Our office receives daily telephone calls and emails from New Jersey public employees who have either been injured at work, or are experiencing an unfortunate medical episode that leaves them with the inability to continue public employment. While each call has unique facts and circumstances, they are very much the same in that the individual is calling our office to tap into our expertise and gather information on how the public employment disability pension application process works. Just to be sure we are on the same page, a “public employee” as it is being defined in this post, is any individual that works for either the State of New Jersey, a county in New Jersey or a municipality in New Jersey and is a member of one of New Jersey’s Public Employee Retirement Systems.
When the call or email comes in, a telephone appointment is established, and thereafter we will normally spend some time with the individual talking him or her through the entire pension application process. We do this not only to educate the individual, but also to assist in answering the question that we often hear the most—“Do I need an attorney to assist me in filing my application for disability retirement?” The response to this question is not a “one size fits all” answer. Instead, we always preference the answer that some people take no issue in filing the application on their own, while others seek the assistance of counsel in an effort to ensure that the application is filed correctly, and all of the supporting documentation is filed with the Pension System to ensure that their application moves through the process as quickly and painlessly as possible.
It is important for people to understand that there are numerous “pitfalls” in the application process, and at this point in my career, there aren’t to many of them that I haven’t worked through. In addition to the foregoing, it is incredibly important to note that how the application is filled out, particularly when it comes to describing how the work related accident occurred that led to the disability, can be a “make or break” factor in whether an individual receives accidental disability benefits, ordinary disability benefits, or no benefits at all. The reason why this is so important is because legal and medical standards need to be met in order to receive these benefits. That legal standard to receive accidental disability benefits is articulated in Richardson v. Board of Trustees, and the lineage of case law that has followed.
So what’s the bottom line? Do you need an attorney? That is an individualized question that can be answered by you and you only. However, I do encourage you to contact counsel to learn a bit more about the disability application process as it is only through education that you can make an informed decision.