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.