Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

Earlier this month, a hearing for a 44-year-old Hingham Sewer Department staffer brought up issues of workplace safety. The worker is accused of insubordination and stood before a three-person elected board as they considered whether to fire him. He argued that that town is trying to get rid of him after he filed a complaint about unsafe working conditions with the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety.

Hingham has 13 stations that pump raw sewage, but the man’s complaints were focused on the Bayberry Station. He alleges that a colleague was hit with electrical shocks while working at that station. He also says that the town failed to fix the cause of that workplace accident and that there could still be unaddressed workplace violations at the station. It was also the site of a fire in 2008, according to the man.

The Sewer Commissioner has said the town is working to address safety concerns.

Source: Workplace violations alleged at hearing of Hingham sewer worker, Boston Globe, July 14, 2010

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Heightened stress from the recession and the tight job market have led to several workplace shootings in recent years. While most people don’t think of shootings as a common cause of work-related deaths, statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that assaults and violence is actually the third most-common cause of at-work deaths.

The most recently recorded statistics are from 2008 and show that assaults and violent acts accounted for 816 deaths, a decrease of 5% from 2007. The top cause of death was transportation accidents and contact with objects or equipment, causing 2,130 and 937 deaths respectively. Other common causes include falls, exposure to harmful substances, and fires or explosions.

According to Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., assaults and violent acts are the 10th most-common cause of disabling injuries in the workplace. In 2007, these injuries cost employers $600 million. However the top cause of serious injury is heavy lifting or other forms of overextension.

Source: Violence Is Workplace Hazard, Portfolio.com, July 13, 2010

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Following a serious construction accident in Salem, Massachusetts, the Commonwealth has ordered the exterior walls to be removed from the new state courthouse. The $106 million courthouse construction project was to include 576 outside wall panels, but after a 500-pound limestone wall panel fell and seriously injured a worker, the contractor halted work on the panels.

A spokesperson for the agency overseeing the construction project said it would take a few weeks to remove the154 limestone panels that had already been installed, but it should not delay the project, which is due to open in the summer of 2011.

Federal investigators have gotten involved and are looking to discover the cause of the construction accident. The construction manager said he plans to conduct his own investigation. Both investigations could take several months to complete.

Source: State orders wall panels removed from Salem court building, Gloucester Daily Times, June 30, 2010

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Our workers’ compensation attorneys have learned that FedEx Ground has agreed to pay the Commonwealth of Massachusetts several million dollars to settle allegations that they misclassified drivers as independent contractors. According to the attorney general, FedEx’s classification of drivers denied the state workers’ compensation, payroll taxes, and unemployment assistance contributions, as well as gave the company an unfair competitive advantage.

The $3 million awarded will go to the state’s general fund and to the thirteen drivers named in the suit. There is another lawsuit on behalf of other drivers that is still pending.

The company denies liability in the settlement with the state.

Source: Mass. reaches $3M settlement with FedEx Ground, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, July 15, 2010

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Here in Massachusetts, we’ve had several notable subway and construction accidents in recent years. Workers in China face many of these same hazards; in fact, two workers were killed in a Beijing construction accident earlier this week.

On Wednesday, emergency response crews retrieved the bodies of the two workers whose bodies were buried under debris. The steel supporting the structure reportedly collapsed around 4:30pm local time, pouring steel, rocks, and dirt on top of the construction workers.

Eight other workers sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. The cause of the construction site accident is still being investigated.

Source: Two killed in Beijing subway construction site accident, Xinhuanet.com, July 14, 2010

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Despite a request from the Worker’s Compensation Rating Inspection Bureau of Massachusetts to raise rates by 4.5 percent, Attorney General Martha Coakley has reviewed the industry’s proposed rates and determined that current rates will need to be reduced by 2.4 percent.

Coakley says the proposed rate hikes would have cost employers tens of millions in additional premium payments. In addition to this year’s rate reductions, Massachusetts workers’ compensation insurance companies will be subject to another rate review and possible rate cuts in 2011.

The settlement still needs final approval from the state’s commissioner of insurance. If approved, the lower workers' comp rates will be in effect next fall. The hope is that lower costs will spur job growth across the state and protect employers from overpaying.

Source: Massachusetts: Attorney general nixes insurers' request for increase, RiskAndInsurance.com, July 8, 2010

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A 34-year-old Belmont man faces charges of workers’ compensation fraud and larceny in excess of $250. He reportedly suffered a work injury in August, 2006 while working as a heavy machinery mechanic in Milford, Massachusetts. He had surgery for that injury the following year and collected workers’ compensation benefits of about $857 a week between April 2007 and August 2007.

However, the general contractor of the Milford work site discovered that the man was also allegedly employed as a subcontractor for another construction company and earned almost $10,000 while out on disability. Investigators alleged that the construction worker collected $14,000 in workers’ compensation benefits to which he was not entitled.

The man was arraigned and is due back in court later this month for a pretrial conference. His case is being investigated by the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts (IFB).

Source: Belmont man facing fraud charges in Bay State, Citizen.com, June 23, 2010

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Our Massachusetts construction accident attorneys have learned that the contractor involved in an accident last month that seriously injured a worker has been cited for more than two dozen safety violations over the past few years.

OSHA records show that the company has been fined or paid settlements of more than $20,000 in the past six years. In 2009 alone, OSHA cited Massachusetts masonry and stone contractors in 42 separate incidents. Safety violations by this particular contractor include lack of safety training and failure to provide the proper fall protection for workers.

The Salem construction accident that occurred on June 15 is still being investigated. So far no blame has been assigned.

Source: Court contractor had 20 OSHA violations, The Salem News, July 1

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The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that Liberty Mutual was right to deny workers’ compensation benefits requested by a self-employed carpenter. The solo proprietor had severely injured his hand in 2005.

An administrative judge at the Industrial Accident Reviewing Board had earlier ruled in favor of Liberty Mutual, and the decision upholds that ruling. The carpenter had reportedly bought a workers’ compensation policy from Liberty Mutual in 2001, when Massachusetts sole proprietors could not cover themselves as employees under a workers’ compensation policy.

However, that changed in 2002, when Massachusetts began allowing sole proprietors to buy coverage for themselves as employees through a policy endorsement. Because the carpenter did not request the change to his workers’ compensation policy, the insurance company denied his request for benefits and the Appeals Court upheld that decision.

Source: Liberty Mutual Wins Dismissal of Claim for Injured Mass. Carpenter, ClaimsJournal.com, June 25, 2010

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