Pain and suffering compensation when negligence is the cause
At the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg, we want our clients to recover the maximum amount of compensation possible for their injuries. For on-the-job accidents, New Jersey’s workers’ compensation law entitles injured workers to have their medical bills paid and to receive a portion of their lost income. But this works out to a net loss for the worker.

Personal injury law is intended to make the victim whole, so it should place you in the position you’d enjoy if you were never injured by ordering compensation for your total economic losses and your pain and suffering. However, workers’ compensation protects employers and co-workers from personal injury lawsuits, even if their negligence caused a worker’s injury. Your only opportunity to recover personal injury damages is if a third party was responsible for your injury.

Third-party lawsuits in New Jersey for work-related accidents
Several workplace accident scenarios support a third-party lawsuit against a negligent person or entity that caused your injury:

Construction accidents — Several subcontractors may be working on different aspects of a project under separate agreements with one general contractor. If a subcontractor or its employee acts negligently and injures the employee of another subcontractor, there is no employer or co-worker relationship to bar a personal injury lawsuit.
Defective industrial equipment — When workers sustain injuries due to a defect in manufacturing equipment or power tools, they can initiate a products liability claim against the equipment manufacturer.
Traffic accidents — Delivery drivers and salespeople are on the job when they are in their vehicles. If a negligent driver injures them, they can receive workers’ comp benefits, but they also have grounds for a lawsuit, as would any driver injured by a careless motorist.
Bergen County attorneys deliver results in third-party lawsuits for work-related injuries
The attorneys at the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg can determine whether you have grounds for a third-party lawsuit and aggressively protect your interests. Easily accessible by bus or New Jersey Transit, our office is just 1 mile north of the George Washington Bridge, Exit 1 off the Palisades Parkway.

Bergen County attorneys stand up for injured workers’ rights
New Jersey’s workers’ compensation law protects workers who suffer on-the-job injuries. At the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg, we want to make sure you receive the maximum benefits to which you’re entitled. If you suffered a work-related injury, we can help you file your claim, fight a denial of benefits or negotiate a fair disability settlement.

Workers’ compensation benefits for New Jersey workers
In New Jersey, workers’ compensation provides benefits to employees who are injured in workplace accidents. It also covers workers who suffer from occupational diseases. By law, your employer must provide insurance for the following:

Medical care — You are entitled to payments for all necessary and reasonable medical treatment, prescriptions and hospital services related to your work injury. Your employer has the right to designate a treating physician. You may only choose the treating physician if your employer denies you medical treatment or in an emergency situation.
Temporary disability — An injured worker who is unable to return to work for more than seven days is eligible to receive temporary total disability benefits (TTD) going back to the first day missed. TTD pays 70 percent of the worker’s wages up to 75 percent of the statewide average weekly wage (SAWW) but not less than 20 percent of the SAWW. TTD terminates when the worker returns to the job or reaches maximum medical improvement for the work-related injury. A worker who has achieved MMI but is still unable to resume work duties may be eligible for permanent disability benefits.
Permanent partial disability — Permanent partial disability applies when someone is capable of performing some work but not the same tasks as before the injury. In this case, the worker is eligible for weekly payments based on schedules that delineate compensation according to the area of the body that is impaired and the degree of function loss.
Permanent total disability — Workers whose maximum medical improvement still leaves them incapable of performing their jobs are eligible for 70 percent of their wages, subject to a maximum, for 450 weeks, plus additional statutory benefits.
Death — A fatally injured worker’s dependents receive 70 percent of the victim’s wages for 450 weeks, plus additional benefits for the spouse. Workers’ compensation also provides a modest funeral allowance ($3,500 for 2014).
Contact our Bergen County attorneys for answers to your workers’ comp questions
If you have questions about workers’ comp benefits for your job-related injury or illness, the knowledgeable attorneys at the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg are ready with answers.

Helping victims injured by dangerous or defective property conditions in Bergen County
Slip and fall and trip and fall accidents can occur whenever a property or business owner fails reasonably to inspect or maintain a premises, including interiors and exteriors, or creates a hazardous condition and does nothing to fix it. A needless accident can also result from a landowner failing to warn of a danger he or she should have known about.

If you slipped on a snowy sidewalk that a store owner should have shoveled hours before, fell in the supermarket when no one had cleaned up the aisle, tripped on misaligned sidewalk edges, fell down stairs in poor condition or were otherwise injured in a fall while on or in someone else’s property or business, you may have a claim for negligence. At the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg, we have decades of experience in all types of slip and trip and fall cases — known as premises liability — and the results to prove it.

Where do slip and fall & trip and fall accidents occur?
Slip and fall cases are significantly different from other types of personal injury cases. The evidence of the condition that caused the injury often quickly disappears. The snow melts, the spill gets cleaned up or the stairs are repaired. If you are injured by tripping or slipping and falling, try to get photographs of the scene with a camera phone if you have one, the names and phone numbers of witnesses, and any physical evidence. Remember, slip and fall and trip and fall accidents can occur almost anywhere you go, including:

Department stores
Malls and shopping centers, including on escalators
Restaurants and bars
Fast-food restaurants, such as McDonald’s
Coffee shops, like Starbucks
Sidewalks and entryways maintained by stores and businesses
Parking lots or underground garages
Apartments or rental units

What are some typical property defects that cause accidents?
Using their decades of experience, our lawyers help victims recover compensation through a lawsuit or settlement for injuries caused by all types of dangerous property conditions and defects, including:

Grocery store spills
Dropped food and spills in restaurants, including fast-food and convenience stores
Slippery or wet floors, stairs or sidewalks
Slippery floor-cleaning products
Missing handrails
Broken or uneven steps or stairs
Garbage spills
Poor drainage
Leaks
Puddles, ice or snow
Swimming pool accidents
Cracked or uneven pavement, sidewalks or flooring
Torn or uneven carpeting
Cracked, uneven or poorly repaired sidewalks or passages
Potholes
Electrical wiring
Negligent construction work
Inadequate or dim lighting
Failure to warn of hazards

Are slip and fall injuries serious?
Unfortunately, many people erroneously believe that trip and fall and slip and fall accidents are minor and should not result in a lawsuit. Falls can cause serious injuries, including badly broken bones in the wrist, arm, leg, foot or spine. Falls are the leading cause of brain injuries in victims of all ages, accounting for more than 30 percent of new traumatic head injuries each year. While falls affect victims of all ages, children and older adults are particularly susceptible to these kind of injuries. Falls cause half of all traumatic brain injuries in children ages 14 and younger and more than 60 percent of brain injuries in adults ages 65 and older. Older adults are also particularly at risk for a spinal injury during a fall, with 25 percent of spinal cord injuries resulting from falls. Falls are the leading cause of spinal injuries in adults older than 65.