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Kossack v. Bloomfield (1960) | Police officer injured at home cleaning his service weapon is covered by Workers Compensation.

Abdullah v. Thomas (1983) | Established the formula used to reduce an award when the injured employee received a previous award involving a similar injury.

Dowson v. Lodi
(1986) | A volunteer firefighter who was injured while playing on the Department’s softball team is not covered for WC because the game did not produce a benefit for the Department beyond morale.

Mabee v. Borden (1998) | The sole recourse rule does not apply if the employer directs a violation of safety rules that result in a “virtual certainly” that employees will be injured.

Schmidt v. Smith (1998) | The employers’ liability section of a workers’ compensation policy covers claims for workplace sexual harassment where the harassment results in physical manifestation of bodily injury (i.e. stress).

Crank v. Palermo (1999) | A Housing Authority Commissioner on HA business who was injured while riding as a passenger in a HA owned vehicle cannot sue the HA for injuries sustained in that accident because the Commissioner is considered as an employee covered by Workers’ Compensation and therefore subject to the sole recourse rule.

Capano v. Bound Brook Relief and Fire Company (2001) | A 93-year-old life member of a Fire Company is entitled to compensation when he fell in the fire house while putting a log into a fire place.

Peterson v. Alpine (2001) | Utilities share responsibility for police officer workers’ compensation.

Jumpp v. Ventnor (2003) | A municipal water department operator is not covered by Workers’ compensation when he stopped along his route to pick up his personal mail because this is more than a minor deviation.

Lindquest v. Jersey City (2003) | A career fire fighter with emphysema is entitled to compensation even though he was an extensive smoker and science is not able to clearly establish causation.

Wasik v. Bergenfield (2003) | The instigator of horseplay can also be covered by workers’ compensation so long as the horsing around was neither extensive nor serious.

Potter v. Jersey City (2012) | The 48 hour period to report a hernia does not apply to inguinal hernias.

Hersh v. Morris County (2012) | Upholds and clarifies the going and coming rule concerning when workers’ compensation coverage begins and ends.

Tumolo v. Seaside (2013) | A “travel-time” exception allows portal-to-portal coverage for employees paid for travel time to and from a distant job site, or using an employer-authorized vehicle for travel time to and from a distant job site. Further, “travel by a policeman, fireman, or a member of a first aid or rescue squad, in responding to and returning from an emergency, shall be deemed to be in the course of employment.

Lambert v. Travelers (2016) | Notwithstanding the auto no fault law, when an employee is injured in an auto accident, the employee may sue a third party and the WC insurer has subrogation rights to the recovery.