Can You Get Workers’ Compensation Benefits If You Are Paid “Under the Table”?

Workers’ Compensation Benefits Are Available to Off the Books Employees

workers-compensation-under-the-tableFor a variety of reasons, your employer may choose to pay you “off the books,” i.e., without running your wages through the company payroll. Your employer may want to avoid withholding taxes for you, or may want to avoid paying minimum wage. You may be only a part-time employee, so your employer considers your relationship similar to that of an independent contractor. But what happens if you are injured on the job? Are you without recourse to cover any disability or medical expenses that may arise?

In New Jersey, the test to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits is essentially two-fold: you must have been working at the time, and you must have been injured on the job. Accordingly, if you performed all the duties of an employee, but were simply not called one, you will still be able to seek workers’ compensation benefits from your employer.

If you were truly an independent contractor, however, you may be excluded from receiving workers’ compensation benefits. But don’t rely on your employer’s verbal statement that you were an independent contractor. In fact, even if you have a written agreement that calls you an independent contractor, the workers’ compensation judge will look at the actual relationship you had, as well as the nature of your work, to determine if you were really an employee.

Among the key questions that will be asked are:

  • How much control did the employer exercise over your time and your assignments? The more the employer controlled both, the greater the likelihood of an employer-employee relationship
  • Did you provide your own equipment and tools? If your employer provided those items, you were probably an employee.
  • Was the work performed an integral part of the employer’s business? If so, you were probably an employee.

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to injured people throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

How Does Workers’ Compensation Apply When a Worker Dies in a Work-Related Accident?

What Benefits Are Your Survivors Able to Recover?

workers-compensation-apply-when-a-worker-diesIn New Jersey, after a job-related injury, you can apply for disability and medical benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation system. If your injury keeps you from working, either temporarily or permanently, you’ll be able to pursue disability benefits, either for the time you are out of work, for a set period of time (if your injury is permanent), or even for the rest of your life, in certain situations. But what happens if you are killed in a workplace accident or die from an occupational disease?

Under New Jersey law, the surviving spouse and natural children who were in a worker’s household at the time of death qualify as dependents and are entitled to receive a death benefit after a worker is killed or dies because of a work-related cause. As a general rule, the benefits will be 70% of the worker’s average weekly wage (AWW) for the past 52 weeks. That benefit amount is divided among the dependents. Other relatives or dependents may also seek death benefits, but must prove actual dependency to the workers’ compensation board. A minor child will be considered a dependent until age 18, unless in college or physically/mentally disabled, when benefits may be available for a longer period of time.

In addition, the workers’ compensation insurance company or the employer must pay up to $3,500 in burial or funeral expenses when a worker dies from a job-related cause.

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to injured workers throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

We handle all workers’ compensation claims on a contingency basis. We won’t charge you attorney fees if we don’t recover compensation for your losses.

Your Workers’ Compensation Insurer May Be Watching You

You Could Be on Candid Camera…and It Could Squash Your Workers’ Compensation Claim

workers-compensation-insurerWhen you’ve suffered an injury on the job, you have a right to seek workers’ compensation benefits for any temporary or long term disability that keeps you from working or for any partial, but permanent, injury. Your employer and the workers’ compensation insurance company, though, have an incentive to minimize the amount paid to you, or to deny your claim altogether, as your claim cuts into their profits. So they’ll often use any means at their disposal to try to invalidate your claim, including hiring private investigators to secretly videotape you.

The easiest way to avoid any potential problems in a workers’ compensation claim is to be honest with doctors at all times. Don’t exaggerate the extent of your injury because you think it will ensure that you get benefits. If you really are hurt, it won’t be difficult to refrain from doing things that might indicate you aren’t injured. But if you overstate the nature of your injury, you’ll have to be conscious of the exaggeration you made at all times. You could easily forget that you told doctors you couldn’t lift more than 10 pounds and then be videotaped carrying in bags of groceries or hauling a keg of beer.

