Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog

Getting through a workers’ compensation claim in Massachusetts can be confusing, but we’re here to help. This set of laws ensures that your will be provided with money and medical benefits after experiencing an on the job injury. An injured employee can receive money, typically on a weekly or biweekly basis, and medical benefits in exchange for forfeiting the common law right to sue their employer.

Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers are here to help clear up some of the confusion. Have a question about filing a claim? Check below. We have some answers for you.

Will my workers’ compensation benefits be taxed?

Typically they are not taxed by either the state or federal government.

Will I get any Social Security benefits?

Yes, you may also be entitled to other benefits, such as Social Security. These benefits are different from workers’ compensation benefits. If you’d like to receive these benefits, you are required to show that you had a disability which is expected to last for at least a year.
If you’re unable to work as a result of a disability, you are entitled to Social Security disability benefits. You should apply for Social Security disability benefits at your local Social Security office. If you end up receiving Social Security benefits, money that you receive from workers’ compensation may be credited against your Social Security benefits or vice versa. If your workers’ compensation claim has been settled after you have received Social Security benefits, Social Security may want an offset of the benefits. It’s critical that you take this into consideration before you settle your workers’ compensation claim.

How do I deal with my employer?

Most employers aren’t too excited to pay workers’ compensation premiums. Employers usually think that when workers are injured on the job their premiums will increase or the employee will take advantage of the benefits available.

It’s possible for an employer to either help or hinder an employee’s case. The more you involve your employer in the process, the more inclined the employer will be to help the injured worker with the case. An experienced attorney can help to take care of this with you. An attorney can help you if the employer is not concerned about reporting the accident or ensuring benefits are paid or suspect of the injury. When this happens, the employer is not likely to give proper, accurate and thorough information to the insurance company. They’re also likely to alter the provided the information so that the insurance company is suspect of the claim and delays payment of benefits until an investigation is completed.

Is there any compensation for pain and suffering?

Workers’ compensation is a “no fault” system, meaning workers give up their right to recover for damages due to “pain and suffering.” You can recover pain and suffering monies if you have a claim against a third party, but not against an employer.

What’s the difference between an injury and an occupational disease?

An occupational disease typically results from the nature of the employee’s condition rather than from a specific job. For an occupational disease to occur the condition must be specific to the occupation, the employee must have contracted the disease during the employment and the occupation must present a particular hazard of the disease.

Since a number of occupational diseases take years to reveal themselves and to be diagnosed, the employee could have had many jobs from different employers in the same occupation. It’s unnecessary to determine which job exposed the employee to the disease. The employer whose job last exposed the employee will be found to be liable.
Continue reading

You’re injured. You were hurt on the job in a Massachusetts work accident. Do you know what to do? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 5,000 employees were injured on the job in 2009. These types of injuries could happen to you if your employer doesn’t help to keep you safe on the job. Massachusetts saw nearly 100 fatal workplace injuries in 2009 alone.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys would like to remind workers that an employer has an obligation to help prevent workplace hazards and to help prevent workplace injuries. There are a number of rules and regulations that an employer must follow to help reduce these risks. Workers’ compensation can be confusing. We’re here to help straighten it out for you.

What is workers’ compensation?

Workers’ compensation is a group of laws that require an employer to provide money and medical benefits to an employee who has suffered an injury because of an accident, injury or occupational disease that occurred on the job. These laws also help to protect workers from injury or death arising out of the work environment. The injured employee can receive money and compensation for medical benefits in exchange for forfeiting the common law right to sue the employer.

How do I know if I’m an employee for a contractor?

Independent contractors are more likely to have non-reimbursed expenses than full-time employees. Employers should not routinely approve reimbursement requests for business-related expenses, because this could be used as evidence of employee status. Independent contractors are typically required to use their own tools and supplies on the job. Employers don’t usually provide tools, equipment or supplies to individuals who are hired as independent contractors. An employee is usually paid by the hour, week, or month. Independent contractors are usually paid by the job. An independent contractor usually makes a profit or a loss on the job. Employees receive routine paychecks whether or not the company they work for makes money. Independent contractors don’t usually get insurance, pension plans, vacations or sick days. Independent contractors are not usually provided with these types of benefits.

Am I covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)?

Generally speaking, an employer cannot refuse to hire an injured worker with a disability if the worker is able to perform job functions either with or without reasonable accommodations. Whether or not an injured worker is subject to protection under the ADA after the workers’ compensation injury depends upon the type of injury that is sustained and whether or not they have a permanent disability.

How does the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) affect me?

