New Jersey Court: Coffee Break-Injury Gets Full Disability

A New Jersey plumber who was severely injured while driving to a coffee break can collect full workers’ compensation benefits, a Superior Court has ruled.

The decision centers on injuries suffered by Jesse J. Cooper Sr., a master plumber and foreman for Barnickel Enterprises, who used a company truck – with permission – to make a quick run to a nearby coffee shop while waiting for a colleague.

Several miles from the coffee shop, however, Cooper was involved in a serious accident and sustained multiple broken bones in his arms and legs.

The New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation awarded Cooper 100 percent compensation for his permanent and total disability, a decision that Barnickel Enterprises appealed.

At issue in the case was a legal distinction of whether the coffee break arose in the course of Cooper’s employment. The compensation judge ruled it was, distinguishing it from case law that barred compensation for employees who run personal errands. The three-judge panel of the Superior Court’s Appellate Division agreed with the workers’ compensation judge.

The three-judge panel, in siding with the injured plumber, ruled that the court “cannot conclude in these circumstances that the injuries were not compensable merely because petitioner chose to take his authorized ‘coffee break’ other than at the closest location.”