Articles Posted in Construction Accidents

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If you thought you missed your chance to file a Massachusetts workers’ comp claim, you may be in luck: the Commonwealth has one of the longest workers’ compensation time limits in the nation. Unlike Michigan, where claims must be filed within two years of the injury, or Arizona, which has a one-year statute of limitations, Massachusetts allows you to file within four years of the date you learned your injury was job related. In the case of a fatal work injury, eligible dependents can file workers’ compensation death benefit claims within four years of the employee’s date of death.

What Causes Delayed Filings of Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Claims?

In order to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits in Massachusetts, you must be disabled for five full or partial calendar days (not necessarily consecutive). At that point, your employer should notify the Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) of your injury. If you are disabled for less than five days, your employer can file a “medical only” claim with their insurance company.

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Designed to promote employee health and safety, OSHA standards aim to reduce injuries from foreseeable hazards in the workplace. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulations govern over 130 million workers at 8 million worksites across the United States. While covered employers should always follow OSHA standards, inspections happen only occasionally, such as when a severe injury occurs, someone files a complaint, or a work site has high rates of injury or is part of a high-hazard industry.

Most Common Massachusetts Workplace OSHA Violations of 2021

Each year, the federal agency publishes a list of the 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards following inspections. According to OSHA, far too many preventable workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths are related to these top 10 standards.

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Excavator Injuries

Between 1992 and 2000, the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH) identified 346 deaths caused by excavators or backhoe loaders in the united states. The data found that the most common causes of injury were

  1. Being struck by the machine or parts of the machine while the machine was in motion; and
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What is OSHA?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates workplace safety on construction sites. Officials conduct inspections on worksites to enforce administration standards and publish reports detailing workplace safety. OSHA is a federal agency, but most states collaborate with it to create state-specific plans. These states create standards that apply to federal and state workers. States that choose not to create independent plans must comply with federal OSHA standards. These only apply to private workers. Massachusetts does not have a state plan with OSHA, therefore OSHA federal regulations apply to private workers.

What happens when OSHA gets involved in a construction accident?

When an accident occurs on a construction worksite, workers typically file a claim for workers compensation. This is a no-fault remedy where no negligence needs to be shown for a worker to recover. In other words, even if your employer used the utmost care, you can still recover from the workers compensation fund. OSHA representatives may come to a worksite following an accident to determine if the employer followed the standards of the administration. A violation of OSHA standards can be strong evidence of negligence on the part of your employer. A court is more likely to find the employer at fault for the workers injury, which will allow them to recover in a personal injury case in addition to workers compensation.

The depth of OSHA investigations typically depends on the seriousness of the accident. Any incident that results in any fatality or leads to the hospitalization of multiple workers is considered high priority. Employers are required to report serious accidents to OSHA within eight hours. These incidents will often prompt an immediate investigation. Inspectors will begin by researching any history of accidents on the worksite and review the employer’s operations. Representatives will set up a phone interviews with the employer and will then visit the site and document any hazards.

Workers may also file a written complaint with OSHA if they believe their employer is not following standards. OSHA staff will determine if the complaint is worth inspecting. They will evaluate the likelihood that there is a violation of their standards or another hazard. If OSHA has reason to know that the employer is fixing the hazard, they may not find it necessary to investigate. Inspections will often be limited to hazards listed in the complaint, but other readily observable violations may be recorded as well. Because of the way it prioritizes reports, it may take a while for OSHA to investigate. Continue reading

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On October 12, a portion of a new Hard Rock Hotel under construction in New Orleans collapsed, killing three construction workers and injuring dozens more, and wreaking chaos in the city that has left family members of the victims searching for answers. Multiple investigations are under way to determine who was at fault. Cases like this showcase how important it is to know who to call when a tragedy occurs, and that is why the attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP are available around the clock to help.

The construction of a new building can be exciting, especially a large building in the middle of a downtown area – which brings with it the promise of new commerce and attraction, and will ideally bring about more tourism and financial incentives into the community.

However, when construction contractors, architectural engineering firms or others involved in the building process cut corners or fail to perform their duties in a responsible manner that treats safety as a top priority, people can be seriously hurt or killed. Additionally, in cases like this one, businesses around the collapsed property are affected as well – as many were forced to shut down for days and even weeks as a safety precaution while the building was secured.