Another tip—be willing to acknowledge your injury and that you need to alter your lifestyle to really have a chance at getting healthy. If you are accustomed to being active—you play golf, bowl or like to do physical work around the yard—recognize that maintaining the same level of activity will likely be used as evidence that your injury does not merit workers’ compensation benefits.

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to men and women throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

We handle all workers’ compensation claims on a contingency basis. There will be no attorney fees unless we recover damages for your losses.

Common Mistakes When Filing for Workers’ Compensation – Part Two

common-mistakes-when-filing-for-workers-compensation-part-twoIf you’ve been hurt at work and had to pursue workers’ compensation benefits, you know that the process can be long and difficult, even when it seems like you have an open and shut case. You don’t want to make some of the common mistakes people do, errors that can delay your receipt of benefits or even disqualify you. We’ve talked about some of the medical issues, such as failing to get a second opinion or failing to follow doctor’s orders. Here are some of the more fundamental mistakes that can jeopardize your right to benefits.

Waiting to Notify Your Employer

You should let your employer know of your injury as soon as possible. Remember, your employer and the workers’ compensation insurance company have a vested interest in paying as little as possible (or nothing, if they can get away with it) to settle your claim. The longer you wait, the greater the risk that your employer or the insurance company will make one or both of the following arguments:

  • Your injury wasn’t really that serious, or you would have notified your employer immediately
  • Your injury was caused by some intervening event (another accident, unrelated to work)

Waiting to File Your Workers’ Compensation Claim

There’s a time limit for filing a workers’ compensation claim. If you don’t submit your claim within the required period of time, you stand a good chance of losing any right to benefits.

Trusting that Your Employer Will Take Care of Everything for You

Don’t operate under the mistaken assumption that your employer will acknowledge your injury and help you get the benefits you need. By the same token, don’t try to handle the workers’ compensation claim on your own. Your employer and/or the insurance company will likely have your claim reviewed by legal counsel, and may actually employ attorneys to try to deny or diminish your claim. Hire an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to ensure that your rights are protected.

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to injured workers throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

We handle all workers’ compensation claims on a contingency basis. We won’t charge you attorney fees if we don’t recover compensation for your losses.

Common Mistakes in Workers’ Compensation Claims – Part One

common-mistakes-in-workers-compensation-claims-part-oneSecuring workers’ compensation benefits in New Jersey can be difficult, even when your case seems like a slam dunk. You need to be careful that you don’t make some of the common mistakes that can diminish or jeopardize your claim.

Seeking Treatment Only for Major Injuries

It happens all the time. You suffer a broken arm or some other highly visible trauma and focus all your medical attention on the obvious injury, ignoring the twists, sprains or strains to muscles or connective tissue in your back or neck. Unfortunately, it’s often the less visible injuries that cause more long term problems. When you seek medical care after a work-related injury, be sure to tell the doctor about everything that happened and anything that feels out of the ordinary.

Trying to Be Strong or Brave

When you have been hurt on the job, it’s not the time to show how tough you are. It’s the time to fully acknowledge the extent of your injuries. Don’t brush them off and, most importantly, don’t ignore doctor’s orders. There’s no race to full recovery—you need to take as much time as necessary to fully heal. If you try to do too much too soon, you may risk the loss of benefits, even though you are still injured.

Accepting a Single Medical Opinion

When you seek workers’ compensation benefits, you’ll be required to undergo a physical examination by a company-chosen doctor. That doctor may conclude that you are not prevented from working, or that your injury was not work-related. You don’t have to accept that single opinion. You can obtain a second opinion, or even a third opinion, if the first two are conflicting.

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to injured workers throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

We handle all workers’ compensation claims on a contingency basis. We won’t charge you attorney fees if we don’t recover compensation for your losses.

What Additional Benefits Are Available in a New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Claim?

what-additional-benefits-are-available-in-a-new-jersey-workers-compensation-claimIn New Jersey, when you’ve been injured on the job, you have a right to collect benefits to compensate you for lost income. Once you’ve been unable to work for at least seven days because of your injury, you are eligible for as much as 70% of your gross weekly wage before your accident. If your claim isn’t challenged, your benefits will likely start within a couple weeks, and will be retroactive to the date of your injury.

