Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

A report coauthored by the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO found that 80 Massachusetts workers died in 2007 because of injuries sustained while at work or because of work-related illnesses. The report is called "Dying for Work in Massachusetts."

The most dangerous industry for Massachusetts workers continues to be construction and firefighting. 20 construction workers died while on the job last year, while 9 Massachusetts firefighters died, most of them due to work-related illnesses. Other industries in Massachusetts with a high number of worker fatalities in 2007 are transportation, fishing, utility work, and motor vehicle repair.

Stress on the job reportedly led to six deadly heart attacks. Three of these fatalities were 38-year-old firefighters. 19 worker deaths were caused by fall accidents.

Two 17-year-old construction workers were among 2007's worker fatalities. A 71-year old mechanic was recorded as the oldest person to die last year due to a worker injury. One telecommunications worker with Verizon was electrocuted and died in Plymouth when his bucket struck high voltage wires.

Some people have expressed worries that certain companies are prioritizing productivity over worker safety. For example, the bucket used by the telecommunication worker that died was not insulated.

Work safety advocates believe that many of last year’s deaths could have been avoided if workers had been given the proper gear, equipment, and training. For instance, the 17-year-old construction worker that died in a fall accident was not using a safety harness when he fell from a Salem church roof last year.

Although Massachusetts workers’ compensation law provides injured workers and their families with financial compensation, the recovery may not cover all expenses and losses.

Our Boston workers’ compensation law firm can make sure that you are paid all of the workers’ compensation that you are owed in a timely manner. We can also determine whether there are any negligent third parties.

80 people in Massachusetts died of workplace injury in 2007, Associated Press/Boston Herald, April 29, 2008

80 work fatalities in state last year, Boston.com, April 29, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health

Read the Report "Dying for Work in Massachusetts" (PDF)

Massachusetts AFL-CIOhttp://www.altmanllp.com/lawyer-attorney-1226007.html

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court says that Michael Haslam, a construction worker on Boston’s “Big Dig” freeway project, is not eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits for injuries he sustained when he fell asleep at the wheel while driving home after working for 27 hours straight. The court’s ruling reverses an earlier decision by the Industrial Accident Board.

The state’s highest court says that Haslam failed to prove that he needed to work as many hours as he did and that the circumstances surrounding his injury accident did not exempt him from the “going and coming rule,” which does not cover injuries sustained by workers when they are going to or coming from a job.

On August 3, 2001, Haslam started work at 5am. His shift was supposed to end at 3:30pm. Due to numerous work delays, however, the pouring of concrete did not take place until 1am the following day, and Haslam chose to stay because he needed to make sure that the job was done. He testified that if he hadn’t stayed, “I probably wouldn’t have had a job.”

He also said, however, that no one told him he had to stay. Also, the construction crew supervisor testified that he could have found someone else to replace Haslam if he had known that the foreman was so tired. Haslam's contract stipulates that he cannot be made to work overtime.

Haslam drove home on August 4, 2001 at around 8 in the morning after working for 27 hours. He says that he was “totally exhausted” and fell asleep at the wheel. Haslam struck a utility pole and sustained injuries.

A 2004 ruling found that Haslam was entitled to workers’ compensation for his injuries because “the physical state that caused the accident arose directly out of and had presented itself while [the employee] was still on the job.”

The SJC court, however, agreed with the insurance company that argued that Haslam was not obligated to stay longer than his work shift and that the “going and coming rule" applied.

If you have been injured on the job in Massachusetts, you should contact our Boston workers’ compensation law firm to discuss your legal options. We have helped many injured workers’ whose claims were denied or reduced to recover the compensation that was owed to them.

Sleepy Employee Hurt Driving Home Denied Mass. Workers' Comp, Insurance Journal, April 9, 2008

SJC: Big Dig worker not entitled to workers’ comp, BostonHerald.com, April 8, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, The Big Dig

Department of Industrial Accidents, Labor and Workforce Development

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Six construction workers and a Florida tourist died in a construction accident on Saturday after a crane collapsed at a construction site in New York. 10 other people were injured.