All employers who have 50 employees or more must follow this Act. You’re eligible if you’ve worked for the employer for at least a year or over 1,250 hours. The FMLA entitles 1 to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period because of a serious health condition. An employee may elect, or the employer may require, that the employee substitute accrued paid vacation, personal leave or sick leave during this period of time. An employee is to return to work to their former position or an equivalent position with equivalent employee benefits. If a worker is injured and takes the Family Medical Leave and is unable to return to work after the twelve week time period is up, the employer does not have an obligation to rehire the worker at a later date. The employer is not required to hold the job open indefinitely.

Once I’m injured, how do I choose a medical provider?

Choosing a physician is usually a personal matter. First, you need to obtain prior authorization before locating and visiting a physician of your choice. It is important to remember that a medical doctor usually has at least 20 years of formal education, plus several years of hands-on experience, while completing his internship and residency. Their education and experience regarding your particular problem and injury should be a top concern. It is important to look for a doctor that is board-certified. Make sure you know exactly what type of doctor to look for. Today’s doctors are very specialized and tend to limit their practice to one or two areas.

What if my benefits are denied?

It is not unusual for the insurance company to file a Notice of Denial that indicates that they’re currently disputing your claim for requested benefits. If your claim or any request for benefits is denied, you’re to be notified in writing from in insurer. They should file a Notice of Denial and the reasons for the denial. This is when it is critical for you to contact an attorney.
Continue reading

Two companies in our state have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for demonstrating excellent standards of workplace safety to prevent work accidents in Massachusetts.

Employees and management at Raytheon Co.’s Cross Business Integration Center have been deemed a “star” site, which is a top honor in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs, for their excellent workplace safety standards.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys know that we oftentimes report stories from OSHA in which they’ve cited companies in our area that have experienced serious, and fatal, on the job accidents. We are proud to tell you about a company that has been recognized for organizing safe work conditions and has succeeded in keeping its workers safe. It’s this kind of dedication to safety and training that helps workers avoid serious injuries.

“The VPP recognizes those work sites, such as the Cross Business Integration Center, where workers and management have established and maintained a proactive and ongoing commitment to safety and health that goes beyond simply adhering to OSHA standards,” said Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator. “Safety and health is included in the site’s planning process, and effective training is provided to all site employees and outside contractors as appropriate. In the past year, the center conducted a two-day safety ‘stand down’ for all its employees, followed by a similar two-day meeting for environmental health and safety staff from this and other Raytheon facilities.”

The Cross Business Integration Center has more than 1,000 employees. Their corporate and administrative officers are in Raytheon. The OSHA area director for Middlesex and Essex counties, Jeffrey A. Erskine, recently presented a Voluntary Protection Program flag and plaque to the members of this company in a ceremony that was held at the site.

If your company would like to participate in the Voluntary Protection Programs, employers must submit an application to OSHA and then undergo a rigorous and thorough onsite evaluation by a team of safety and health professionals from the Administration. Voluntary Protection Programs participants must then re-evaluated every three to five years to remain active in the programs. Once your company has received official Voluntary Protection Programs status, your company is exempt from programmed inspections.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were nearly 5,000 fatal work injuries in 2009 in the United States.

Changes among 2009 totals, compared to previous year:

-Workplace suicides increased by more than 25 percent. There were nearly 300 workplace suicides in 2009.

-The total for 2009 workplace injuries reported the lowest annual fatality rate since 1992.

-Injuries to white, non-Hispanics was higher by nearly 150 cases.

-The final count for fatal work injuries for black, non-Hispanic workers saw a series low — 145 cases.

-This year saw the most work injuries among occupations involving drivers of tractor-trailers and other heavy trucks saw an 11 percent increase – from 486 cases to 540 cases.

-The private construction sectors saw fatal injuries increase by nearly 20 percent from the preliminary count. The yearly total was still 14 percent lower than the final count from the previous year and the third consecutive year that these fatal work injuries saw a decrease.
Continue reading

Employees in the fireworks/pyrotechnics industry consider yourself warned! The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a memo urging employers in this industry to protect their workers from the hazards they will be exposed to while handling fireworks for public events this Fourth of July.

Retailers across the United States are stocking up on the dangerous displays and planning their Independence Day celebrations. Many of these celebrations include impressive and elaborate pyrotechnic displays. These exciting celebrations also come with a high risk for a fireworks accident in Boston and elsewhere.

Our Boston workers compensation attorneys understand that these fireworks displays are in high demand during this time of year, especially because it’s illegal for private citizens to use fireworks in our state. For this reason, residents rely on those that are in the fireworks/pyrotechnics industry to complete their Fourth of July celebrations with their large displays of patriotic lights in the sky.

