Workers' compensation immunity not lost by allowing employees to operate dangerous machinery without safety guard.

While in the course of his employment, the plaintiff was injured when his jacket was pulled into the driveshaft of a wood grinding machine. The plaintiff claimed that the machine was being operated without the manufacturer's screen or grate covering the driveshaft and that this had been the case for the entire five to six years of his employment. Also, the plaintiff claimed that the machine frequently jammed, requiring access to the driveshaft area. In concluding that the conduct alleged was insufficient to override the statutory Sec. 8 immunity of the New Jersey Worker's Compensation Act, the Appellate Division held that the mere operation of the wood grinding machine without the guard in place was insufficient to establish a substantial certainty of injury given the absence of prior incidents, safety citations or attempts to deceive either workers or safety inspectors of the condition.

Case Law Alert, 3rd Quarter 2013