New Jersey Workers' Compensation Attorneys
Workplace Safety
If regulations were all it took to prevent workplace accidents, New Jersey workers would be injured very rarely. Both state and federal laws set strict standards for workplace safety, outlining rules and procedures designed to keep workers safe. These include requirements for safety equipment; procedures for dealing with heavy objects, machinery or dangerous chemicals; and limitations on how long workers may go without a break. Employers must notify their workers of these safety rules and train them on good workplace safety practices.
Unfortunately, due to oversight or cost-cutting, some workers and employers don't always observe those rules. The result can be death or a very serious injury, including head or spinal injuries, serious burns, amputations, broken bones, chemical exposure and more. In fact, the New Jersey Occupational Health Service reports that there were 137,000 workplace injuries and illnesses and 112 fatalities in the state in 2005 alone. Employees hurt badly enough to need time off work were most likely to do jobs requiring physical exertion, including:
- Laborers and freight movers
- Commercial truck drivers
- Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants
- Maintenance and repair workers
- Registered nurses
If you're hurt or lose a loved one on the job in New Jersey, you're legally entitled to file a New Jersey workers' compensation claim. That's true no matter what size your employer might be or whether the accident could have been your fault. In fact, workers' compensation in New Jersey covers workplace injuries that aren't traditionally thought of as accidents, including occupational exposure to disease or dangerous chemicals that builds into a disease over time; a work injury that aggravates a pre-existing injury; and injuries from repetitive motions. Workers' compensation entitles you to full coverage of your medical bills as well as payments of 70 percent of your regular wages, to help you support yourself while you can't work.
In most cases, collecting workers' compensation payments means you may not file a workplace accident lawsuit against your employer. However, in some cases, a third party -- a company or person that you don't directly work for -- may be partly responsible for the injury. This is especially common in the construction industry, where several subcontractors frequently work together. In that case, you may still file a New Jersey workplace injury lawsuit while collecting workers' compensation.
If you or someone you love was seriously hurt on the job, you should call Lependorf & Silverstein as soon as possible. We are an experienced workers compensation law firm based in Princeton, serving clients throughout the state of New Jersey. We're proud to be able to say we've won millions of dollars for our clients injured in the workplace and in other settings -- money that can help clients get the medical treatment they need, support themselves financially and move on. We have extensive experience with the complex legal, bureaucratic and medical issues posed by a workplace injury. And because we offer free, no-obligation consultations, there's never any risk in speaking with us about your rights and the likely outcomes of your case.
If you or a loved one has suffered from a workers' compensation injury in New Jersey, contact Lependorf & Silverstein today for a free consultation.