Articles Posted in Injuries

Severe storms, fluctuating temperatures and flooding all wreak havoc on our roadways, creating minefields of potholes for motorists and cyclists to navigate. Damages from these road hazards can range from blown tires, pricey alignment adjustments, physical injuries and, in some cases, even death. How far does the responsibility of local governments to repair these damaged roadways go? That’s a question recently addressed by the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Just this past week, the Supreme Court was considering the extent of local governments’ liability to repair potholes as it reviewed the case of Polzo v. County of Essex. The family of Mathi Kahn-Polzo brought suit against Essex County after she died from head injuries suffered when she hit a pothole while cycling with friends on a county road. (1)

The question the Court is struggling with is whether local governments are responsible only for repairing damages they have “constructive notice” of, which meets the Tort Claims Act requirement, or if their responsibilities extend further to include establishment of an inspection program to detect road damage. (1)

When the job market is as tight as it is now, few workers are willing to make waves and risk losing their employment. But should workers risk their health and safety or that of their co-workers or the public just to keep a job? There are a number of laws, both on the state and federal level, intended to keep New Jersey workers safe in the workplace and free from reprisal should they refuse to perform an unsafe job.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) are some of the laws that protect workers on the federal level. In New Jersey, workers also have the protection of the New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) and the Public Employees’ Occupational Safety and Health Act. In additional, there are a number of industry-specific statutes that also aim to protect workers under certain circumstances. (1)

Perhaps the most recognized of these laws is OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (also called OSHA) protects the employee’s right to a safe workplace by hearing complaints, performing inspections of workplaces and imposing fines on businesses found to be in violation of safety standards. (1) For example this past spring, OSHA found a West Trenton ball-bearings manufacturer guilty of 21 safety violations and fined the company $88,200. (2) Separately a New Jersey general contractor and five subcontractors were fined a total of $95,470 for 20 health and safety violations. OSHA does not, however, grant rights to employees to overtly refuse an unsafe work assignment. (3)

Reminiscent of the question which came first – the chicken or the egg, New Jersey courts recently had to deal with the dilemma of which contributed more to an Edison woman’s death – her less-than-healthy, personal lifestyle or her sedentary work conditions.

This case rose from a workers’ compensation claim filed by the widower of Cathleen Renner, a long-time employee of AT&T who died in 2007 from a pulmonary embolism. According to court reports, on the night of her death Mrs. Renner worked for more than ten hours at the computer in her home office in order to meet a pressing deadline for work. About an hour later she was dead. (1)

Mrs. Renner’s husband, James, filed a claim for death benefits under the State’s workers’ compensation law. In New Jersey, workers’ compensation insurance pays benefits to employees for illness or injury incurred in connection with their jobs. It also pays benefits to dependents of employees who die as a result of employment-related activities. (2)

A Jackson, NJ, teenager filed a lawsuit late last month in Ocean County Superior Court seeking an undivulged amount of damages in connection with a fireworks mishap that left him partially blind. That lawsuit has refueled a long-lived debate over the legality of selling fireworks to residents of states in which their use is illegal. (1)

Last summer, 19-year-old Thomas Eldershaw agreed to help a friend set off fireworks during a July 4th celebration when one of the explosives miss-fired hitting Eldershaw in the face and eye. Eldershaw suffered facial burns and was left partially blinded as a result of this accident. His lawsuit names the seller of the fireworks — Sky King Fireworks of Morrisville, PA, the manufacturer of the fireworks and the friend who purchased the fireworks. (2)

New Jersey is one of a few states that continues to ban all consumer fireworks and allows display fireworks only by permit. As a result, the sale, exposure for sale, distribution, possession and use of fireworks within the State is illegal. (3) The neighboring state of Pennsylvania, however, does allow the sale of fireworks to consumers other than Pennsylvania residents. This has allowed for the establishment of so-called “border stores,” which has long been a contention between the two states. (2)

A State Appeals Court last week overturned a ruling by a lower court judge and gave the okay for a lawsuit to proceed against the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). The lawsuit involves a 2006 escalator accident at the old Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. (1)

The suit was filed by Thomas DiBartolomeo, one of several people injured when leaving the stadium following an October 1, 2006 Jets game. The lawsuit was originally filed against the NJSEA, operator of the stadium, and the Schindler Elevator Company, the company that maintained the escalator. According to the suit the escalator malfunctioned causing fans to fall on top of each other. DiBartolomeo required hip surgery and also developed a hernia following the accident. The suit alleged that a mechanic employed by Schindler had alerted the NJSEA to the potential dangers of overloading the escalator. (2)

The original lawsuit was dismissed by the trial judge. While the appellate court agreed that the Schindler Elevator Company was not responsible for the accident, it did rule in favor of letting the suit against the NJSEA proceed. In its decision, the court noted that DiBartolomeo established that the escalator, when used in a “normal and foreseeable” manner, posed a danger to the public and that the NJSEA had been made aware of this potential danger. (1)

Almost two years after a Continental plane crashed into a home near Buffalo, N.Y., lawyers have gone to court to discuss a number of wrongful death lawsuits still pending in connection with the case, according to recent reports. (1)

A total of 43 lawsuits have been filed claiming wrongful death in connection with the February 12, 2009, crash, including one by the parents of a 24-year-old Parsippany woman, Madeline Loftus, who was among those killed in the accident. (2)

Fifty people were killed when Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed into a home in Clarence, N.Y., which is about 20 miles from the Buffalo airport – the plane’s final destination. The victims included all 49 people aboard the plane, about 11 of whom were from New Jersey, and the home’s owner. (2)

For more than two decades, efforts have been made to require the use of safety helmets by young downhill skiers and snowboarders. This month those efforts have come closer to making that requirement a law. (1)

The State Assembly Tourism and Acts Committee recently approved a bill requiring all skiers and snowboarders under 18 to wear safety helmets while on New Jersey slopes. The bill had passed the State Senate last August and is now pending approval by the full Assembly. (2)

The bill is intended to decrease the number of head injuries suffered as a result of accidents on New Jersey ski slopes. Recently Morristown Memorial Hospital conducted a study which showed that while wearing a helmet may not significantly decrease injuries suffered in high-speed incidents, it could prevent 30% to 50% of injuries suffered in moderate-speed falls. (2)

A civil jury this week found that emergency responders took too long to arrive at a multi-car accident scene on the Atlantic City Expressway despite multiple 9-1-1 calls and awarded $8.7 million to a Mays Landing woman who lost her leg in that accident. (1)

The accident occurred on December 4, 2005. The woman, Janet Henebema, was returning home from her job at an Atlantic City casino when she hit a patch of black ice. Two other cars had hit the same ice patch earlier, causing them to crash into a barrier. Ms. Henebema was able to slow her car down, but the car still crashed into one of the disabled cars. When Henebema left her vehicle to walk to the shoulder of the road, she was struck by yet another car that hit the same ice patch. Ms. Henebema’s leg was severed as a result. (2)

In the civil trial it was discovered that the first accidents occurred more than one half-hour before Ms. Henebema’s car crashed and at least eight phone calls were made to 9-1-1 reporting the accidents. (3)