October 14, 2019
The Superior Court of New Jersey has decided that an employer can cease opioid treatment when there is objective medical proof that the treatment is no longer improving the symptoms of the claimant. The case is Martin v. Newark Pub. Schs. No. A-0338-18T4, 2019 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2049 (Super. Ct. App. Div. Oct. 4, 2019).
In May 2014 Samuel Martin, III injured his back in an employment-related car accident. Six months later Martin received a settlement award for the injury and received Percocet to help relieve his pain. In 2017 Dr. Patricio Grob, an orthopedic surgeon and Martin's doctor, recommended surgery because Martin had reached maximum medical improvement. The opioids were not improving the symptoms, and would never improve the symptoms. Martin refused the surgery due to an unrelated blood condition that could cause surgical complications. Prior to discharging him, Dr. Grob wrote Martin a final prescription for Percocet.
Newark Public Schools, Martin's employer, stopped paying for the Percocet, and Martin filed a motion for medical treatment and temporary disability benefits.
At trial court, the judge ruled for Newark Public Schools, relying on Dr. Grob's analysis, after having been Martin's treating physician for six years, instead of that of the medical expert who had only examined Martin once. The appellate division upheld the decision of the trial court, finding that the trial court had rooted it's decision in credible and sufficient evidence that more treatment with opioid medication would not effectively cure or relieve the claimant's symptoms.
Editor's Note: In a good decision for employers, this case sets a standard for continuous opioid use, and shows employers that they can challenge and successfully litigate workers compensation cases that involve long-term opioid use. This decision can effectively move beyond opioid treatment and into any pain medication or management treatment. Any employer who is paying for pain management treatment for an employee for whom the treating physician has stated that continuing the same treatment will not improve symptoms, could take steps to stop paying for that treatment.