Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog

May 14, 2023

Understanding Workers’ Compensation Coverage

Workers’ compensation protects employers and employees nationwide from financial loss in a workplace accident. However, there are some rules and exceptions that you must consider before making a claim. If you or someone you know has been hurt at work and are seeking workers’ compensation benefits, here’s what you need to know before you file.

What Workers’ Compensation Covers vs. What It Doesn’t

Workers’ compensation, or workman’s compensation, provides a variety of benefits when an employee suffers an injury while in the scope of their employment. Some benefits an employee could receive when faced with a workplace injury or illness include:

May 14, 2023

What to Expect After Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

You’ve likely heard about workers’ compensation, but you never expected to find yourself in a situation that warrants benefits. Of course, no one anticipates being hurt at work, but when it happens, you may be entitled to compensation from your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company. By law, workers’ compensation insurance covers medical expenses, some lost wages, and more, giving you and your family much-needed financial assistance and peace of mind in case of a work injury or illness.

Here’s what to expect after you file a workers’ compensation claim.

How to File a Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits

January 20, 2023

What to do if you are injured on the job

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

After suffering an injury on the job, it is your legal right to collect workers’ compensation benefits as you recover. However, the claims process is complicated to navigate alone, and there are many factors that may stand between you and the payments you are entitled to. Educating yourself on what to do during the claims process is crucial to your case.

If you were hurt at work, doing the following is your best chance at approval for workers’ compensation benefits:

Seek medical treatment.

January 20, 2023

What Are The Top 5 Workers’ Compensation Injuries?

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While we have come a long way with workplace safety, accidents still happen at work. Most employers prioritize the health and safety of their employees and want to protect their well-being and ensure that business operations run smoothly. However, not all do, and some take shortcuts to save money.

Regardless of the precautions taken, employees have rights when an accident happens at work. Under Massachusetts law, employers are required to purchase workers’ compensation insurance to help employees recover and return to work after suffering an injury or illness while on the job.

Workers’ compensation has been a long-standing key element in workplace culture and safety. In exchange for giving up their right to sue their employers, injured workers are given certain protections while they are out of work due to a workplace injury, including reimbursement of lost wages and coverage of medical benefits. You may be entitled to these workers’ compensation benefits if you have suffered an injury in a workplace accident. To ensure you receive the help you need, consult with the dedicated workers’ compensation attorneys at Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for free.

October 6, 2021

Worker Dies at East Boston Construction Site

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The police had been called to the site to investigate a fall.

A worker died Oct. 6 at a construction site on Sumner Street in East Boston near Maverick Square, where a multi-story residential structure is being built.

Boston Police Department detectives and Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators are looking into the cause of the accident.

November 10, 2020

Work Injuries Are Dropping but Job-Related Vehicle Accidents Are on the Rise

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that work injuries have been on the decline. The frequency of workers’ compensation claims has been decreasing over the past decade. Advances in technology, such as robotics and automation, have made workplaces safer.

However, one category of work injury—vehicle accidents—has been on the rise since 2011, according to a National Council on Compensation Insurance report.

You might be wondering what happened in 2011 that sparked such a trend.

September 3, 2020

Connecticut Construction Worker Can Sue Under Massachusetts Statute of Limitations

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When a Connecticut construction worker suffers serious injuries on a jobsite in Massachusetts, which state’s law applies to any ensuing litigation?

The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently considered this issue.

The case focuses on workers’ compensation insurance. On July 6, 2020, a three-judge appeals court panel held had the construction worker filed a negligence suit in Massachusetts Superior Court against out-of-state contractors he blamed for his work injury, the worker would be able to sue under Massachusetts’ three-year statute of limitations, even though he lives in Connecticut.

The panel called the issue “straightforward.”

One lesson that can be learned from the court’s ruling is that lawsuits—especially ones that involve out-of-state parties and incidents—can be complicated. A skilled construction site injury attorney can analyze the specific facts of your case and advise as to where the case should be brought to achieve the best possible outcome. Continue reading

June 13, 2020

Workers’ Compensation in the Age of COVID-19

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The novel coronavirus has wreaked havoc, especially when it comes to the workplace.

Businesses classified as nonessential have been forced to close their doors, while those considered essential have continued operation but under a new set of rules.

Along with other states, Massachusetts has established safety standards that workplaces must follow as they open to reduce the transmission of the virus among workers and customers. The safety standards include things like social distancing, hygiene, and cleaning and disinfecting.

Stricter rules apply to certain industries such as construction, manufacturing, hair salons, barbershops, pet grooming, and offices.

Regardless of social distancing, regular disinfecting, and other safety precautions, workers are at risk of contracting COVID-19 when they work. Essential workers, such as healthcare workers, grocery workers, and mass transit workers, have been at risk for months. Continue reading

July 31, 2019

Bill Would Shield Boston Workers From Retaliation for Injury Reports

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Immigrant workers and Massachusetts employee advocates are demanding the passage of a bill aiming to protect injured employees from workplace retaliation (including deportation threat) for reporting on-the-job injuries.

SD1182/HD2947 would limit companies’ ability to work their way out of paying Massachusetts workers’ compensation benefits by reporting employees who are not U.S. citizens. It’s called An Act to Protect Injured Workers.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys know that these benefits are critical to those hurt at work, allowing them coverage of medical bills and a portion of their lost wages when they can’t work due to job-related injury or illness. The concept is more than 100-years-old in Boston, with workers forfeiting their right to pursue legal action against employers for negligence resulting in work injury in exchange for employers agreeing to a no-fault compensation system wherein workers can receive help so long as they can show their injuries happened in the course and scope of employment. Continue reading

June 18, 2019

Construction Injuries and Opioid Addiction in Massachusetts

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Massachusetts construction companies are focusing on the risks created by opioid use and addiction and the role these drugs play in work injuries.

The Massachusetts chapter of Associated General Contractors sponsored a statewide opioid awareness day on June 5, to draw attention to the impact the opioid crisis is having on the construction industry in New England. Workplace overdoses have increased by 25 percent each year for the last 5 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that unintentional overdose is now responsible for 5 percent of all workplace deaths, claiming nearly 300 lives each year.

Opioid addiction was declared a public health emergency in 2017, after the Centers for Disease Control reported opioid deaths surpassed motor-vehicle accidents as the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. However, construction workers face some of the highest risks. Construction workers are at six times greater risk that the average Massachusetts worker, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and now account for 25 percent of workplace opioid deaths.

AGC has produced a manual to help contractors identify and mitigate the use of opioids at construction sites. Common signs include constricted or “pinpoint pupils,” falling asleep or losing consciousness, slow or shallow breathing, choking or gurgling sounds, blue or cold skin, and limp extremities.

Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers know many construction workers become addicted to painkillers while seeking legitimate treatment for work-related injuries. In some cases, a doctor or medical professional may have inappropriately prescribed potent narcotics for too long a period of time. In other cases, a medical professional may withhold or eliminate a patient’s access to pain medication, forcing injured or addicted workers to turn to street narcotics to manage the pain. Prescription opioids may include hydrocodone, oxycodone and morphine, while illicit opioids most commonly include heroin and fentanyl.