The construction site was at a 43-year-old building that had already received multiple safety violations. On Tuesday, investigators were trying to determine whether the nylon webbing, worth $50, broke while lifting a large piece of steel.

The 200-foot crane fell while construction workers tried to attach a large, 12,000-pound square steel collar around the tower of the crane at the 18th floor of the building, located on East 51st Street. They were applying manual winches that seemed to be hanging from nylon slings that were hanging from a higher part of the tower.

The collar, winches, and slings fell, crashed into another collar at the ninth floor, and landed on a third collar located close to the bottom of the construction site. The tower then collapsed, leveling a nearby building and damaging other nearby properties.

According to Paul S. Zorich, chairman of the committee on crane and sling safety standards of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, photographs of the sling show that it could have been “grossly overloaded.”

Construction safety experts say that these slings usually can carry loads as heavy as several tons unless they are worn or damaged.

Steven R. Dewey, president of All-Lifts, a company that makes construction slings, says sling failures only occurs if they are damaged or cut. He also said that slings are manufactured to carry five times the indicated weight.

Joy Contractors is the company overseeing the crane work at the site.

Construction accidents can often lead to catastrophic if not deadly injuries. Construction workers injured on the job cannot sue their employers for recovery. They are, however, eligible for workers’ compensation benefits and they may be able to claim damages from third parties, such as the manufacturer of a defective product or another party that is found liable for the injury accident.

Injured parties that are not construction workers may be able to claim damages from the construction company or other parties associated with the project if negligence can be proved. The best way to do this in Massachusetts is to retain the services of a Boston, Massachusetts personal injury law firm that is experienced in dealing with construction accident cases.

Even if your employer guarantees you workers’ compensation benefits, one of our Boston, Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorneys can make sure that you receive all of the benefits you are eligible for in a timely manner.

Failure of Strap Is Suspected in Crane Collapse, New York Times, March 18, 2008

Seven dead in New York crane accident, BBC News, March 16, 2008

Related Web Resource:

A Review of Crane Safety in the Construction Industry

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Anne Dube, the widow of a mechanic who committed suicide after he was fired from his job with National Fiber Technology LLC, has the right to receive death benefits under workers’ compensation. The decision was issued by the Massachusetts Appeals Court in Suffolk County. The court’s ruling affirms the Industrial Accident Reviewing Board’s decision that had been appealed by the Professional Liability Insurance Company.

An administrative judge had awarded Dube death benefits for Gilbert Dube’s work-related back injury, which resulted in pain, deteriorating mental condition, mental unsoundness, and suicide. The board said that Anne Dube was causally connected to the mental unsoundness that was caused by work.

Gilbert Dube was a 50-year-old machine mechanic. He had a history of back problems. He reinjured his back on November 7, 2001 at work when he “jerked” lose a card that had gotten stuck in a knitting machine. On November 26, 2001, he tried to go back to work and assume “light-duty” but was told that there was no light-duty work. He was terminated from his job on December 4, 2001. He killed himself 14 days later.

The board awarded death benefits to Anne Dube.

The insurer appealed the decision saying that the simple causation test to determine the connection between the work-related injury and Gilbert Dube’s suicide was not properly applied. It claimed that being fired, and not the actual work injury, was the predominant cause of the suicide.

The appeals court ruled that the suicide makes Anne Dubbe eligible for workers' compensation benefits if "simply causally connected to the unsoundness of mind resulting from the injury, without having to show any particular quantity or quality of that cause."

Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ Compensation laws give benefits to employees that are injured in a work-related accident. Workers’ compensation protects both employers and employees. Injured employees receive benefits under the law and, in exchange, the employers cannot be sued for personal injury or wrongful death. The issue of who was negligent does not become an issue.

An employee will usually receive medical benefits and money. The widow or widower of an employer killed at work is also entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

Just because you are entitled to those benefits does not mean that the insurance carrier or the employer will try to contest your claim. This is why you should speak with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney right away so that he or she can protect your rights to compensation and make sure your receive all the benefits that you are entitled to.

