Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

The Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld a discrimination award to a man who had worked as a firefighter in Hull but says he was not allowed back to work after an injury. Donald A. Gillis injured his neck when he fell off a truck in 1985.

He was 58 when asked for his job back in 1994. Now at 72, Gillis is too old to work as a firefighter per Massachusetts state law. The mandatory retirement age for Massachusetts firefighters is 65.

In 2000, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination awarded Gillis $174,318.75 in lost wages, damages for emotional distress, and legal fees. The town of Hull appealed that decision, which the appeal court upheld earlier this month. A lawyer for the town of Hull said it plans to appeal the judgment again.

Fireman who tried to keep job wins in court; town to appeal, Hull Times, September 11, 2008

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Police are withholding the name of a fatally injured construction worker until they are able to notify his family. The 48-year old died last Monday because of a construction site accident at Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Police said the man was working on the roof of the building when he fell about 30 feet. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Officials from the Occupation Safety and Health Administration arrived at the scene of the construction accident to conduct an investigation.

Unfortunately, this is not the first industrial accident in the area to result in fatalities in the past year. Last December, a 22-year-old was killed after getting caught in a drilling rig’s auger. Another worker, 49, was killed last November while trying to clear a paper jam in a city-owned paper baler.

Construction worker falls to his death at mall, Las Cruces Sun-News, September 23, 2008

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Earlier this month, a train collision in Chatsworth, California killed 25 people and left 135 injured. More recently, it was discovered that one of the engineers involved in the deadly train crash was sending and receiving text messages while on the job.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is still working to determine the exact timing of the text messages sent and received by engineer Robert Sanchez to see if it corresponds with the time of the crash.

According to an analyst at J. Gold Associates in Northboro, Massachusetts, “texting is worse than talking on a cell phone because your eyes are down.”

The Southern California Regional Rail Authority already prohibits rail workers from using cell phones while on the job, and more legislation is expected as a result of this tragic accident.

NTSB: Train engineer in deadly crash was texting while on job, ComputerWorld.com, September 18, 2008

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The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Massachusetts reported on a Windham police officer who was recently injured on the job while directing traffic on Route 111. The incident occurred last Thursday while police Officer Bryan Smith was at a construction project at the corner of Range Road and Route 111.

Smith was struck in the back by the driver’s side mirror of a pick-up truck driven by Paul Norton, 45, of Manchester. Smith sustained back injuries and was transported to Parkland Medical Center.

This is the second time an officer has been hit by a car this summer in almost the same spot on this same construction project. In June, Officer Greg Malisos was hit by a sport utility vehicle which knocked him into a 4-foot ditch.

In the summer of 2007, Derry police Officer Robert Moore was seriously injured by a pickup truck. Moore was directing traffic on Route 28. The driver who struck him was charged with DWI.

Windham police officer struck while working Route 111 detail, The Eagle Tribune, September 12, 2008

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In Walpole, Massachusetts, a construction worker died after being electrocuted. Romulo Santoes, 47, was doing overnight construction work on a Wal-Mart when he was electrocuted while trying to re-attach electrical wires. The wires had been severed by a construction crew doing demolition work.

Santos was taken to Norwood Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He is a native of Brazil, and police are working to notify his family in Brazil, according to The Boston Globe.

This construction accident is currently under investigation. Experts say that this death could have been prevented had the construction company taken the right precautions.

The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health has released a statement saying that swift action is required to ensure the safety of other construction workers on the job. According to OccupationalHazards.com, 20 building trades’ workers died on the job in Massachusetts last year and nearly half of those were immigrant workers. Between 1999 and 2007, 15 Brazilian-born workers died while at work in Massachusetts, eight from construction accidents.

Electrical Worker Death Could Have Been Prevented, Experts Say, OccupationalHazards.com, September 11, 2008

Man electrocuted while renovating Walpole Wal-Mart, Boston Globe, September 9, 2008

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On Friday morning around 9 am, four constructions workers died after a drainage trench they were working in collapsed. The four men were digging the trench when it collapsed on top of them. The construction accident occurred on state Highway 12 near the town of Verdal, Nebraska, which is 155 miles Northwest of Omaha.

Police have identified the four victims as 61-year-old Gary Forsh, 43-year-old Brad Kelly, 24-year-old Travis Lunn, and 35-year-old David Peterson.

According to the Bureau of Labor, more than five thousand construction workers were killed in construction accidents in 2006, while many other workers suffered serious injuries. This type of work environment is particularly hazardous because of threats from a number of different sources: defective tools, fires, explosives, crane collapses, and other dangers.

Neb. sheriff: 4 dead in construction accident, Associated Press, September 13, 2008

Four Killed In Construction Accident, WOWT.com, September 12, 2008

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A construction worker who had been pinned in a trench at a construction project last week was pronounced dead. Steven Dale Slee, 28, died from injuries to his trunk and the medical examiner’s office has pronounced the incident an accident.

Slee was taken to the hospital after 7,000 pounds of compacted dirt fell on him. After a slab of compacted fill broke, the dirt fell from the side of the trench. A second construction worker escaped from the trench with non-life threatening injuries.

The construction accident is under investigation with the state Department of Labor and Industries.

Construction worker dies from burial injuries, Seattle PI, September 6, 2008

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New Hampshire contractors say that misclassification of workers among their competition has forced them to seek business elsewhere in Massachusetts. They claim that it is almost impossible for them to land construction projects in their own state because their competitors illegally misclassify workers to avoid paying for workers’ compensation, cutting their costs by about a third and allowing them to offer lower bids.

Many of these contractors have banded together to share their concerns with their local representative. A join task force is also preparing to examine the business practices of contractors throughout the state and penalize those who misclassify workers to deny them workers’ compensation.

Independent contractors generally earn more per hour, but they are cheaper for the contractor to employ because they don’t require workers’ compensation coverage. This issue was recently brought to light when a local construction worker fell on a construction site and shattered the bones in his left foot. He was originally denied workers’ compensation money because he was classified as an independent contractor.

Contractors speak up on workers comp, Nashua Telegraph, August 19, 2008

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Two steel-and-concrete beams intended as part of the Route 1A bridge reconstruction failed a Massachusetts state safety inspection last week, resulting in a delay in installation.

One of the 120-foot-long beams was damaged during an accident and another sustained damage during loading. Both beams will need to be remanufactured, which Adam Hurtubise of MassHighway said will set back their installation about three weeks.

However, MassHighway says that with time built into the schedule for contingencies, the completion date should remain the same. They estimate that the bridge may reopen as soon as the spring of 2009. S & R Corp., of Lowell, is the general contractor on the project and has been working on an accelerated timetable.

Since September 27, the Route 1A bridge has been closed for what highway official estimated would be a two-year reconstruction project. The original plan was to keep one of the two lanes open to traffic, but severe deterioration of the bridge forced officials to reduce traffic to one lane in the center of the bridge.

Shutting down the bridge completely has negatively impacted businesses in both Rowley and Newbury, since these companies rely on Route 1A traffic to bring in business.

Giant beams damaged at Route 1A bridge, Newburyport News, August 26, 2008

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