If you were injured on the job, you may need to claim workers’ compensation benefits to recover financially. Whether or not you are eligible for a state’s workers’ comp program depends on multiple factors. You must have been an employee, your employer must provide workers’ comp insurance, the injury or illness must be work-related, and you must follow through with deadlines outlined by your state. If any of these pieces are missing, you will either have to try to find another way to sue or you will be left without the settlement you need.
Employment Status and Work-Related Causes
Naturally, in order to get workers’ compensation, you would have to be working for the company that provides it and the injuries would have to be work-related. If you come in with a broken leg from something you did on your own time, you won’t be insured. If you were fired and come into work and try to keep working or are a pedestrian walking by a construction zone, you would not be eligible. These are just common sense requirements you were most likely already aware of.
Your Employer and Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Although New Jersey requires that employers obtain workers’ comp insurance, that does not mean that everyone is going to follow the rules. In fact, health and safety regulations for construction zones are violated on a daily basis across the country by employers and employees alike. If you find out there is no insurance, you can’t get workers’ comp coverage. You can however sue the employer directly and target his or her personal finances and assets as he/she would be liable for breaking the law and not following state and federal regulations that are meant to protect USA workers.
Statute of Limitations and Reporting Deadlines
In New Jersey, the rule is that you must report an accident and any injuries within two weeks to your employer. If you don’t, they may not have to cover you. There are exceptions to this time limit, but even the exceptions do not apply if you take over 90 days.
Exceptions to the 14-day reporting rule include:
- You have valid reasoning for not notifying your employer within two weeks (such as you were in a coma and could not do so)
- Your employer was or should have been aware of the injury or illness (such as witnessing the accident)
- Your employer failed to provide legally required notices about workers’ comp rules and deadlines
It is important to note that the reporting time limit is not the only time constraint you should keep in mind. There are also statute of limitations in place for workers’ comp injury cases. In New Jersey, there is a time limit of two years. The only exception to this is if your injury had delayed symptoms. Then the start date for the statute of limitations would move from the injury date to the date in which you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the work-related injury.
Contact a Cherry Hill Workers’ Compensation Lawyer to Discuss Your New Jersey Workplace Injury Case
A workplace injury can be devastating, particularly if it prevents you from returning to work for an extended period of time. Although NJ Workers’ Compensation laws are supposed to provide you with reimbursement for medical expenses and replacement pay for missed time at work, it is not always easy to get the Workers’ Comp benefits you deserve. That is why you should speak with a knowledgeable Workers’ Compensation lawyer about your situation and get guidance throughout the claims process. The experienced Workers’ Compensation attorneys at Begelman & Orlow, P. C. represent clients in Lindenwold, Haddon Township, Collingswood, Haddonfield and all across New Jersey. Call 866-627-7052 or email us today to schedule a consultation about your work injury case. Our main office is located at 411 Route 70 East Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 and we also have offices in
Conshohocken, PA.
The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.