“Workers who are not properly trained and protected from hazards in this potentially volatile industry are at an increased risk of serious or fatal injuries,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Employers who manufacture, sell, display or work around pyrotechnics need to recognize potential hazards and prevent worker injuries. This holiday weekend is a time for family and fun, but it should not be at the expense of the workers who play such a large part of our celebrations.”

Massachusetts’ Department of Public Safety and State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan asks that all residents set a good example for your children and leave the fireworks displays to the professionals. These departments ask that you get out and enjoy some of the many displays of fireworks that are supervised by local fire departments and conducted by licensed professionals.

OSHA offers this fireworks display checklist to help make sure that professional fireworks operators are safe on site:

-Make sure that fire service and emergency medical service (EMS) units are nearby and ready to respond if needed.

-Establish good communications between crew, event sponsor and fire service/EMS units.

-Maintain crowd control.

-Make sure that everyone is using all required personal protective equipment, especially protection for the head, eye, hearing and foot.

-Make sure operators are wear long-sleeved and long-legged clothing made of cotton, wool or other flame resistant cloth.

-Avoid placing any part of your body over mortars when manually igniting them.

-Remember to check weather and crowd conditions often to maintain safety.

Our Boston workers compensation attorneys would like to thank everyone involved in putting on these elaborate fireworks displays. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!
Continue reading

Two New England companies face a number of work safety violations. These violations bring up the importance of work safety in Massachusetts. These two companies received a number of citations and thousands of dollars in fines for failing to take the proper steps to keep employees safe on the job and at theirwork sites.

The first of the long list of citations were handed down by the U.S. Department of Labor to Summer and Winter Construction LLC, a Pittsfield, N.H., roofing contractor. These serious violations came with nearly $90,000 in proposed fines. These proposed fines come from the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration after the company reportedly failed to take the proper safety measures to reduce the risk of a work accident.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys can’t stress the important of workplace safety enough. It is all too often that workplace injuries and fatalities occur because an employer neglects to take the proper safety precautions to keep employees safe. It is in these cases that they can face serious citations and penalties from OSHA and can face serious legal issues if an injury does occur to an employee on the job.

The company originally faced the fines from September of 2009 after inspections revealed that employees of the company were exposed to falls of up to 16 feet and to other hazards at work sites. The penalties and citations reflect the seriousness of the hazards and the company’s history of previous violations.

“Employers should be aware that the Department of Labor will actively pursue appropriate legal measures to protect the lives and well-being of America’s workers when their employers fail to do so,” said Michael Felsen, the Labor Department’s regional solicitor for New England.

These citations and fines are just now being resolved between the two parties because the company contested the violations. Administrative Law Judge Dennis L. Phillips conducted a hearing and issued a decision affirming the citations and ordering the roofing company to pay the penalties.

“This verdict is a complete victory for workers in New Hampshire and elsewhere,” said Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator. “Employers that repeatedly fail to supply basic, common-sense safeguards will face legal consequences, just as their employees can face death or disabling injuries when such safeguards are absent from their workplaces.”

A second company, The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and Grubb & Ellis Management, was slapped with a number of violations for exposing workers to electrical hazards. OSHA discovered that company’s data center policy required electricians employed by its maintenance contractor, Grubb & Ellis, to perform their work in live electrical panels for computer equipment without first de-energizing the panels, as required under the agency’s standards. Grubb & Ellis, for its part, failed to de-energize the electrical panels before having its employees perform installation work and grid upgrades on them, according to a recent news release.

“What employers must understand is that they or their contractors must first de-energize electrical equipment and circuits before employees work on them,” said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA’s area director in Hartford. “Working on live electrical equipment needlessly exposes workers to potential death or disabling injury from arc flash, arc blast or electric shock. Proper and effective safeguards must be in place and in use at all times.”

Employees were not trained on protective equipment needed to guard against electrical hazards and electrical safe work practices. The company also lacked specific hazardous energy control procedures meant to prevent the activation of, or the release of hazardous energy from equipment during maintenance and repair work. It also reportedly failed to develop and train employees on hazardous energy procedures and control for safely removing, using and applying energy control devices.

The Hartford, as the creating and controlling employer, was given a serious citation. This citation was for the maximum fine of $7,000, for requiring employees to work on live panels. Grubb & Ellis was handed six serious citations. These six citations totaled $34,000 in fines, for additional electrical and energy control hazards.
Continue reading

A new compliance assistance tool is now available to employers to help reduce the risks of workplace falls that can cause serious injury or death to residential workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offers the new educational presentation on their website. This new tool is one of many that OSHA has created to help reach employers and employees to educate them about residential construction dangers and help them to stop these dangerous work accidents in Boston and elsewhere throughout the country.