Mass. Widow Awarded Workers Comp Death Benefits in Suicide Case, Insurance Journal, September 17, 2007

What is Workers' Compensation

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Workers Compensation Law

The Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act, Workers' Comp: A Massachusetts Guide

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Four people were injured today in Massachusetts today when a manhole exploded and let out a spray of steaming water that may have contained asbestos. The water hit all four injury victims.

The injury accident occurred in Boston near a building at the corners of Summer and Redding. Boston Emergency Medical Services appeared at the scene after it became known that a hazardous material was possibly involved in the explosion. EMS workers medically monitored and decontaminated the firefighters at the accident scene.

The four injured persons, three of them energy company workers, were also decontaminated before being sent to nearby hospitals for treatment of their injuries.

The Boston Fire Department say they think that it was a steam pipe and not a manhole that exploded.

Asbestos Exposure
Exposure to asbestos can lead to catastrophic injuries, such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. Although the dangers of asbestos exposure increases the longer the exposure time, there have been cases where someone has briefly been exposed to it and ended up with malignant mesothelioma.

If you become sick because of exposure to asbestos on the job, you may not be able to file a personal injury claim against your employer because you are likely eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. An experienced personal injury attorney can make sure that you receive all the benefits that you are eligible for. Your personal injury lawyer can also help you determine if there are third parties that can be held liable for your illness.

According to Allasbestos.org, Massachusetts is ranked 11th in the United States among the 50 states and the District of Columbia for having the highest number of asbestos-related deaths- from 1,355 fatalities to 1,715.

Hub Steam Explosion Injures Four, Boston Herald, September 12, 2007

State Ranking of Asbestos Related Mortality Rate, Allasbestos.org

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Workers Compensation Law, Workers Compensation Insurance.com

Asbestos, EPA.gov

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A construction worker was injured a construction site at Pelham Road in Salem, Massachusetts, last week after the scissor lift that he was riding in tipped backward and fell to the ground. Semir Mehmedoxic, 20, fell out of the bucket. As of last Saturday, he was being treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he was reportedly in stable condition.

Mensur Ramic, a 21-year-old Manchester resident, says that he and Mehmedoxic had been sanding an exterior wall when the construction accident occurred. Ramic was able to grab onto the roof and pull himself to safety when the scissor lift tipped back.

Both men were at the site to help build a 60,000 square-foot gym that belongs to The Workout Club and Wellness Center chain.

Paul LeVasseur, the project superintendent, said that he did not know the man who fell and that different subcontractors often worked at the site. He criticized the lift machine’s condition. The lift machine had been provided by subcontractor Classic Exteriors LLC of Manchester. He thinks that the accident was caused by mechanical failure.

Firefighters had to siphon gas from the lift because a tank was punctured in the fall.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been investigating the cause of the construction accident.

Injuries sustained at a construction site are frequently catastrophic, if not fatal.

Common kinds of construction accidents include

• Scaffolding accidents
• Electrical accidents
• Injuries caused by defective equipment
• Cutting accidents
• Falls
• Welding injuries
• Exposure to hazardous or toxic substances
• Faulty use of equipment
• Improper maintenance or repair of construction machinery and vehicles

If you have been seriously injured at a construction site or while working at any other job in Massachusetts, you are eligible for benefits under workers’ compensation. A good workers’ compensation attorney can make sure that your benefits start immediately, and—if not—that you receive any back benefits that are owed to you.

Your workers’ compensation lawyer can also make sure that your employer and its insurance company are not preventing you from receiving the benefits that you are legally entitled to. If a family member was killed because of negligence or carelessness at a construction site, you may be eligible to receive benefits from the employer under your loved one’s workers’ compensation package.

If there is a third party that is considered a liable party, you may be able to file a personal injury or a wrongful death claim against them also.

OSHA investigates work site accident, Eagle Tribune, August 11, 2007

Worker hurt in fall at Salem construction site; Co-worker, dangling from roof, escapes injury, Eagle Tribune, August 10, 2007

Related Web Resources:

OSHA Assistance for the Construction Industry, U.S. Department of Labor

Department of Industrial Accidents, Massachusetts.gov

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Posted In: Construction Accidents , Workers' Compensation

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