Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog

Morales v. Zenith Ins. Co., a workers’ compensation case from the Supreme Court of Florida, involved an employee who was crushed to death by a palm tree while working at employer’s lawn care business. Employee’s surviving spouse entered into a settlement agreement with employer and its liability insurance carrier. This agreement contained a release of liability in which surviving spouse elected that this would be her sole remedy in connection with the fatal accident.

After reaching this settlement, plaintiff filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against employer and obtained a default judgment in the amount of $9.525 million in damages. After the default judgment was entered, employer refused to pay the judgment. At this point, plaintiff sued employer again in state court, alleging employer breached its agreement under their liability policy. Employer had the case removed to federal court.
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In Deon v. H &J, Inc., claimant was employed in a full-time capacity as a maintenance technician for employer from 2003 until 2009. A few years prior to working for employer, claimant injured her shoulders and neck. She filed for workers’ compensation and received a six percent permanent partial disability rating. The following year, dogs attacked claimant, and the injuries resulted in a seven percent permanent partial disability rating. This was not related to the current workers’ compensation lawsuit.

A year later, when claimant was using a power auger to clear a kitchen sink drain in a hotel, her right glove became caught in the auger and crushed her wrist and hand. Doctors initially diagnosed claimant with a hand sprain and two finger sprains and bruises. She was eventually cleared to return to work full time, but her supervisor felt she was not physically capable of performing the work in the manner she could before the on-the-job injury.

Her doctor placed serious lifting restrictions on her work activities, and she was then terminated because employer did not have any jobs that worked with her medical restrictions. Doctors and vocational experts (VEs) could not concur on a disability rating, which varied between two percent and 85 percent. As our Boston workers’ compensation injury attorneys can explain, the process of establishing a disability rating is extremely complicated and requires a thorough understand of agency policy and relevant law.
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Employers are supposed to follow basic safety rules in order to ensure the risk of an employee getting hurt or sick is minimized. Unfortunately, this does not always occur. In fact, there are many situations where regulations passed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are either willfully or unintentionally violated.

OSHA can issue fines and citations, but these are often too low to act as a deterrent and OSHA typically does not find out about problems and issue fines until after a worker has already gotten hurt. Criminal prosecution is also possible when willful violations happen, but a Boston workers’ compensation lawyer knows it is rare for prosecutors to file criminal charges.

In one case, however, criminal charges are actually being brought against a CEO. If the CEO is convicted, this case could serve as an important warning to those who run companies about the importance of making sure they follow worker safety laws Continue reading

When we go to the circus, we are often amazed by the dangerous and death-defying stunts performed. It may come, as somewhat of a surprise, that, even with circus stunts, employers are required to adhere to certain safety protocols and regulations.

According to a recent news release from the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), failing to follow safety regulations led to a disastrous accident at New England performance of a “hair hanging” act.

While performing their act, the hair hangers were supposed to be secured to the overhead apparatus using a carabiner similar to those used by mountain climbers. OSHA found the carabiner was overloaded, causing eight performers to fall over 15-feet and land on another worker.
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Su Warren v. Williams & Parsons PC, a case from the Supreme Court of the State of Idaho, involved a claimant who was injured when a car crashed into the wall directly outside of her office, causing her to be thrown across the room. She immediately felt pain in her face and hand and suffered from dizziness. Her primary care physician (PCP) noted subtle evidence of cognitive impairment and a decrease in her ability to concentrate.

X-rays of her hand were negative for physical injuries and a head CT scan showed no abnormalities. Her doctor stated that she had nearly fully recovered but recommended continued physical therapy. After completing physical therapy, she had made a significant recovery from her injuries, according to her PCP.

Around the same time her doctor found near complete recovery, her employer fired her on grounds that her work had deteriorated beginning three months prior to the accident. She had been earning $14 per hour plus overtime during tax season.
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Workers’ compensation appeals often involve extremely complex litigation to help claimants in need get appropriate benefits to which they are rightfully entitled. Benavides v. Eastern N.M. Med. Ctr., a case from the New Mexico Supreme Court, involved a claimant who was working as a registered nurse.

Claimant slipped on a wet floor at the medical center and seriously injured her right leg, hip, lower back, and neck. She quickly applied for workers’ compensation benefits and was awarded around $580 per week as the maximum allowable benefit under a temporary total disability rating. This happened in 2006.
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