Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog

In December of 2012, Investors Business Daily reports that a record number of workers signed up for federal disability benefits. During this month, almost 90,000 new workers signed up for these benefits, which are provided through the social security administration. This brings the total number of disabled workers collecting benefits up to more than 8.8 million.

Large volumes of new applicants and new benefit recipients could contribute to backlogs in application processing, a major problem for many workers since it already takes an average of 3-5 months to apply for social security disability. Qualifying for benefits through the social security administration also remains difficult, with greater than 50 percent denial ratings for initial applicants.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys want to make sure workers are aware that applying for disability benefits through the SSA is not necessarily their only option. If you are injured at work and are disabled, you should be able to make a workers’ compensation claim and obtain either temporary or permanent disability benefits through your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer.

SSDI vs. Workers’ Compensation
The 90,000 new applicants applying for federal disability benefits in December of 2012 were applying for SSDI, which stands for supplemental security disability insurance. SSDI is a program that is based on your work history, which means that you must have worked for a certain period of time and earned credits in order to obtain benefits through the program (as opposed to a similar needs-based disability benefits program called SSI).

Because SSDI is available for workers who have paid in to the system, some of those who apply for benefits were likely working before becoming disabled. This means some may have been injured doing their jobs and thus may also be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, not just SSDI benefits.

Workers’ compensation and SSDI are different programs that offer different benefits and have differing eligibility rules. SSDI doesn’t require that your injury or disability arise from your job in order for you to qualify for benefits, while workers’ compensation does. However, workers’ comp in many ways provides much broader coverage for those whose injuries did occur as a result of work.

For example, while SSDI will pay disability benefits only if you have a long-term condition that has or will last for a year and that prevents you from working in any job you are qualified for. Workers’ comp disability, on the other hand, can be paid for short term or temporary disability until you return to work. If you are not totally disabled but your work potential is reduced, then workers’ comp will also pay partial disability benefits.

Knowing the differences between SSDI and workers’ compensation is important, especially now with the potential for such long waits to apply for SSDI benefits. While in some cases, you may be entitled to both workers’ comp and SSDI, you should always be sure you understand your right to make a work injury claim through workers’ compensation so you do not miss out on benefits that are available to you.
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Trench work is a part of almost every construction project, as Biz Journals reports. Biz Journals also indicates that trench work is among the most dangerous jobs since all trenches eventually collapse. When a trench does collapse, a worker could end up buried alive under huge amounts of dirt and rubble. The dirt is heavy — with a cubic yard weighing as much as 3,000 pounds — and can kill a worker instantly or trap a worker.

Because trenches are so dangerous, it is imperative for employers to protect workers that they send down into the trenches. Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys urge every employer to review Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA ) guidelines on trench safety. By reviewing the information and employing some of the tips and advice described, employers could potentially save lives.

The Dangers of Trench Work
Trench work is risky because of the nature of the job, so it is imperative that employers do everything in their power to make it less dangerous. As OSHA suggests, some possible options for improving workplace safety in trenches include:

• Creating a trench that is designed to reduce the chances of it collapsing or falling on your workers. There are a couple of different ways to do this. For example, a trench could be sloped for stability, which would essentially mean it was dug like a mountain with a little valley in between. It could also be cut to create a stepped bench, which would mean de facto steps were set up along the sides of the trench. This second option would work only with Type A and Type B soil.
• Using a support system made up of posts, beams, planning, shores or hydraulic jacks. This would ensure that the trench cannot collapse down on the worker. Because a full system has to be built, this can add to the cost and time involved in a trench work project.
• Shielding workers in the trench by making use of a trench box. Again, this solution has many of the same problem that using a support system made of brick or wood does. It simply puts the worker in a bubble and it is a costly way to keep a worker safer while performing trench work.

Although none of the above solutions are perfect, they are the suggestions that OSHA offers for helping to ensure a trench is safe.

While these suggestions are meant to provide workers and employers with ideas for trench solutions, OSHA also goes on to impose some firm requirements on employers related to trench work. For example, the OSHA brochure mandates that excavated materials and all other equipment are at least two feet from the trench’s edge. OSHA also mandates that an exit be available for evacuation quickly if need be. The exit should be within 25 feet of where the worker is in the trench.

