In New Jersey, if you’ve been injured on the job, you have a right to seek benefits to cover your disability, as well as medical expenses. But what if no one actually saw the accident? Can you still recover workers’ compensation benefits if there were no witnesses to your injury? The answer is yes.
There are typically two types of evidence in a legal matter—direct evidence and circumstantial evidence. Direct evidence includes anything a witness had access to directly, either through sight, sound, smell, taste or touch. Circumstantial evidence, on the other hand, involves facts that support a finding, but without any direct access to an event.
We were involved in a workers’ compensation claim where an employee died of a heart attack at his desk at work. No one had been present when the man died. However, through circumstantial evidence, we were able to show the man had been under significant stress on the job. We successfully argued to the workers’ compensation judge and the Workers’ Compensation Board that the reason the man died was related to his job.
Do You Need a Witness to a Workplace Accident?
Experienced NYC | Queens | Bronx | Brooklyn Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
At Pyrros & Serres LLP, we provide comprehensive counsel to people with workers’ compensation and Social Security disability claims in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and across the greater New York City metropolitan area. Because of our reputation for effective advocacy, many of our new clients come to us as referrals from clients and other lawyers.
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