Robert Patterson, Petitioner-Respondent v. Board of Trustees, State Police Retirement System, Respondent-Appellant…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a permanent mental injury caused by a purely psychological stressor can satisfy the "traumatic event" requirement for accidental disability retirement if it meets the Richardson criteria and involves a terrifying or horror‑inducing event with actual or threatened death or serious injury; it reversed the Appellate Division’s decision for Patterson and reinstated the board’s denial, and reversed and remanded the decisions for Moore and Guadagno for further determination under the newly articulated standard.