Legal Question in Workers Comp in New Jersey
Sue for pain & suffering
I am a State Park Police Officer. I was injured on the job on 01/15/06. Due to a slip and fall during a blizzard. I had advised the superintendent at least every 1/2 hour to have plows come out and clear the roadways. He refused, in the interium I had to respond to three accidents and deal with a funtion with over 200 guests and employees who had to fend for themselves. While directing traffic I had to respond on foot to a nearby MVA I slipped on over 5 inches of ice landing on my gun hip, hitting my knee, elbow and twisting my back and snapping my head off the ground. I went to company doctor who treated me for approx. 3 weeks. I told him that the pain was worsening. He disagreed and placed me on light duty. I worked for about 5 days the pain was too much. I went back to the company doctor and demanded he refer me to and ortho doctor, he did. After and MRI the ortho told me that I was permanently disabled due to spinal cord compression in the cervical area plus two herniated discs in lumber region. My attorney advised me that I cannot sue my employer or my superitendent. My question is this can my wife sue for all she has been thru and her loses?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Sue for pain & suffering
your wife's claim is known as a derivative action. She cannot sue on her own because her case relies on your case. SInce you are barred from making a recovery, youshe cannot sue. If you have further question, please contact me. As you may know, my offic ehas a sginificant Workers Comp. dept.
Re: Sue for pain & suffering
Although in general you are limited to a workers compensation claim when you get hurt at work, there is an exception that says that you COULD have sued if you could show extreme negligence on the part of your supervisor for actively ignoring your warnings and also if you had filed a document known as a Notice Of Tort Claim within 90 days of the accident. Unless this was filed in time, you are barred from filing a negligence lawsuit. If you are barred from filing a negligence lawsuit, then your wife can't either. I am an attorney who has handled hundreds of workers compensation cases in various workers compensation courts throughout New Jersey in the past. If you have any other questions about this please feel free to contact me. I never charge for simply talking to a person about their case. Thank you.
Sincerely yours, -Ronald Aronds, Esq.-
www.njworkerscompensationlaw.com
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