Baracia v. Board of Trustees of the State Police Retirement System, A-3611-09T2; Appellate Division; opinion by Newman, J.A.D., retired and temporarily assigned on recall; decided and approved for publication May 13, 2011. Before Judges Fuentes, Ashrafi and Newman. On appeal from the Board of Trustees of the State Police Retirement System, SPRS #8-103436. DDS No. 39-2-2137 [9 pp.]
Petitioner appeals from the final decision of the respondent Board of Trustees of the State Police Retirement System. Petitioner was a New Jersey state trooper who was seriously injured while on duty in an automobile accident. He was awarded workers’ compensation benefits. He brought a third-party action, which resulted in a net settlement of $352,962.51. The attorneys’ fees totaled one-third of that amount in the sum of $117,654.05. The workers’ compensation lien was for $68,844.08, which was satisfied from these proceeds, leaving an amount due petitioner of $166,464.38. Because of the third-party award, the employer obtained a reimbursement of its statutory workers’ compensation lien and was relieved of its future workers’ compensation liability.
