Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

In Suffolk Superior Court, a 39-year-old man pled guilty to workers' compensation fraud, 23 counts of unemployment fraud, and two counts of larceny over $250. Rigoberto Tellez was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $14,398.

Tellez suffered injuries after he fell at work on December 10, 2005. He received workers' compensation benefits from December 2005 to May 2006, when he was cleared for light duty work following an independent medical examination (IME). His employer offered him work that met the IME's criteria, but he refused and filed an employee claim through the Department of Industrial Accidents, which ordered his employer's insurance company to pay Tellez benefits retroactively from June 2006.

At the same time, Tellez filed an Employee Earning Report stating that he was entitled to workers' compensation and did not have any other income coming in. However, he was also collecting unemployment benefits in addition to workers' compensation for part of this time.

MA Man Sentenced For Fraudulently Collecting WC Benefits, WorkersCompensation.com, April 15, 2009

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In Gloucester, Massachusetts, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will lead an all-day safety training workshop this Thursday, April 23. The workplace safety seminar is presented by the Contractor's Division of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and leads to the awarding of an OSHA 10 Certificate, which is a requirement for workers in many states.

Massachusetts has required an OSHA 10 certificate on all prevailing rate jobs since August of 2006 and many places are increasingly requiring the certificate on non-prevailing rate jobs. Understanding safety regulations is especially important for construction workers, as their jobs may expose them to hazards such as explosions, crane accidents, fires, welding accidents, and more.

Randy Purser of Crane's Safety Institute in Ashland will lead the workshop. Contact the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce at 978-283-1601 or info AT CapeAnnChamber DOT com to register.

OSHA seminar for tradespeople planned for April 23, WickedLocal.com, April 17, 2009

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A Massachusetts construction company has been issued $60,000 in proposed fines for allegedly failing to provide cave-in protection for workers at an excavation site in Taunton.

Inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration drove by the site on October 28, 2008 and noticed employees installing a drain line in the 6-foot, 3-inch deep excavation. The excavations sidewalls were not properly shored to prevent a collapse and workers did not have a ladder or other safe means of exit. OSHA standards require cave-in protection when an excavation is 5 feet or deeper.

Because of these safety concerns, OSHA issued G. Lopes Construction Inc. one willful citation with a proposed fine of $56,000 for the lack of cave-in protection and one serious citation for the absence of a ladder (that proposed fine is $4,000).

The construction company has 15 business days from the time they receive the citation to comply, request a conference with the OSHA area director, or contest the citations and proposed fine.

OSHA Proposes $60,000 in Fines Against Mass. Contractor for Cave-In Hazard, EHSToday.com, April 14, 2009

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The US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a safety partnership with the Burlington-based construction company Erland Construction. The goal of the partnership is to maximize worker safety and health at the Covidien West Street construction project in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

According to Brenda Gordon, OSHA's South Boston Area Office director, "this partnership is designed to encourage, recognize and assist contractors who want to minimize hazards and enhance their safety and health performance."

As part of the agreement, Erland will develop a project-specific safety and health plan. A qualified safety and health representative will implement and supervise the project.

Since 1998, over 1.4 million employees and almost 28,000 employers have participated in strategic partnerships with OSHA.

U.S. Labor Department's OSHA Partners With Erland Construction To Enhance Safety And Health At Mansfield, Mass., Construction Project, SafetyOnline.com, April 9, 2009

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According to a report released by the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number and rate of non-fatal illnesses and injuries sustained on the job and requiring time away from work decreased from 2006 to 2007. Overall, the number of cases declined 2 percent for all injures. The report also states that sprains and strains were the most common type of workplace injuries and illnesses. The number of sprain and strain cases decreased 5 percent in 2007 as compared to 2006.

However, the median number of days away from work as the result of an injury has not changed since 2004. That number remains steady at 7 days, although it varies according to industry. Those in the goods-producing industry reported a median of 9 days. Transportation and warehousing had a median of 14 days, and the mining sector had the highest median days away from work at 27. Over a quarter of all days-away-from work cases resulted in 31 or more days away from work.

Workers age 65 or older tend to experience longer work absences as the result of an injury. Since men tend to work in jobs and industries with a higher risk of injury, they reported a 22 percent higher rate of injury than women. Men had an incidence of 134 per 10,000 workers as compared to 105 per 10,000 workers in women.

Non-fatal work injuries/illnesses drop in U.S. industry, ReliablePlant.com

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On Friday, a construction worker died after walking into the path of a tractor-trailer. Police say the semi driver was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol nor was he driving over the speed limit. The impact of the semi forced the worker into the air, and he died before rescuers arrived at the scene of the construction site accident.

The 36-year-old worker was part of a concrete crew working near mile market 135 on Interstate 75 in Florida. No charges will be filed in the highway construction accident, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will inspect the worksite.

Construction workers are often exposed to dangerous conditions on the job, including heavy equipment or hazardous substances. The Bureau of Labor reports over five thousand workers died from construction accidents in 2006.

Florida Highway Construction Worked Killed in Accident, ClaimsJournal.com, April 6, 2009

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One year after a tanker truck exploded on I-91 at the Chicopee Curve, killing the truck’s driver, the environmental clean-up of the truck accident is ending.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection oversaw the clean-up project, and their primary concern was preventing groundwater contamination and runoff from the thousands of gallons of gasoline that spilled from the exploding tank. Crews spent nearly a year working down the side of a highway bridge and removing contaminated soil from the site.

In addition to cleaning up debris and contaminated soil following the fatal truck accident, crews are also working to improve interstate 91 and prevent future accidents. The construction project includes replacing the guard rails at the Chicopee curve and repaving the road.

Environmental cleanup from tanker crash, WWLP.com, March 30, 2009

I-91 tanker crash, a year later, WWLP.com, March 27, 2009

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Last week, the Massachusetts attorney general’s office announced that it has reached two more settlements in the 2006 Big Dig accident that killed a Jamaica Plain woman. The state settled with Gannet Fleming Inc. and Sika Corporation. According to officials, these settlements mark the end of the state’s legal proceedings against companies involved in the Big Dig construction project.

Attorney General Martha Coakley said the resolutions held the companies accountable and ensured that similar accidents will be prevented in the future, while providing the state with funds to maintain transportation infrastructure.

Gannett Fleming designed the section of the tunnel ceiling that collapsed and agreed to pay a total of $1.575 million to the city of Boston and to the state, forgoing $150,000 in payments to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. Sika Corporation made the blue used in the ceiling and agreed to $200,000 to the state.

During the course of this legal campaign, the state received $610.6 million in recoveries for the Big Dig ceiling collapse and for other problems such as adulterated cement and design flaws.

AG settles with final two firms in fatal collapse of Big Dig tunnel, Boston Globe, March 27, 2009

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