What this event has amounted to is pain and suffering born by the families of the victims who have perished, pain and suffering born by those injured in the incident and financial damage to businesses that have had to close due to the building collapse – and for these damages, the liable party or parties may rightfully be held accountable.

Lawsuits filed

This past week, loved ones of the deceased construction workers have already filed suit against developers responsible for overseeing the project on the grounds of pain and suffering due to their relatives’ wrongful deaths. Some of those filing suit had to suffer the added burden of their loved ones being listed as missing prior to being announced dead, and then having to witness them pull their deceased loved ones from the wreckage – adding more trauma to an already horrible situation.

As with all ongoing investigations, it is not known at the time what ultimately led to the collapse. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is looking into the incident to find out if there were any apparent worker safety issues that contributed to deaths or injuries and if the contractors or developers failed to adhere to certain safety protocols.

There is apparently video posted from construction workers on social media that showed portions of the build that looked weak and unstable, with one worker even commenting in Spanish on one of the videos about the shoddy design and of the new construction and how it was unsafe. Videos like that, along with testimony of construction workers who were firsthand witnesses to the building process will be crucial in assessing whether or not safety standards were ignored. Continue reading

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According to the National Safety Council (NSC), 69 percent of workers in the construction, transportation, and manufacturing industries say they suffer from on-the-job fatigue. The NSC recently released a report on this very serious problem, The Fatigue in Safety Critical Industries report, which delineates common causes and symptoms of fatigue, as well as the extensive associated costs.

It’s a well known fact that construction is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. Among the most deadly construction accidents are falls from high places (ladders and scaffolding), being struck by objects, electrocutions, and becoming caught in materials and equipment. The risk of every one of these serious accidents is dramatically increased by worker fatigue. A MA work injury attorney can help you determine how to proceed if you’ve been injured on the job.

Although nearly two-thirds of all construction workers admitted to working while fatigued, the group said they were well aware of the risks involved with doing so. The NSC is urging employers in these industries to assess the level of fatigue their workers are experiencing, and to initiate policies that reduce worker injuries and deaths related to fatigue. One fatigued worker can put an entire team at risk, and the costs associated with fatigue-related accidents are shockingly high.

Common Causes and Symptoms of Worker Fatigue

The Fatigue in Safety Critical Industries report outlined common causes of worker fatigue and the symptoms to look for in employees and co-workers:

Causes

  • Lifestyle-related sleep deprivation
  • Sleep deprivation related to medical conditions
  • Working too many consecutive days
  • Shift work
  • Demands of a physical job
  • Workplace and life stressors
  • Monotonous, repetitive tasks

Symptoms

  • General tiredness, sleepiness, or lethargy
  • Loss of energy
  • Slow reaction time
  • Impaired decision making and judgment
  • “Foggy” brain
  • Loss of short term memory
  • Reduction in productivity
  • Excessive absenteeism
  • Increased accidents and injuries

What Can Employers Do?

Obviously, employers are limited in their ability to improve the lifestyle and overall health of employees, but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible for employers to reduce workplace fatigue. For starters, they can pay closer attention to the amount of consecutive hours and days their employees are on the clock. Double shifts, back-to-back night and day shifts, and too many days in a row can easily cause fatigue. As such, employers should limit fatigue-inducing schedules as much as possible. Also, employers can ensure that all workers (but especially those working challenging shifts/hours) have access to regular breaks during which they can rest, grab a snack, and drink plenty of water.

Workers with boring, repetitive tasks can also be plagued by fatigue. In order to reduce this risk, employers should rotate job responsibilities so that no worker is stuck with the same boring, repetitive task for too long. And any time a job is physically demanding, workers should receive frequent breaks. A Boston work injury lawyer can help you recover damages or obtain workers’ compensation if you’ve been injured in a workplace accident.

Finally, a safe work environment is key to reducing accidents, fatigued or not. Employers should ensure that all workers have access to well-maintained personal protective gear, and that everyone receives adequate training and supervision. Continue reading

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Each year in the United States, thousands of workers are killed and millions suffer non-fatal injuries. Among those injured, more than three million subsequently develop chronic medical conditions as a result. It’s common knowledge that certain industries—such as construction and logging—rank at the top of the “dangerous jobs” list, but no occupation is immune. In fact, some of the most common injuries—such as carpal tunnel syndrome and back problems—occur in office jobs. The data below, collected by the nation’s leading insurance companies, has revealed the top most commonly-reported work injuries and their causes.

