Others' experience in trying to win a NJ accidental disability pension? (2013, lawyer)

[propexpert]

Are there any New Jersey public employees who have been hurt on the job and cannot work but have been denied an accidental disability pension and were forced to appeal to an administrative law judge?
I ask because my wife, a former high school teacher, is in that situation. Long story short, she was shoved violently in her back in 2006 by a student who was trying to get at another student, knocking her spine out of alignment. She never saw it coming. It left her with pain in her back and numbing in her feet.
Now the problem is that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003, but it was in remission at the time of the classroom incident. She tried to go back to teaching, but the pain was too great. The trauma also exacerbated her MS symptoms so she retired out when the school district said it could not offer her a comparable position.
In 2008, she applied to the NJ Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund for an accidental disability pension, which would pay 72% of her salary at the time of the incident. On three separate occasions, she’s been denied, the most recent denial coming in 2013. Why? Because the pension board says her disability was the result of her pre-existing MS and not the actual back injury. And they base that on the word of these “independent” doctors, usually neurologists, they kept sending her to for examinations. The last such doctor to whom she was sent is down in Virginia where we currently live, who knew little about NJ disability law.
She has a lawyer who specializes in this sort of thing. But what has crawled deeply under my skin is the length of time this has taken. Every time she’s scheduled for a hearing before an ALJ, it seems that there’s always some delay, mainly on the part of the state’s Attorney General’s office. It seems like there’s stonewalling going on, but obviously I cannot be sure. And then her lawyer says it is crucial that her treating neurologist testify before the ALJ, but that hasn’t happened yet due to seemingly never ending scheduling conflicts.
There’s a lot more to this story, of course. But we are going on nine years since the incident and seven years since she applied for the pension. Is such a length of time to resolve a case normal? I am writing because of the financial and emotional toll this case has taken on both of us.
I am well aware that public pensions have been a hot button political issue in that state as well as others. Still, I’m just trying to compare notes with someone who might have gone through the same thing. I decided to post this in the New Jersey forum since my wife’s case is specific to New Jersey’s rules and regulations. Thanks for reading.

[HeatherLynn822]

You may want to try reaching out to Disability Rights NJ to get their take on this.
Here is their info: Disability Rights New Jersey Home Page

[propexpert]

Originally Posted by HeatherLynn822

You may want to try reaching out to Disability Rights NJ to get their take on this.
Here is their info: Disability Rights New Jersey Home Page

Thank you, that's much appreciated.