The practice area of Workers’ Compensation is very specialized and requires particular knowledge of how the “system” works. At Laddey Clark & Ryan, we have made it our mission to understand this practice area thoroughly and keep up with the changing statutes and case law to best serve the interests of our clients. We zealously advocate on behalf of each client injured at work to ensure their rights are protected. We have spent years devoting our time and energy to all aspects of this area of law, including making denied cases compensable, pushing adjusters to provide necessary medical treatment, defending and prosecuting motions and re-opening matters to obtain additional treatment for clients who had further problems with their injury or the subsequent treatment measures.
Our core objective is to make treatment the most important element of the case. What separates our practice from others is our commitment to go above and beyond in advocating for our clients to obtain the most appropriate medical care that can bring a client as close as possible to his or her condition pre-injury.
We believe that it says a lot about our approach – and our record of success – that most of our clients were referred by prior clients — many from the same employer.
Workers’ Compensation in a Nutshell
Unfortunately, injuries occur at work. But did you know that an injured employee has substantial rights when an injury occurs? There are three benefits an injured employee is entitled to: (1) temporary benefits, which service as wage replacement; (2) medical treatment; and (3) a permanency award. Each of these benefits is described below.
(1) Temporary Benefits - You are entitled to receive temporary disability benefits if your Workers’ Compensation-approved doctor writes a note saying that you are out of work. This benefit is either 70% of your pay or the maximum amount of $969 per week, whichever is lower. If your doctor releases you to “light duty,” you will be expected to go back to work in that capacity if your job offers “light duty.” If it does not, you will continue on temporary benefits until you are released to “full duty.” You are prohibitedfrom working anywhere while you are receiving temporary benefits, including any “off the books” jobs. You are also unable to collect unemployment while you are receiving temporary benefits. If you become unemployed while you are still receiving treatment and are not receiving temporary benefits, you are also barred from collecting unemployment, as doing so would mean you are “ready, willing and able” to work.
(2) Medical Treatment - At some point you will reach what is called “Maximum Medical Improvement” or MMI. This means that there is nothing more that the doctors can do for you to help improve your health or condition. Regardless of the extent of the injury, you will eventually reach this point, at which time your medical benefits will end. After this point, there is a six-month waiting period before permanency examinations can be scheduled, pursuant to Court Rules.
(3) Permanency Award - Once you have reached the end of your treatment, it will be required that you attend permanency evaluations. These are examinations with both our doctors and the employer’s insurance company’s doctors that will determine how permanently disabled you are. The award you are given at the end is determined by the percentage disabled you have become as a result of the injury and, for some injuries, your wages. The percentage of disability corresponds to a dollar amount as set forth by the State of New Jersey. The amount of attorneys’ fees will be determined, but will not exceed 20% of the recovery. This amount is determined solely through the discretion of the Court. The Court will also determine how much of the attorneys’ fees will be deducted from your permanency award. The award is paid directly to your attorney by the employer’s insurance company. If there is no permanency award, you will not receive a bill for legal services rendered.
“I recently found myself in the unenviable position of searching for legal representation due to personal injuries sustained in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. It was my good fortune to be steered toward Laddey Clark & Ryan. From the very first interview, my confidence was inspired by the thorough, clear and compassionate professionalism evidenced by the attorneys, paralegals and other staff members. Contrary to my fears, the process was not painful and the resolution certainly exceeded my expectations! I unhesitatingly recommend Laddey Clark & Ryan to anyone in need of legal assistance after an accident.”
Amy Hobbs
“After a life altering elevator accident, I turned to Laddey Clark & Ryan for justice, and am very pleased with the outcome of my trial and settlement. The team looked out for my best interest from my first call through resolution and settlement of my case. I will be forever grateful to the team at LCR who brought justice, peace and a fair financial settlement to my accident injury case.”
John P. Deatherage
“Thanks to the team at LCR! They were able to quickly secure a just settlement for my painful car accident. LCR was very professional and helpful throughout the entire process.”
Sussex County Client
19-year-old girl is rear-ended and had a herniation in her neck that will eventually result in surgery. The insurance company for the other driver, Mercury Insurance, claimed all of the spinal damage was due to old age and only made a minimal settlement offer. The jury was able to see how much the spinal damage and constant pain impacted the future for this young woman.
A 14-year-old girl’s father ran a stop sign and collided with a passing car. She suffered a herniation in her neck, which harms her ability to play the viola. She had been a serious candidate at Julliard. The insurance company, Allstate, offered $7,500 pre-trial, which forced this case into the jury’s hands.
A woman leaving work at 1 a.m. slipped on black ice in the parking lot outside of her office building, fracturing her ankle. She worked at an international company that conducted business at all hours of the day. The company that was hired to perform 24/7 monitoring of the property claimed it had no idea that people would be working that late and therefore should not be held responsible for re-freeze situations. We successfully argued that the snow and ice removal company, which received weather alerts every two hours, should have known that there was a re-freeze situation, and that it was well aware people worked in this office 24/7.
An elevator maintained by Schindler Elevator Corporation dropped and slammed to a stop in Stateline, Nevada, severely injuring one of the passengers. Schindler and its attorneys maintained throughout the case that it did nothing wrong despite the admissions of its own supervisors that it was not maintaining the elevators to the proper standards.
A 72 year-old man slipped and fell on black ice outside a Wells Fargo Bank. He suffered a spinal injury and required emergency surgery that confined him to a wheelchair. Wells Fargo and the company it hired to clear ice from the property attempted to blame the victim, but we were able to convince the jury the ice was an ongoing condition caused by a poor drainage pipe.
Аn 18-year-old woman was rear-ended on her way home from college and suffered a herniation in her lower spine. Her doctors said her injury would eventually result in a fusion surgery. The insurance company, New Jersey Manufacturers, offered only $50,000 to resolve the case before trial started. We were able to show the jury how the terrible injury to this young woman has dramatically altered her life, and the woman’s treating doctors showed how the damage to her spine is progressive.
Schindler Elevator Corporation created false work reports claiming a secretary performed maintenance on an elevator at the Headquarters Plaza building in Morristown, NJ. The elevator eventually failed catastrophically, severely injuring the carpenter inside. The man will never work again and is now in constant pain from his injuries. This case was a retrial after a previous jury entered an award of $4,000,000 in the same case that Schindler was able to get reversed on appeal.