Following these instruction is essential to making sure workers aren’t injured or killed while they perform their normal routine work tasks. Unfortunately, OSHA reports that two workers are killed per month in trench collapses. These tragic deaths can and should be prevented by taking extra safety precautions in an inherently dangerous industry.
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OSHA has a number of different safety requirements in place that impose burdens on employers and that aim to protect workers from becoming injured on a dangerous worksite. When an employer violates OSHA requirements, the employer could face fines, citations or even a work shutdown. Recently, one New England contractor realized just how steep the fines can be as a result of failure to comply with safety precautions for workers.

Our Boston injury attorneys believe that the regulations promulgated by OSHA serve a very important purpose in protecting worker safety. We believe that the citations and fines issued in the recent case against the negligent New England contractor send an important message to employers everywhere that violating safety regulations simply doesn’t pay.

New England Contractor Settles with OSHA
To understand the serious consequences of safety violations, you can look no further than the circumstances surrounding the New England contractor that recently settled with OSHA. As OSHA reported in a regional news release in December of 2012, the New England contractor had failed to comply with scaffolding laws and with employee training laws in the construction of Keene Middle School.

The contractor had failed to inspect the scaffolding for defects, as OSHA requires. The company also failed to adequately train the temporary employees putting up the scaffolding. The contractor was required by OSHA to provide training on the erection, inspection and supervision of the scaffolding but did not do so.

All of these failures contributed to the death of a worker on the construction site when the plank he was standing on snapped. In learning of the workers’ death, OSHA investigated the site and issued citations The contractor contested these citations initially. However, the contractor has now settled the claim.

As part of the settlement, the contractor has agreed to correct all of the defects that OSHA issued citations for. The contractor will also pay a fine of $100,000 and will change its training programs going forward. Temporary workers will now be trained in the same manner as permanent staff on scaffolding safety issues. The contractor will also sponsor presentations that offer additional training on erecting and dismantling scaffolding.

Workplace Accidents Can Be Prevented by Responsible Employees A failure to follow fall protection rules is the number one violation that leads to citations, according to a 2012 report by OSHA. A failure to follow scaffolding safety rules is the third most common violation leading to citations. Unfortunately, falls and scaffolding injuries are also top causes of workplace injury, likely because employers are often lax in creating and enforcing safety rules. These employers can and should be cited because they are putting their staff in harm’s way.

As this recent accident involving the New England contractor demonstrates, an employers’ failure to make sure workers are safe can be deadly. Employers are in the best position to train their workers and to ensure safe operation of a workplace, including safety when working at an elevated height. If an employer fails in their obligation, they can not only face large OSHA citations but can also be responsible for compensating the worker under workers’ compensation law. Workers’ comp laws make employers strictly liable for injuries that result from work-tasks, so any employee who gets hurt at work should explore his options for compensation.
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 79 workers killed in 2011 as a result of a vehicle or mobile equipment backing up. These workers lost their lives either because they were run over by the reversing vehicle or because the vehicle crushed them against an object.

Backover accidents are a major problem not just in the workplace, but in parking lots and on roads nationwide. Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys are glad to see that OSHA is making an effort to tackle this important issue. We hope that the informal meetings scheduled by OSHA to explore options for preventing backover injuries and fatalities will result in a real solution that could potentially save worker lives.

Backover Accidents and Work Injuries
OSHA is involved in exploring ways to reduce backover accidents because many of these accidents happen on the workplace every day. OSHA’s job is to impose standards and requirements on employers to ensure workplace safety. The guidelines passed by OSHA can range from notice required about chemical hazards at workplaces to the type of ergonomic office equipment that help workers’ to avoid repetitive stress problems. Since many workers are being injured by backover accidents, OSHA is taking action to see if they can make a difference in this area or if they can craft guidelines that will require employers to do more to avoid backover risks.

OSHA already has some details on what can be done to minimize the risk of backover accidents on their website. According to OSHA, some things that can be done to prevent backover accidents include:

• Having drivers make use of a spotter when backing up vehicles, especially large construction vehicles.
• Using video cameras that have in-vehicle display monitors. These monitors can cut down on or eliminate the blind spot for cars and trucks, potentially making the roads much safer for everyone.
• Using proximity detection devices to alert drivers when there are objects behind them. When a driver is aware of someone or something in his way, having this notice can prompt the driver to stop backing up before a crash occurs.
• Providing sufficient employee training. By letting employees know where blind spots are and how the blind spots can be avoided, employees can protect their workers who might otherwise become the victim of a backover crash.