You are entitled to other benefits when you file a workers’ compensation claim:

  • Payment of medical expenses—Under New Jersey law, if your workers’ compensation claim is approved, you are entitled to reimbursement for or payment of all reasonable and necessary medical treatment. As a general rule, you must obtain pre-authorization for medical care, except in the case of an emergency.
  • Job training or vocational rehab—If your injuries are permanent and will prevent you from returning to your previous occupation, you can obtain financial assistance to help you find a new job or get trained to do other work.
  • Mileage reimbursement—You’ll be required to stay under the care of a doctor and to schedule regular appointments. You can request reimbursement of mileage expenses.
  • Death benefits—If you die in a work-related accident, your surviving spouse and/or other dependents can receive payments at the same rate as if you had been permanently and totally disabled.
  • Funeral and burial expenses—The workers’ compensation laws also provide for payment of up to $3,500 to cover funeral and burial expenses when a worker is killed on the job.

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to injured people throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

Work-Related Injuries—Part Two

work-related-injuries-part-twoAs we explained in an earlier blog, to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits in New Jersey, you must meet two requirements—you must have been injured, and that injury must have been sustained during the course of your employment. Clearly, if you are on the clock and performing any of the duties listed in your job description, you’ll likely qualify for workers’ compensation for any injuries suffered. But there are situations where there may be questions about whether your injury was work-related.

In an earlier blog, we looked at whether you can recover workers’ compensation benefits when you are hurt at company outing or because of your own wrongdoing. In this blog, we look at your eligibility if you suffer injury on a break or while traveling for your employer.

Injuries Incurred on a Break

Under labor laws, you are entitled to take regular breaks, including a lunch break. Can you collect workers’ compensation benefits if you slip and fall while punched out for lunch or a scheduled break? Does it matter if you leave the company grounds?

Generally speaking, if you suffer an injury on company property while on a lunch or other break, you will be able to recover workers’ compensation benefits. There are exceptions—if you were involved in some time of unauthorized or forbidden horseplay at the time, you may be disqualified. If, on the other hand, you leave the physical premises of your employer for lunch, you generally won’t be able to collect workers’ compensation benefits for injuries suffered at or on the way to or from the restaurant, unless you went to the specific destination to pick up food for your boss or at the request of a supervisor.

Injuries While Traveling

As a general rule, you don’t qualify for workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained on your commute to or from work, unless you took a detour to complete a task at the request of a supervisor (your boss asked you to pick up bagels or stop at the post office). If your job requires that you drive to see customers, or if you travel to conferences, workshops or seminars for work, you will generally be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if you are hurt, unless the activity you were engaged in was wholly or primarily personal. For example, if you are hurt on the way to or from a meal, you are probably covered, but if you go to a night club while at a convention and hurt yourself on the dance floor, that probably won’t be covered.

Contact Taylor & Boguski

At Taylor & Boguski, we have more than 70 years of combined experience representing injured workers across New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, send us an e-mail or call us at 856-200-8989.

We handle all workers’ compensation claims on a contingency basis. You won’t pay any legal fees unless we get compensation for your losses.

Work-Related Injuries – Part One

work-related-injuries-part-oneIn New Jersey, as in other states, when you suffer an injury at work, you are entitled to pursue workers’ compensation benefits to cover lost wages, medical expenses and other costs. There are only two requirements to qualify for benefits—you must have been injured and your injury must have occurred during the course of your employment. In most instances, there is no dispute that you were injured at work. But there are circumstances where the rules may not be so clear. Here are a couple of those instances.

