Boston work injury

April 17, 2019

Help after Amputation Injuries in Massachusetts

ABC5 News reports a Rockland industrial accident severed a 66-year-old man’s arm at the elbow after it was caught and pulled into the gears while he was working on a machine.

Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers know amputation injuries are common across a number of New England industries, including manufacturing and farming. While many resources for recovery exist for victims of traumatic amputation, a comprehensive legal and medical approach is best deployed when it comes to obtaining all of the benefits to which a victim is entitled.

In this case an employee used a t-shirt as a makeshift tourniquet until medical help arrived and transported the man to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. The Boston Herald reported that quick thinking Rockland police officers saved the man’s life by providing additional emergency medical care.

August 15, 2016

Employee Injured in Electrical Accident in Mass

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from Mass Live, a worker in a factory in Ware was seriously injured due to an electrical explosion. The workplace accident occurred last April, and the cause of this accident has been under investigation for the past few months. It is common for the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) to work with local police to determine the cause of a serious on-the-job accident. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) typically gets involved and conducts an independent investigation following a serious or fatal industrial accident. However, in this case, OSHA determined that there were not enough employees at the Ware plant for the agency to have jurisdiction, and, therefore, they did not conduct their own investigation.

In this workplace accident, one employee was severely injured, another suffered what have been described as serious on-the-job injuries and a third was taken to the hospital from his job site, but was able to return to work that same day. While authorities always knew that some type of electrical source caused the explosion, it is now known that the exact cause of the accident was an arc flash. The arc flash was created by a short in an electrical panel that was carrying more than 600 volts of currents. Continue reading

July 14, 2016

OSHA’s New Injury Reporting Rule and Employee Drug Testing

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Workers’ compensation in Massachusetts is generally what we consider a “no-fault” system. That means that if you are injured on-the-job in Boston, workers’ compensation benefits can still be paid to you no matter how the accident occurred or who was at-fault. But there are a few exceptions to this, and one of the biggest is when the employer has reason to believe the accident was caused by the injured worker’s use of alcohol and/or drugs.

For this reason, companies started to make it standard practice to test workers for drugs and alcohol after an accident. But this has been met with mixed response from the courts. For example, the Ohio Supreme court struck down a part of state workers’ compensation law that allowed employers to automatically test workers for drugs and alcohol after a work injury, finding it a violation of workers’ Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches. Another case in West Virginia resulted in the same finding after a worker who injured his back was ordered to under drug and alcohol screening five days after the work accident.

Now, the issue has been raised again in the wake of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)s newest rules to prompt better reporting of all workplace injuries. Now, effective August 10, 2016, employers across the country are required to have a “reasonable procedure” for workers to report work-related injuries and illnesses both promptly and accurately. The rule forbids this procedure from discouraging or deterring an employee from accurately reporting a work-related injury or illness. Additionally, the rule specifically bars retaliation for a worker who reports workplace injuries or illnesses. Per this new standard, companies that require or request post-accident alcohol and/ or drug testing are going to face down additional scrutiny from OSHA under the new Final Rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses because such post-incident testing may deter reporting of the injury. Continue reading

July 6, 2016

Plymouth Worker Suffers Electrical Injury

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A utility worker in Plymouth suffered serious burns in an electrical injury while working at Myles Standish State Forest, according to The Boston Globe. Federal regulators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have reportedly launched an investigation and will be looking to see whether any work safety violations took place.

The 51-year-old worker reportedly was in a bucket truck and was just beginning his shift that morning when he apparently touched some live wires.

He was transported by helicopter to Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital for treatment of severe burns on his hands. His clothes also were reportedly charred. He had sustained burned to his abdomen and chest as well, but his condition wasn’t immediately known. He reportedly had not lost consciousness, spoke with a paramedic and understood what had occurred. Continue reading

June 13, 2016

How Some Worker Safety Violations Can Result in Criminal Consequences

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A recent news commentary from Fair Warning looks at how some workplace accidents could result in criminal charges and consequences. As the article notes, when we typically think of crimes taking place in the workplace, we think of an employee being assaulted, a robbery at a gas station or even a bank, an employee accused of stealing something, and things along those lines.

However, some workplace accidents can also be a crime. This is an instance when an employer knowingly disregards workplace safety regulations, and it results in a serious injury or death. Under some circumstances when this happens, the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will investigate the situation and can levy fines. In some more serious cases, the local police or an attorney general may decide to pursue criminal charges. While it not an everyday occurrence, it certainly does happen from time to time. Continue reading

May 22, 2016

Report: Construction Worker Killed by Street Sweeper Accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news report from News 4 Jax, a 69-year-old construction worker was killed while working at a construction site. In this case, he was working on a massive pavement project when a street sweeper came by and hit him. He was run completely over by the street sweeper and crushed by its massive wheels and brushes.

As soon as he was hit by the street sweeper, his fellow construction workers dialed 911. When first responders arrive at the scene of what would eventually prove to be a fatal on-the-job accident, the man was in very bad shape. First, they had to work to get him out from under the massive street sweeper with the help of the fire department. They could not risk simply driving the huge commercial vehicle off the man because that would likely result in significantly more damage.

Once they got the street sweeper of the victim, they attempted to provide immediate medical attention. EMTs realized that he was in far too serious condition for an ambulance ride to a local hospital, so they called in a medevac helicopter, so the victim could be airlifted to a larger level-one trauma center. Continue reading