OSHA provides these and other tips on avoiding backover crashes in hopes that it can prevent injuries or death. Unfortunately, need for more precautions and safeguards has clearly been demonstrated due to several recent injury cases. In June 2009, for example, an employee wearing a safety vest was struck and killed by a dump truck even though the dump truck had a backup alarm. One year later, in June 2010, a man was standing on the same dock when a tractor-trailer start to back up. He was crushed between the dock and trailer.

Hopefully, OSHA’s new efforts to resolve the backover accident problem can stop tragic incidents like these from occurring In the meantime, the suggestions on the OSHA page to avoid accidents are helpful tips for employers and employees to follow. It remains to be seen, however, whether OSHA’s stakeholder meeting will result in more requirements for employers to follow in preventing backover crashes.
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As bad winter driving weather approaches, it brings with it the risk of auto accidents due to snow and ice. Auto accidents can happen at any time, but for many, they occur during a commute or when driving for work. As such, these winter car wrecks can leave some people wondering whether workers’ compensation covers auto accident injuries.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys can help you to determine whether your auto accident injuries could potentially be viewed as work injuries that will entitle you to workers’ compensation benefits.

When is a Winter Auto Accident a Work Injury?
A winter auto accident may be considered a work injury if the accident occurred while you were performing necessary work tasks. For example:

• A truck driver who is employed by a trucking company who is hurt in an auto accident when he is driving his regular route could be covered for his injuries by workers’ compensation.
• A bike delivery messenger who is delivering a message for his employer and who is hit by a car that skids on ice could be covered under workers’ compensation.
• An assistant who was sent to get his boss coffee at the café down the street could be covered under workers’ compensation if his car was hit on the way to the café.

In each of these three situations, the worker was performing a required work-related task and the driving was essential to the performance of that task. As such, the auto accident injuries can be viewed as any other work injuries that happened in the course of performing a job.

Work injuries sustained on a commute, on the other hand, are typically not going to be covered by workers’ compensation. Further, employees doing voluntary driving, such as driving somewhere on their lunch break, are also not going to be covered by workers’ compensation if they get into a winter auto accident.

Why Make a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
If you do get into an auto accident this winter and the accident could potentially be covered by workers’ compensation, then it is advisable to make a workers’ compensation claim. Making such a claim is a smart choice because your workers’ compensation benefits may cover things that your health insurance and car insurance do not cover.

For instance, while personal injury protection (PIP) pays some of your medical bills and lost wages, you are limited to the amount of coverage that is provided in your policy limits. When you make a workers’ compensation claim after a winter car accident, on the other hand, you may have much broader recovery and may be able to receive ongoing disability benefits if your auto accident injuries make it impossible for you to return to work at the job you had before or at any other job you might be qualified to perform.

Because workers’ compensation benefits can offer you more benefits than other types of insurance, it is always worth considering making a claim if you suspect that your auto accident could be viewed as arising from doing your job.
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The medical industry is undergoing significant changes as technology advances, and one important change is that doctors and healthcare providers are increasingly relying on digital technologies. Doctors and healthcare providers are also increasingly making use of electronic medical records. While these advances may allow for healthcare providers to offer better and more efficient care to patients, they also create new risks of workplace injuries for those in the medical field: the risk of developing repetitive stress disorders.

Our Foxboro workers’ compensation attorneys want to ensure that doctors and healthcare providers are aware of the new potential risk of injury in the workplace. We also urge healthcare providers to do everything possible to avoid doing damage to their health as they work to improve the health of others.

Increased Risk of Workplace Injuries in the Medical Profession
Repetitive stress injuries can develop when the body is asked to do the same movements over and over. This can wear down on the soft tissues of the body (the muscles, ligaments, joints and tendons) and eventually, significant pain can result. Carpal tunnel, for example, can occur when people repeatedly use their hands over and over to perform repetitive tasks such as typing on a keyboard or computer.

Unfortunately, with the increased use of electronic medical records and digital technologies, healthcare providers are being forced to engage in repetitive typing and other repetitive physical tasks with ever-increasing frequency. A December 2012 US News Health Report addressed this problem in an article entitled “As Doctors Go High-Tech, Staff Injuries May Rise.”

