New Jersey Partner Prevails in Mt. Holly Workers’ Compensation Case

Cherry Hill Partner Rachel Planas obtained a Decision and Order in favor of our employer client, denying a former employee’s Motion for Medical Treatment and Temporary Total Disability Benefits in the Mt. Holly Workers’ Compensation Court.

The petitioner, a former employee of our client, was injured at work when they were clearing a jam in a paper-making machine and a co-worker accidently lowered the machine’s press onto the petitioner’s head, shoulders and upper back-area. In November 2023, the petitioner filed a Motion requesting that our client authorize and pay for an extensive three-level lumbar spine fusion surgery that was recommended by their authorized treating physician. Our client denied the request, arguing that the surgery was not reasonable nor related to the petitioner’s work injury.

At trial, our defense attorney Rachel Planas cross-examined the petitioner’s authorized treating physician and established that the physician did not treat the petitioner’s lumbar spine for more than one and a half years prior to their recommendation for surgery. The petitioner’s treating physician also admitted that he mistakenly believed that the petitioner had completed treatment for their lumbar spine at the time of their surgery recommendation. Additionally, Rachel Planas proved that the treating physician’s surgery recommendation was intended to address pre-existing conditions that are unrelated to the petitioner’s work injury.

Through testimony, our defense attorney Rachel Planas demonstrated that the authorized treating physician’s recommendation for surgery lacked credibility and was not causally related to the petitioner’s work injury.

In October 2025, the Judge found both the petitioner and their treating physician not credible, and denied the petitioner’s Motion in its entirety, ruling in favor of our client.

Rachel M. Planas has more than twelve years of experience representing employers in the area of workers’ compensation. She has defended cases on behalf of both private employers and large corporations, counties and municipalities, healthcare systems and teaching institutions, construction companies and manufacturers that are either insured or self-insured.