A Paterson school teacher verbally assaulted by another teacher was entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits, including temporary disability and medical treatment, according to a ruling issued by the NJ Appellate Division. The ruling affirmed the trial court’s decision that allowed benefits to the injured educator.
The Appellate Court held that sufficient credible evidence existed to uphold the award. The injured instructor, a language teacher at Kennedy High School, was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment following a verbal assault which occurred at the school. The Court indicated that the treating psychiatrist, whose testimony was supported by a psychiatric medical expert and the report of the Social Security examining physician, established the relationship between the incident and the petitioner’s inability to work.
“The Court recognizes that the teaching profession has become a hostile work environment and that employers are responsible for emotional injuries caused by the risks associated by employment of that nature,” stated Jon L. Gelman, of Wayne, NJ, attorney for the teacher.
The Appellate Division also affirmed the workers’ compensation trial judge’s ruling, and deemed the event a specific psychiatric injury and not an occupational disease. The Court focused on the single assault as the triggering event.
The teacher has not returned to work and is presently receiving court-ordered medical treatment at the expense of the school district. She continues to receive temporary workers’ compensation disability since the event, which happened over two and a half years ago. She was also awarded social security disability benefits. Garrity v. Paterson Public Schools, A-4592-01T2 (Decided April 28, 2003).
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See also:
The Record
Teacher in verbal attack eligible for workers' Comp
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