According to the US News article, doctors, nurses and other medical workers are all at risk of developing repetitive strain or stress injuries both as a result of bad office layouts and as a result of improperly using computer devices. Hospitals and care facilities are incorporating new technology and demanding heavy reliance on the new technology without considering whether the old offices and hospital spaces are set up for the advances. This results in offices and computer station that are not ergonomic in any way. Those who enter medical information or otherwise use computers and digital technology in these poorly designed spaces are, therefore, at greater risk of developing a repetitive stress injury.

Work Injuries are Widespread
The US News Health Report also provided information on a recent study conducted by a professor at Cornell University in Ithaca. The professor studied 179 doctors and discovered that:

• More than 40 percent of male doctors and more than 50 percent of female doctors experienced pain in the neck, shoulder, upper and lower back at least once each week as a result of repetitive strain on the body.
• Around 30 percent of male doctors and 40 percent of female doctors reported experiencing wrist pain at least once per week.

With so many healthcare providers experiencing problems, it is essential that hospitals and care facilities take steps to improve ergonomics and to reduce the chance that their employees will develop permanent long-term injuries due to repetitive strain.

Care providers should also watch their posture and wrist position and should take regular breaks to stretch and exercise in order to minimize the risk of repetitive stress injuries. Ultimately, however, it will fall to the employers of healthcare professionals to design appropriate office spaces and work environments that accommodate changing technology.
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Teenagers throughout Massachusetts routinely take jobs to help out their families or to earn a little spending money. Many teens work only part time while going to school, but some older teens will have full-time employment. Regardless of whether a teen works full time or part time, however, the young adult is still at potential risk of a workplace accident- especially in a troubled economy.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys want to ensure that teens, parents and employers know the risks of injury or even death that teens face when they go to work. While the number of serious injuries among teens in the workplace has been in decline in the past decade, a 2011 article on Boston.com indicated that teen work injuries are still a major problem.

Teens at Risk of Workplace Injury
In April of 2011, Boston.com published an article indicating that there had only been a slight decline in the number of teen work injuries. According to the article:

• Three workers under aged 18 were fatally injured on the job from 2004 to 2008.
• From 2004-2008, another 4,000+ teen workers went to hospital emergency rooms as a result of workplace injuries.
• The rate of teens injured at work is about twice the rate of injury among older, more experienced workers
• Around 30 percent of teenage workplace injuries occur in retail jobs, while another 30 percent occur in the hospitality or food service industries.
• There are approximately 3 teens injured for every 100 teens with full time jobs.
• Teens who are too young to legally work are also at risk of being injured since nearly a fifth of Massachusetts’ middle school students reported having a job other than babysitting or doing yard work.

These numbers show that many teenagers are suffering from injuries at work and demonstrate clearly that these injuries are happening across the board at jobs in a variety of different industries. Some teens, for example, reported cutting their thumbs on meat slicers; hurting their shoulders due to lifting heavy items; or injuring themselves on broken plates.

Protecting Teenagers from Workplace Injuries
While federal laws exist to try to shield teens and young workers from dangerous work, these laws do not do enough to stop employers from putting teens at risk. Some employers will ask teens to do things that they shouldn’t either because the employer isn’t fully familiar with the legal limitations on what young workers can do or because the employer simply wants to take advantage of the lower-cost labor that can often be obtained from a teen as compared to an older and better trained adult.

Teens, when asked to do something dangerous, may opt to do it in order to please their bosses and to avoid potentially losing their jobs. With a tough unemployment market and with millions of young people, including those with college degrees, struggling to find jobs, the problem of teen injuries at work may only grow worse. Teens, desperate to earn a living or to find ways to help their family, will likely to continue to do jobs that they aren’t fully trained for and to take risks with their safety as long as employers allow and encourage them to do so as a cost saving measure.
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The workplace can be a dangerous place, especially in certain industries where there is a high risk of accident and injury. While many focus on the dangers of an accident occurring when they consider the possibility of a workplace injury, there are also other ways that a worker could develop medical problems while doing his or her job. For example, rather than suffering a sudden injury because of an accident, workers could develop medical problems due to ongoing exposure to toxins or chemicals at work.

One medical problem that many workers develop is called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD. COPD kills more than 120,000 people each year and causes many others to experience breathing problems, fatigue and limitations on their ability to work or to do normal routine activities. Our Watertown workers’ compensation attorneys urge every worker and employer to be aware of the potential dangers of COPD and to take steps to stay safe and avoid developing this condition.

