When to Stop Covering Opioids? Court Offers Guidance

A New Jersey appellate court decision this month has sparked a debate over how long an employer should keep paying for an injured worker’s opioids when it appears the drugs aren’t doing any good. The New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division affirmed an August 2018 order from the Workers’ Compensation Court in the case of Samuel Martin III v. Newark Public Schools. The lower court had denied Martin’s request to be reimbursed for continued opioid prescriptions. Martin hurt his lower back in a job-related car accident in May 2011 while working for Newark Public Schoo...