The first consideration in handling a total disability claim is whether the petitioner qualifies under workers’ compensation law for permanent total disability benefits. It is quite common for a petitioner to be totally disabled for Social Security purposes, but only partially disabled for workers’ compensation purposes.
The Appellate Division has ruled that “[t]otal and permanent disability exists where a worker is rendered unemployable in a reasonably stable job market after a work-related accident, notwithstanding that factors personal to the individual play a contributory part in such unemployability.” Zabita v. Chatham Shop Rite, 208 N.J. Super. 215, 220 (App. Div. 1986). The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that the “ability for light or intermittent work or labor is not inconsistent with total incapacity.” Germain v. Cool-Rite Corp., 70 N.J. 1, 8 (1976).
