OAL Decisions...

***Note: These cases are all inital OAL decisions. To find out whether or not the Board accepted or rejected OAL judges' findings one would have to look up the pension board meeting for the month following release of the judges' results. Not all of these people who the OAL judge ruled in favor of actually received accidental disability due the the Board's rejection of the judge's findings.



1. Arencibia v. PFRS, DKT NO. TYP6173-03 (2005)-- Corrections officer injured while assisting fellow officers in restraining a combative, violent inmate inside an ambulance. Officer was sitting on top of inmate lying face down on gurney whose thrusting injured officer's shoulder. Three fellow officers were assisting at the time. OAL Judge determined, "It is a rare occurrence that requires four officers to subdue a mentally deranged inmate of great size and enormous strength. Incidents such as this do happen in a correctional facility but not with enough frequency to be considered normal work effort.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ06173-03_1.html

2. Class v. Board of Trustees PFRS, OAL DKT NO. TYP 2121-05 (2005)--Correction officer injured his back while assisting a fellow officer who was being assaulted by an inmate. Officer took inmate to the ground and pinned him with arms behind his back so he could be handcuffed. OAL reversed Boards' denial of accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ02121-05_1.html

3. DeMatteo v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO.TYP12121-04S(2005)-- Officerinjured back while escorting a handcuffed when inmate dipped his shoulder and attempted to flip officer over his back. OAL judge granted accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ12121-04_1.html

4. Dumas v. Board of Trustees PFRS, OAL DKT NO TYP8563-01 (2002)-- Inmate pushed Dumas as he tried to restrain him. Dumas back injured by blow to filing cabinet. Inmate had pushed sergeant in an offensive move then was seen as acting defensively when he pushed Dumas who was trying to restrain him. This case was used in the DeMatteo case and I do not know the final outcome but believe Dumas was denied accidental disability on the offensive v. defensive argument.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ08563-01_1.html


5. Ellis v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO. TYP4619-03 (2004)--Police officer felt "pop" in ankle while he and four other officers attempted to subdue a violent suspect. Did not know actual mechanism of injury to ankle but suspected it had been stepped on by other officer. OAL granted accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ04619-03_1.html

6. Glennon v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO.TYP817-03 (2003)-- Many prior incidents leading to permanent disability of the knee. Slip and fall or twisting type injuries found to all be part of the normal stress and strain of her job duties. OAL denied accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ00817-03_1.html

7. Hammock v. Board of Trustees PFRS, OAL DKT NO. TYP4258-00 (2002)-- Officer injured knee while escorting a resistant inmate down a hallway. Then in a second incident the petitioner's knee gave out while he was walking down the stairs. Neither incident was found to be a traumatic event. OAL denied accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ4258-00_1.html

8. Hayes v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO. TYP04433-06(2006)-- Correction Officer injured arm when jerked by a gate with electronic open and close. OAL granted.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ04433-06_1.html


9. Jaeger v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO. TYP1112-02 (2005)-- Officer injured by a violent belligerent inmate who attacked her after he was found guilty during a court proceeding. She was later reinjured when her knee gave out while she was ascending a ladder-type stairwell. She was claiming accidental disability due to arthritis, a preexisting condition, which was aggravated due to the two incidents described. Board found her not totally and permanently disabled since she returned to work after both incidents and also found that the incidents in question were not traumatic events. OAL judge disagreed with the Board and found petitioner eligible for accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ01112-02_1.html

10. Klima v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO.TYP 12438-05 (2006)-- Correction Officer injured when handcuffed inmate put down shoulder and rammed into him like a football player. OAL granted and Board awarded pension.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ12438-05_1.html

11. Laplaca v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO.TYP3398-03 (2003)--Petitioner injured back while performing the Heimlich maneuver, when patient suddenly pushed backward knocking them both off balance. OAL judge granted accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ03398-03_1.html