Understanding COPD
COPD is a respiratory and lung condition that normally results in the affected individual suffering from both emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis causes a persistent and ongoing mucus-filled cough while emphysema causes the lungs to deteriorate more and more over time. COPD sufferers may also experience other respiratory problems as well and typically have significant breathing difficulties.

COPD typically develops from smoking, but there are also many environmental causes that can lead to a person developing COPD. Sadly, many of the environmental COPD triggers are things that people are exposed to at work every day. For instance, COPD can be caused by:

• Air pollution
• Fumes
• Dust
• Chemicals
• Fibers

Breathing in any of these or other toxins can cause you to develop COPD, especially if you are repeatedly exposed to airborne particles at work.

Who is at Risk of COPD?
Anyone who breathes in toxins, chemicals, dust or fumes at work is potentially at risk of developing COPD. However, Every Day Health indicates that individuals in certain professions who are most apt to be exposed to airborne particles are at the greatest risk. Some of the employees most likely to develop COPD include:

• Miners, including coal miners and hard rock manners
• Individuals who work with cotton fibers
• Workers in tunnels
• Manufacturers of concrete
• Industrial workers

All of these workers routinely spend their days in environments where they have to breathe in contaminated or dirty air. For example, coal miners may breathe in coal dust on a regular basis as part of performing their daily work.

Making a Workers’ Compensation Claim for COPD
If you have developed COPD as a result of exposure to air pollution, chemicals, dust, fumes or toxins at your work, you may be able to make a workers’ compensation claim. If you are successful with a workers’ comp claim, your employer’s insurer will have to cover your medical costs and any lost income or wages you experience as a result of your COPD or treatment. Your employer’s insurer will also have to pay disability benefits if you can’t work or if your ability to work has been limited.

You will, however, have to link your COPD conclusively to your job if you want to be eligible for workers’ comp. A lawyer can help you to gather the evidence needed to prove your job caused the COD.
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On many construction worksites, there are incentive programs in place that attempt to prevent injuries. Some of these incentive programs reward supervisors or managers for a good safety record. Other incentive programs penalize supervisors, managers or even workers for injuries. The point of these programs is to encourage a safer workplace so that workers will be less likely to experience a construction injury.

Unfortunately, a recent study shows that the effect of these programs may actually be harmful to workers. The study indicated that workers on worksites with incentive programs tend to be less likely to report a workplace injury. There are many reasons for this, but our Foxboro workers’ compensation attorneys urge all constructions not to make the mistake of letting an injury go unreported.

Construction Workers Failing to Report Injuries
In October 2012, the American Journal of Industrial Medicine published a study that took a look at the impact of incentive-based programs on the reporting of work injuries. In particular, the focus of the study was whether these incentive base programs discouraged workers from reporting an injury when one occurred.

The results of the study were disturbing as they showed that incentive-based programs create a significant disincentive for a worker to report his workplace injuries. This means that workers may be getting hurt on the construction site and may not be following through with reporting their injuries, thus loosing out on the potential to obtain workers’ comp benefits.

The impact of incentive-based safety programs on injury reporting is not a small one either. In fact, according to the study in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine:

• 58 percent of survey respondents indicated that there was some type of safety incentive in their workplace. This safety incentive might take the form of a reward for a good safety record or may involve negative consequences when an injury occurs.
• When workers were disciplined as a result of experiencing a work injury, workplace injuries were reported by 50 percent fewer workers than would have reported their injuries absent such discipline policies.
• Approximately 30 percent of survey respondents said that injuries on their worksite were rarely or never reported.

Workers who did not report their injury often failed to make such reports because they were unaware that they had the right to tell their employer and qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. In some cases, workers were aware of their rights but they were discouraged from actually reporting their injuries because of pressure from their co-workers, union leaders, or employers. In other cases, workers feared that they would be disciplined or that their jobs would be affected if they reported a workplace injury.

Regardless of the reason why workers are declining to report their injury, the sad fact is that this has a detrimental impact on the life of the worker. If you are injured at work, workers’ compensation is supposed to provide you with a safety net. Workers’ compensation is supposed to ensure your medical bills are paid, that you are covered for lost wages due to missed work, and that you receive disability benefits if you cannot work. To get these benefits, though, you need to report your injuries.

If you have been injured in a construction accident, take action. A lawyer can help to make sure you get the workers’ compensation benefits you deserve and can assist you in making sure your employer doesn’t illegally retaliate against you as a result of reporting a work injury.
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