CHRISTOPHER ROCAP VS. BOARD OF TRUSTEES, ETC. (STATE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM), A-1781-19

Background

Appellant was an NJSP trooper (TEAMS unit) from 1993; TEAMS responded to numerous traumatic incidents (over 1,200), including rescues, suicides, hostages, and fatalities.
In 2004 appellant fatally shot an armed suspect on duty; he returned to work, received promotions, and did not seek medical treatment then.
From 2010 appellant developed back pain and later was diagnosed with chronic PTSD; he stopped working in November 2013 and retired in 2014.
In January 2015 he applied for accidental disability retirement but initially listed 2011–2012 incidents (not the 2004 shooting); medical reports initially attributed his PTSD to cumulative job exposures.
After the Board granted ordinary disability but denied accidental disability (finding cumulative causation), appellant amended his claim to assert the 2004 shooting was the direct cause; new experts for appellant emphasized the 2004 event while the Board’s examiner and treating psychiatrist initially supported cumulative causation.
The ALJ credited the Board examiner (Dr. LoPreto), found cumulative causation and that the 2004 incident became emphasized only after counsel’s amendment, and the Appellate Division affirmed denial of accidental disability benefits.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether PTSD was a "direct result" of a single traumatic event (2004) qualifying for accidental disability	2004 on-duty fatal shooting directly caused appellant’s PTSD	PTSD resulted from cumulative exposure to many TEAMS incidents, not a single event	Denied: ALJ/Board credited cumulative causation; accidental benefits not established
Whether Board’s decision lacked substantial credible evidence	Board decision unsupported by evidence; causation shown by appellant’s experts	Board relied on experts and objective record; decision within agency expertise	Affirmed: decision supported by substantial, credible evidence; review deference applied
Effect of late amendment to assert 2004 incident on causation/credibility	Amendment and new expert reports establish 2004 as the precipitating event	Timing suggests counsel-driven revision; objective record and earlier treatment notes do not support sudden prominence of 2004	ALJ credited timing concerns; found amendment insufficient to overcome earlier consistent cumulative causation opinions
Whether appellant met Patterson/Richardson elements for accidental mental disability (identifiable, undesigned, objective standard)	2004 incident met the identifiable/undesigned/objective-event standard	2004 incident, viewed in context, did not bear out as sole, objective cause given later history and cumulative exposure	Held: Requirements not satisfied on record; objective reasonable-person causation not established as required

Key Cases Cited

Mount v. Bd. of Trs., Police and Fireman's Ret. Sys., 233 N.J. 402 (establishes elements for accidental disability claims)
Patterson v. Bd. of Trs., State Police Ret. Sys., 194 N.J. 29 (standard for mental-disability claims from stressors; direct personal experience and objective reasonable-person test)
Richardson v. Bd. of Trs., Police & Firemen's Ret. Sys., 192 N.J. 189 (burden requires competent medical testimony to prove direct-result causation)
Russo v. Bd. of Trs., Police & Fireman's Ret. Sys., 206 N.J. 14 (appellate review limits and deference to agency factfinding)
In re Virtua–W. Jersey Hosp. Voorhees for a Certificate of Need, 194 N.J. 413 (standards for upsetting administrative agency decisions)