Workers' Compensation Benefits

April 11, 2016

ISOP v. Great Northern Ins. Co. – Equitable Contribution in Mass. Workers’ Compensation Claims

Workers’ compensation insurance companies that have paid benefits have a right to pursue equitable contribution from other insurance companies that also provide insurance to the same policyholder, according to the latest ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Although this doesn’t necessarily affect the injured worker directly, it’s important to keep abreast of what’s happening with workers’ compensation law in Massachusetts courts, particularly when it involves the Commonwealth’s highest court.

In this case, Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Great Northern Insurance Company, the court ruled the doctrine of equitable contribution could be applied even though the injured worker’s company didn’t give notice of that injury to the second insurance company. Continue reading

April 10, 2016

Opioid Use in Boston Workers’ Compensation Cases Posing Serious Health Threat

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Chronic pain is one of the most common claims made to workers’ compensation carriers. There are often a range of treatments, including physical and occupational therapy and medication.

But it’s the medication part that has raised concern over the last two decades. In particular, the prescription of opioid drugs. These are medications that relieve pain by lowering the intensity of pain signals reaching the brain. Some of the most common include Oxycontine (oxycodone), Percocet, Vicodin (hydrocodone), morphine and fentanyl.

These drugs do have a legitimate purpose for those who have suffered a work-related injury. However, problems have been known to arise when opioids are used for long-term treatment. A recent report by WorkCompCentral revealed employees who are taking a medium-to-high dose of opioids for a year or more experience a death rate of 1.75 per 1,000 patients. That may not sound like a lot, but let’s compare that to the death rate for logging and fishing (the riskiest jobs in the U.S.). Those workers face an annual death rate of 1 worker for every 1,000. Opioid users are almost twice as likely to die. Continue reading

April 8, 2016

Massachusetts Workplace Violence as Man Shoots at Former Boss

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A 70-year-old man who had been recently fired from a local business in Cambridge reportedly returned to inflict harm on his former boss, who’d had a role in his termination.

According to The Boston Herald, the alleged shooter drove tot he company and waited in his vehicle for the 58-year-old victim to arrive. When he did, the suspect reportedly fired several rounds from his 12-gauge pump shot gun. Thankfully, he did not inflict serious injury. The victim used his briefcase to shield his face from the blast, though he did suffer minor shrapnel wounds.

Other workers stepped in to intervene, at which point the gunman got in his car and killed himself, police said. Authorities said the man had been fired several months earlier and had reportedly had no contact with the company or its workers from then until the day of the shooting. Continue reading

March 18, 2016

Folsom Prison Workers Injured on the Job

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Most people have heard of Folsom, formally known as the California State Prison in Folsom, due the fact that it was featured in a famous song by Johnny Cash. However, it is a real prison, and it is still in operation.

According to a recent news feature from Fox News, four employees of the prison were injured in what is alleged to have been an attack by one or more inmates. Authorities have said a 32-year-old inmate was supposed to be receiving his medication when he allegedly attacked two psychiatric technicians. Continue reading

February 16, 2016

Five Workers Hospitalized After Fire at Quincy Water Treatment Plant

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A fire at a sewage treatment facility in Quincy resulted in five workers being hospitalized for smoke inhalation. According to a recent news article from ABC News Boston, the fire started deep underground in a system designed to reduce the odor of air being released into the local community.

While authorities are not sure of the exact cause of the fire, one worker believed it may have involved an electrical issue with a fan they turned on in part of the odor control system known as an air scrubber. Continue reading

February 10, 2016

Woman Sues for Discrimination Related to Workers’ Compensation Claim

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from the West Virginia Record, a woman is suing her employer for allegedly discriminating against her for filing a workers’ compensation claim. This claimant is a certified nursing assistant who was working in that capacity when she injured her lower back.

She injured her lower back when she was lifting a patient who had fallen to the floor. First, it should be noted that patient-lifting injuries are becoming increasingly common across the country, and healthcare centers should be taking proactive steps to curtail this problem. Continue reading

January 23, 2016

Warehouse Scanners Updated to Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

People often associate carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) as a repetitive stress injury (RSI) that is typically caused at work. While this is true, many people do not associate carpal tunnel syndrome with an on-the-job injury or illness for which they can and should file a workers’ compensation claim. We tend to see employees who try to manage the condition themselves by purchasing hand braces at the local drugstore, or simply take over-the-counter pain medication or use an ice pack.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused when repetitive stress, or in some cases an acute trauma, causes the carpal tunnel to become compressed. The carpal tunnel is basically a tube surround a bundle of nerves that run through the wrist into the base of the hand. These nerves are responsible for the movement of the fingers. When the carpal tunnel becomes pinched, the worker will experience pain and weakness in the hand and fingers. The pain can also radiate up and down the entire arm, making it nearly impossible and painful to do anything. Continue reading

November 27, 2015

A Homeless Man’s Struggle with Workers’ Compensation

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In a recent news feature from The New York Times, a once homeless man discusses his current struggles obtaining worker’ compensation benefits and a fear that he will be evicted from his small basement apartment.

The man first talks about the 18 months he was actually homeless after immigrating to the United States from Guyana, where he worked on a fishing boat. Before he was able to get a job that would pay his rent and other living expenses, he spent his nights sleeping on New York City subway system trains. He said he first tried living at homeless shelter, but other residents were constantly threatening him. Violence in homeless shelters is common, including in those in Boston, because many of the residents suffer from serious mental health conditions, including schizophrenia with paranoid delusions. Continue reading

November 14, 2015

Staff at Worcester Recovery Center Discuss Patient Violence Risks

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article in the Worcester Telegram, staff members at the Worcester Recovery Center are concerned about injuries to workers as a result of patient violence.

For those who are not aware, the recovery center is located next to the old Worcester State Hospital that housed the Department of Mental Health’s inpatients. Many of these inpatients were involved with the criminal justice system as well and were there pursuant to a court order. The new recovery center is considered the “jewel” of the department’s inpatient facilities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Continue reading

October 25, 2015

On-the-Job Amputation and Workers’ Compensation Benefits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Some of the most serious on-the-job injuries result in the death of an employee. Accidents that are also very serious but do not result in death can result in the lost of an arm or leg. These types of serious accidents resulting in amputation are more likely to occur when doing jobs that involve the use of heavy machinery, though there is often heavy machinery in more types of employment than one might initially think.

Obviously, a factory is likely to have a lot of large machinery, and there can be serious accidents caused by these machines. All machines are supposed to have guards to prevent unnecessary injuries to employees, but we frequently see accidents caused by improperly guarded machines. Continue reading