Injuries Incurred at a Company Event

Suppose your company sponsors an event—a golf outing or a picnic—and you slip and fall at the outing, sustaining injuries that prevent you from working. In most instances, whether attendance at the event was voluntary or mandatory, you’ll have the right to seek and recover workers’ compensation benefits for injuries you have suffered. There are exceptions, however, if your behavior was unreasonable. For example, if you become inebriated at a company event and get behind the wheel of a car, you may be precluded from recovering workers’ compensation benefits if you are involved in a car accident, unless you can show that the company provided the alcohol.

Injuries Caused by Your Own Wrongful Conduct

What if your injuries were caused, in part, by your own negligence or carelessness? Typically, that won’t prevent you from recovering workers’ compensation benefits, as workers’ compensation laws are “no fault” statutes, meaning benefits are available regardless of fault. However, if it can be shown that you intentionally injured yourself to collect benefits or recklessly disregarded company rules, your claim can be rejected.

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to people throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

We represent clients in workers’ compensation proceedings on a contingent fee basis. We won’t charge you attorney fees unless we recover compensation for your losses.

Is Workers’ Compensation Your Only Remedy for a Work-Related Injury?

is-workers-compensation-your-only-remedy-for-a-work-related-injurySo you have been hurt on the job. In New Jersey, as in other states, you are entitled to seek workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained during the course of employment. The workers’ compensation laws were enacted to provide a benefit to both parties in the aftermath of a work-related injury. For the worker, there’s the opportunity to start receiving benefits within weeks of the injury, with benefits retroactive to the date of injury. You don’t have to incur the expense of a lawsuit and you won’t have to wait for compensation until the legal process is exhausted. As an employer, you don’t have to worry that a sympathetic jury will come back with a huge damage award. Payments are generally fixed under the workers’ compensation system.

But is that your exclusive remedy in the aftermath of a workplace injury? It depends.

The workers’ compensation laws are intended to compensate a worker for the negligence of an employer or a co-worker. If your injuries were caused entirely by the carelessness of your employer or a colleague, you must look only to the workers’ compensation system for reimbursement of any losses. However, if you can show that your injuries were caused, in whole or in part, by an unrelated third party, you can still pursue damages in a lawsuit against that third party. In fact, you can file a lawsuit simultaneously with a workers’ compensation claim.

So what does a third party claim look like? Some of the more common ones include:
• Injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident caused by a third party
• Injuries suffered as a result of the malfunction or breakdown of tools, equipment or products manufactured or marketed by a third party
• Injuries caused by the negligence of someone on adjoining property

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to men and women throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.

We handle all workers’ compensation claims on a contingency basis. There will be no attorney fees unless we recover damages for your losses.

Workplace Fatalities on the Rise in New Jersey

man with knife

Though deaths on the job remained about the same nationwide in 2015, New Jersey unexpectedly saw an increase of nearly 10% in fatalities in the workplace during the same time period. Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicated that 97 New Jersey residents died from work-related accidents, up from 87 a year earlier. Officials could not identify a single factor that contributed to the increase.

Here are some of the findings included in the BLS study:

  • Violent deaths nearly doubled, from 11 in 2014 to 18 in 2015
  • More than a third of the New Jersey deaths—37—were in motor vehicle accidents
  • Falls from heights accounted for 24 workplace fatalities in 2015
  • The construction industry experienced the largest number of deaths—22, and more than half of those (12) were of workers who fell from high elevations
  • The occupation that saw the highest number of deaths was motor vehicle operator, with 15. This was also true with respect to work-related deaths nationwide.
  • More than two-thirds of the workers who died across the country were Caucasian—that statistic was significantly lower in New Jersey, with only 54% of workplace fatalities involving white workers
  • Men are far more likely to die in the workplace than women—nationally, 98% of job-related deaths are of men. In New Jersey, 94% of workplace fatalities are men
  • There’s a lot less risk if you are self-employed—only 14% of deaths nationally were of people who worked for themselves
  • 40% of the deaths in New Jersey involved workers over the age of 55, as compared to 35% across the country.

Contact Us

At Taylor & Boguski, we bring more than 70 years of combined legal experience to injured people throughout New Jersey. For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 856-200-8989.