There were multiple new laws that went into effect on October 1, 2008. All laws deal with Workers Compensation. The one that is of most interest and involves all school districts that have their Workers’ Compensation Coverage with us is as follows:. The new law deals with “Emergent Medical Care”. It was the belief of our legislature that medical treatment for immediate surgery or psychiatric treatment in serious cases was not being addressed in a timely fashion. The new law will now require first that a request for emergent medical care be made by the worker to the EMPLOYER or the insurance company. A worker may then file a motion for emergent medical treatment. This motion must be served on the EMPLOYER and the employer’s carrier or their attorney. THE Employer only has FIVE CALENDAR DAYS for which their counsel can answer this motion. The insurance company is given 15 days from the date of service of the motion to secure a medical examination. Therefore, if a school district should receive such a Motion they should fax this to the NJSBAIG the same day of receipt so we can get it to an attorney to defend the district. Our fax number is 609-386-8877. If we fail to respond within the timeframe it could result in severe daily monetary penalties to our districts. We urge all districts to communicate this information to anyone who can receive such Motions and to reinforce they are sent to us the same day of receipt. The Motion should be sent to the attention of Connie Rogers, Nancy Spector or Louis Giannetto. We also urge you when faxing the Motion to us to mark on the Motion “Urgent” or “Immediate Handling Required” and to make sure it stands out so we will know that it must be handled immediately. Should there be any questions on any of the above please do not hesitate to call any of our WC experts here at 609-386-6060. Thank you.