12. Malanga v. Board of Trustees PFRS, OAL DKT NO.TYP2297_04 (2005)-- Corrections officer injured while attempting to unlock a gate. The wind blew the gate slamming it on the petitioner's elbow. OAL judge granted accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ02297-04_1.html

13. Martin v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO.TYP2333-03 (2004)--PFRS denied claim for accidental disability due to "semantic quibbling over how the incident was described in early injury reports." Martin originally stated in the incident report, "While restraining an inmate employee strained back." "Martin explained that the word restrain was essentiallya term of art within the profession that was thought to generally encompass the entire incident." Martin testified at OAL that the inmate was restrained only after he attacked Martin from behind causing injury to his back. OAL judge granted accidental disability pension.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ02333-03_1.html

14. Pantuso v. State Police Retirement System, OAL DKT NO.TYP7439-03 (2005)-- Officer injured when he leaned into a car window and struggled with a suspect to get the keys out of the ignition. Pantuso was pushed and hit by the suspect while leaning into the car. OAL Judge granted accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ07439-03_1.html

15. Richardson v. Board of Trustees PFRS, OAL DKT NO.TYP169-04 (2004)--Correction Officer injured while trying to handcuff a violent inmate who thrust his body upward and pinned officer's wrist to floor. OAL Judge denied accidental disability stating that this was normal work effort because it was a daily occurrence.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ00169-04_1.html

16. Ryan v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO. TYP345-05 (2005)-- Police Officer injured during an altercation with a suspect who punched and hit him. Initial paperwork/reports did not contain a full narrative of the incident or contain the word assault. OAL Judge granted accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ00345-05_1.html


17. Salmon v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO.6908-05 (2006)--Police Officer injured when punched in shoulder during a boxing training session. OAL granted accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ06908-05_1.html

18. Stoll v. Public Employees' Retirement System, OAL DKT NO.TYP6399-03 (2005)--Petitioner was a Youth Worker assigned to give individual attention to a female client because she posed a threat to herself and others. Three females in the room started fighting and petitioner was trying to break it up. One female tackled the petitioner while he was holding down another client and he was knocked backward and struck his shoulder against the wall. The argument in this case was the lack of detail on the initial incident reports. OAL Judge granted accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ06399-03_1.html

19. Strauss v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO.TYP11779-03 (2006)-- K-9 Officer "tackled" by the dog she cared for and was knocked off balance so that she turned her foot between the ground and the kennel platform. OAL Judge granted accidental retirement.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ11779-03_1.html

20. Winfield v. Board of Trustees PFRS, OAL DKT NO. TYP8487-02 (2003)-- Correction Officer punched while attempting to restrain an inmate who had initially punched a fellow officer. Initial reports did not reflect that Winfield had been punched. "While it is not unusual to have to handcuff an inmate, the situation in Winfield was unusual because theinmate was refusing all commands and was out of control." OAL Judge granted accidental disability stating that "...in many instances the injury that may occur is not at first recognized as one that will cause the officer to be totally and permanently injured and therefore have to seek to meet the Kane test in order for the officer to establish his right to accidental disability pension. Thus, the written reports of the incidents and injuries prepared just after the event, while normally a good guide to what occurred, must be read with caution in regard to determining the exact circumstances of the event."

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ08487-02_1.html


21. Zita v. PFRS, OAL DKT NO.TYP2295-04 (2004)-- Correction Officer injured when a violent inmate grabbed him by the neck, spun him around and slammed him into a wall. Inmate had initially assaulted another officer and the incident reports did not include his assault on the petitioner. OAL Judge granted accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ02295-04_1.html

22. Zolkov v. Public Employees Retirement System, OAL DKT NO.TYP8879-04 (2005)-- Petitioner was a worker at Ancora. She was injured while trying to remove a patient from her bed to escort her during a firedrill. The patient and petitioner fell to the ground and petitioner was found unconscious and suffers from knee injuries. OAL granted accidental disability.

Link to case: www.lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/typ08879-04_1.html