement when a doctor says you have a permanent impairment as a result of your work injury.
The advantage of filing a claim under worker’s compensation laws is that the injured party need not prove anyone else was at fault. This means that even if the injured party caused the accident, compensation is available.
Both a worker’s compensation claim and a non-worker’s compensation personal injury claim arising out of the same incident may be filed at the same time if the injury occurred in the course of the worker’s employment, but was caused by someone other than the employer or a co-employee. Sometimes, however, a worker’s compensation claim is the exclusive remedy and therefore a non-worker’s compensation claim cannot or should not be filed.
Truck Drivers
 The renowned and popular Teamster President, Mr. James Hoffa, once said, “If it has to go anywhere, it has to go on a truck.”
The Law Offices of Jeffrey M. Bloom provides legal advice and representation for truck drivers experiencing lower back injuries (lumbar sprain to multiple herniated discs) and arm injuries (rotator cuff, tears of the rotator cuff, glenoid or biceps), as well as other work related injuries.
In some cases truck drivers are required only to drive and operate a truck and perform preventative maintenance. Injuries occur most frequently from the simple act of getting in and out of a truck. Running boards become slippery from rain, snow or gasoline. Hand injuries occur while handling chains and dollies or while servicing an engine. Currently, more truck drivers are required to perform the physical activities of loading and unloading their cargo, such as package delivery persons including, but not limited to, United Parcel, FedEx, and others. In most cases, semi-tractor trailers are still loaded and unloaded with a forklift.
Anyone who is loading and unloading a truck, no matter what the cargo may be, is susceptible to lower back injuries and arm injuries. Deliveries at docks, or anywhere else, in inclement weather always pose a risk of slip and fall causing injury to almost any part of the body. However, loading docks are particularly hazardous when forklifts are moving about and the activity is high.
Over-the-road truck drivers should be particularly aware of the deterioration and degeneration of their lower back. This occurs as a result of constant bouncing of the truck over bumpy roads and parking lots, as well as constant climbing into and out of the vehicle.
Factory Workers
 Factory workers generally are exposed to risks of injury, which are particular to the type of effort required to produce the employer’s product.
Persons who work on an assembly line do not share the same risk of injury as a person operating heavy machinery. In many cases, regardless of the type of equipment involved in the manufacturing process, hand injuries are common. Finger amputations and hand amputations are most common in the factory environment. Carpal tunnel syndrome can occur to assembly line workers who are required to place small objects into small containers by manipulating their wrists. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a condition not uncommon to persons operating forklifts on a continuous basis, sometimes caused by the vibration of the machinery itself. Slip and fall injuries are common in the factory environment where liquids are frequently spilled on the smooth factory floor. Whenever the manufacturing process requires some liquid, be it water or chemicals, floors become wet from the manufacturing process itself or wet from constant cleaning. Lower back injuries resulting from carrying heavy material, are as common as lifting injuries in any other type of employment.
Specific risks peculiar to manufacturing are injuries that occur in and about loading docks. There tends to be a constant movement of forklifts, which collide with one another or collide with fellow workers. Where boxes or pallets are moved there is the constant risk of lower back injury or knee injury resulting from twisting. Shoulder injuries also occur when attempting to lift with the upper body, rather than the lower body. Exterior loading docks always present a hazard of falling. When rain or snow is present, that risk increases, resulting in injury to almost any part of the body.
Construction
 Because every construction site is different and there are so many trades involved in a building product, construction employees are likely to suffer about any imaginable injury.
Certainly, the most dire injury is death. Historically, ironworkers and window washers were killed when they fell from tall buildings and ironwork. Modern equipment, including safety harnesses, has significantly helped to reduce the number of fatalities. However, death remains a threat to electricians, firemen, anyone working in an excavation that might cave in and anyone having an attack due to physical exertion.
The most common injuries to construction workers are those that result from sudden trauma. These include spinal injuries, mostly involving the lower back and neck, resulting from lifting incidents. Nevertheless, they also include shoulder injuries resulting from lifting overhead, and knee injuries resulting from twisting or falling.
Not to be overlooked, are injuries that do not result from a sudden trauma or a single incident. Such injuries are known as occupational or repetitive trauma injuries. Carpenters, who formerly drive nails with a hammer, are known to develop carpal tunnel syndrome. Since the use of pneumatic nail guns, the incident of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) has been reduced. However, carpal tunnel syndrome continues to develop among persons operating a jackhammer or a chain saw. Any vibratory tool used over a period of time can cause carpal tunnel syndrome, elbow tendonitis, shoulder tendonitis and even lower back injury.
Administration
 Most people involved in administrative or professional positions do not realize they have the same right to Worker’s Compensation benefits as people involved in laboring positions. While accidents in office environments are less frequently, they certainly occur.
Lower back injuries are as much a risk to administrative personnel as they are to any other form of employment, whether attempting to lift or move heavy objects, which may include desks, package deliveries or boxes of paper. Slip and falls occur in non-carpeted areas where floors may be slippery or defective. Any person engaged in administrative work, whether clerical or professional, is subject to the same hazards for injury as everyone else when they are required to do any work in the office environment. Clerks or secretaries delivering packages to nearby offices on foot may confront injury at any location en route to their destination and back. When using vehicular transportation, the risk of injury from motor vehicle collision is as likely as any other risk common to that person’s community. Salesmen and executives fall into this latter category. Salesmen are constantly driving from location to location to promote the employer’s business. When doing so, almost any type of injury occur.
Probably the most common injury claimed by clerical staff is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), an inflammatory condition involving the wrists that is generally attributed to typing. Almost always, the condition is initially diagnosed as tendonitis. However, as the disability in the hand (s) continues, tendonitis advances until surgery must be performed. Workstations have been designed with keyboards at hand level, which is believed to reduce the strain on one’s wrists when typing. However, with the explosive use of computers many people still work with a keyboard at desk height, requiring them to maintain their hands and wrists in a bent position for an excessive period of time, resulting in the development of tendonitis and eventually carpal tunnel syndrome.
WORKER'S COMPENSATION LINKS
General Links
New Jersey Division of Workers Compensation
New Jersey Compensation Rating Bureau
New Jersey Courts
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
Centers for Disease Control
National Safety Council
Industry and Government Safety Standards
American National Standards Institute
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The Safety Link - electrical product safety standards
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Administration
Auto Safety Issues
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
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