Late last year, the Administration withdrew a former interim directive that allowed residential construction workers to bypass some fall protection requirements. OSHA sought to reverse this directive as falls continue to be the number one cause of death for construction workers.

Many of our laborers face a high risk of injury while on the job in our state. Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers would like to remind these employees that it is the responsibility of your employer to meet all federal safety regulations on the job site. If an employee suffers from an on-site injury, the company is responsible to provide adequate compensation for the injury, the recovery process and lost wages.

“Fatalities from falls are the number one cause of workplace deaths in construction. We cannot tolerate workers getting killed in residential construction when effective means are readily available to prevent those deaths,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Almost every week, we see a worker killed from falling off a residential roof. We can stop these fatalities, and we must.”

Statistics continue to show that fatalities from falls are always high for residential construction jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that roughly 40 workers die every year because of falls from residential roofs. About a third of these deaths represent Latino workers that oftentimes lack sufficient access to safety protection and information. Latino employees make up more than a third all construction employees across the country.

This new OSHA presentation illustrates a number of safety methods that should be exercised to prevent falls that oftentimes result in serious or fatal injuries. The presentation also explains techniques that employers currently exercise during the various stages of construction, including the use of personal fall arrest systems, safety nets, guardrails, lanyards and lifelines. Employees who should be using these safety measures usually perform activities including installing walls and subfloors, installing roof sheathing and weatherproofing a roof.

OSHA expects that even more advances in the design technologies of fall protection equipment will be triggered by the demands of employers, who may encounter compliance difficulties on various work sites.
Continue reading

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials have hit the scene and are now working to assess the damage to determine how much backup assistance is needed to help get Massachusetts back in working order after the string of severe tornadoes. FEMA crews are conducting the current search and rescue operations, according to Craig Fugate, regional administrator for FEMA.

As these cleanup and rescue teams offer their services to help Massachusetts residents, it is important for us to recognize the amount of courage and the risks of danger that these workers put themselves in. Local utility workers and emergency crews are also at increased risk of a work accident. Cleanup crews faced an extremely high risk for tornado cleanup injuries in Massachusetts.

Our Boston workers compensation attorneys would like to thank our FEMA crews and other rescue efforts that are assisting with the tornado cleanup and rescue. We ask that all workers be cautious in the area as there is scattered debris, fallen power lines and other dangers lurking in the damaged areas.

Cleanup work can involve removal of floodwater from structures, entry into flooded areas, cleaning up debris, tree-trimming, structural repair, roadway and bridge repair, restoring electricity, communications, water and sewer services; demolition work, use of cranes, hazardous waste operations and repair of dams and levees.

“Emergency response should not put you in the hospital emergency room,” said Cindy Coe, a regional administrator with OSHA. “Storm recovery work encompasses a wide range of safety and health hazards, which can be minimized by knowledge, safe work practices and personal protective equipment.”

A current assessment of those who have been most severely affected reports that several people are dead, others were left stuck in their car, some trapped by down power lines, and tens of thousands of resident are left without electricity. Emergency responders look to help all individuals affected by the storms.

A team from FEMA’s regional office in Boston has been deployed to the areas impacted by Wednesday weather to assess the damage.

“We’re working closely with the state Emergency Management Agency to determine if they have any needs they can’t meet that we can help with,” said Dennis Pinkham, External Affairs Officer with FEMA’s regional office.

Gov. Deval Patrick, said that the 19 communities that were affected by the severe weather have been declared a state of emergency. He also said that the state has already enlisted the help of roughly 1,000 National Guard troops to help residents and the physical damage left from the stormy weather.

As the road to recovery seems to be a long and tough journey, residents and cleanup crews are asked to navigate the area with much caution to prevent injuries or death:

Residents and cleanup crews are urged to follow these safety tips to help prevent injuries during the post-tornado cleanup efforts:

-Stay out of and away from damaged buildings.

-Stay tuned to local radio and television to get the latest emergency information.

-Only use your telephone for emergency phone calls.

-Do not drive through or near standing water. Depths can be misjudged and cars can be overhauled.

-Be careful and on the lookout for fallen power lines. Downed or hanging electrical wires can be hidden by trees or debris and they could still be live. Never attempt to touch or move any downed power lines. Keep children and pets away from them. Always assume a downed line is a live line. Call your utility company to report any outage-related problem.

-Be sure to clean up any spilled medicines, bleaches, gasoline or any other flammable liquids immediately.

As residents recover from the damage that has resulted from the recent storms and tornado , the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges that all workers and residents that are engaged in cleanup activities be aware and cautious of the hazards they can encounter. Everyone should be educated and prepared with the necessary steps they should take to help to protect themselves.
Continue reading