On the first day of its new term Monday, the New Jersey Supreme Court weighed whether there was an obligation for an insurer to defend an employer accused of negligence claims brought by an employee who had received workers’ compensation benefits.

SIR Electric employee Dionicio Rodriguez claimed he was severely burned at work when he opened an electrical panel. His complaint, Rodriguez v. Shelbourne Spring, filed in Union County Superior Court in February 2022, alleged that SIR recklessly directed him to perform an abnormally dangerous activity in opening an electrical panel without any training or warnings in complete disregard for his health and safety, among other workplace safety violation claims.