In general, the workers' compensation statute in New Jersey limits an employee’s remedy for work-related injuries to a workers' compensation claim against the employer. This “exclusive remedy provision” not only protects the employer, but also co-employees as well. Even if an employee is negligently injured by another employee while on the job, their sole remedy is a workers' compensation claim against the employer.

In a recent New Jersey Appellate Case, High v. Rose, A-2539-09T1 (App. Div. July 26, 2011), the court shed light on exactly how broad the "course of employment" standard can be construed and its impact on an injured individual’s available remedies.

Both High and Rose were employed at The Montclair Kimberley Academy; High worked as a nurse and Rose as a teacher. School hours were 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and the teachers and staff generally left at 3:30 p.m. The school also provided an after-school care program for students until 4:00 p.m. or earlier when those students were picked up at the school by their parents. Rose’s five-year old son attended pre-kindergarten at the school till 2:30 p.m. each day and then would attend the aftercare program until Rose was able to pick him up after she was finished working for the day.

On the day of the incident, High stayed late at the school until approximately 4:15 p.m. assisting another teacher. After she was done, she walked out to her car in the school parking lot where she was struck by Rose who was backing out of her parking space.

High filed a claim petition for workers' compensation benefits which was accepted and benefits awarded. However, a year after the accident, High also filed a negligence complaint against Rose. Rose filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that High's personal injury claim was barred by the Workers’ Compensation Act provision barring civil lawsuits against co-workers (N.J.S.A. 34:15-8). The trial court granted the motion which was later affirmed by the Appellate Court.

The Appellate Court rejected High's argument that Rose ceased being in the course of her employment after she picked up her son from the after-school care program. The Appellate Court agreed with the trial court's determination that both High and Rose were still in the course of their employment when the accident occurred in the parking lot provided by the school for their employees. The Court stated that just because an "injured employee may have been 'off the clock'" does not mean that the employee is not in the course of employment especially "if an employee sustains an injury in an area controlled by the employer."

If you injured or contract an occupational disease while working, please contact Mark & Galusha, your Workers Compensation attorneys in Hudson County and Essex County, New Jersey. For your free consultation with a lawyer from our Firm, contact us at 908-626-1001 or 973-440-2311, or tell us your story by clicking the "contact us" page.