N.J. Court Says Union Carbide Entitled to Protective Order in Dispute Involving Workers’ Compensation Records

TRENTON, N.J. –– A New Jersey appellate court has reversed an order denying Union Carbide Corp. a protective order in an asbestos case, ruling that the judge’s order failed to protect the privacy interests of the defendant’s former employees.

In the April 20 order, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, said that while the defendant must produce the workers’ compensation records related to a facility at which the decedent was present, it can redact all personal identifying information and the records cannot be used beyond the instant litigation.

The underlying claims involve alleged asbestos exposure incurred by James F. …