Repetitive Motion Injuries

Continuously engaging in the same motions day in and day out over the course of several months or years can lead to injuries. Common repetitive motion injuries include eye problems, strained muscles, tendonitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. To prevent these injuries, employees should receive adequate training on proper postures and should be provided with ergonomic equipment to reduce the incidence of injuries.

Entanglement

Factory workers often use heavy machinery to perform their jobs. When fingers, hair, or clothing become entangled in these machines, the worker can be pulled into the machine and become entangled. These injuries often result in the loss of one or more fingers or toes. They can also be deadly. To prevent machine entanglement injuries, protective equipment and training are essential, as are lockout/tagout mechanisms to prevent machines from starting unexpectedly.

Falls from Heights

Anytime someone is working from an elevated area—including roofs, ladders, and scaffolding—there is the potential for a deadly fall. Although falls from heights can occur in any industry, they are most common in construction. In addition to faulty equipment and lack of training and personal protection gear, falls from heights can also be caused due to slippery surfaces. A Boston work injury lawyer can help you determine how to proceed if you’ve been injured on the job.

Reaction Injuries

Typically caused when someone slips and trips but does not fall, reaction injuries can result in trauma to various parts of the body. Preventing these types of incidents can be difficult, but ensuring that walkways are kept dry and clutter-free goes a long way toward reducing the prevalence of reaction injuries. This is another area in which employee training and awareness are of paramount importance.

Slip and Fall Injuries

The number two cause of work-related injuries is slip and fall accidents. In fact, slip and fall accidents are one of the leading causes of accidental death and injury overall, not just in the workplace. To prevent slip and fall injuries, ensure that spills are promptly cleaned up, and keep walkways well-lit and free of clutter and debris.

Overexertion Injuries

The number one workplace injury is also the most costly. Overexertion injuries include those related to lifting, holding, pushing, pulling, and carrying. A MA work injury attorney can help you obtain the compensation you deserve if you’ve been injured on the job. Continue reading

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If you’ve been injured in a work-related accident, your injuries may prevent you from performing the duties of your job. If you are unable to work for an extended period of time, the lost wages can be financially devastating. Fortunately, workers’ compensation exists to cover a percentage of your normal wages if you cannot work due to an on-the-job injury or illness. But when do those benefits kick in? For some people, even a few weeks without a paycheck can be disastrous.

As with most things in life, all workers’ comp cases are unique. However, the paragraphs below gives an idea of the general timeline you can expect once you file your workers’ comp claim. A MA workers’ comp attorney can help you determine how to proceed if you’ve been injured on the job.

Seek Medical Attention

Your injury is the official kickoff of your workers’ compensation claim. As such, you will want to take certain steps immediately following your injury to ensure that your claim is received and completed in a timely manner, namely, seek medical attention. Not to mention, medical treatment after an accident is in the best interest of your overall health and well-being. In MA, as in most other states, either the employer or its workers’ comp carrier must pay for an injured employee’s medical bills as soon as the claim is filed. In layman’s terms, you don’t have to wait for approval to receive compensation for medical expenses.

Report the Injury to Your Employer

Step two is to report your injury to your employer, and do so in writing. As soon as you report your injury, your employer is obligated to provide you with a claim form. Fill this form out completely and file immediately. And don’t forget to keep a copy for your records.

Employer’s Responsibility

At this point, your employer is required to notify its insurance carrier immediately to arrange for medical treatment and compensation. In some cases, the employer must also submit a wage verification form to the insurance company.

Wait on the Insurance Company’s Decision

Once the claim has been received by the insurance company, the insurer has 30 days within which to either accept or deny the claim. If approved, the insurer will begin paying benefits almost immediately. If denied, you have a small window within which to request a review hearing. In most cases, the hearing will occur within 30 days of your request, and a final decision will usually be made within 15 days.

To summarize, if you take immediate steps to ensure that your claim is processed as quickly as possible, and your claim is approved on the first try, you should start receiving benefits within one month. That being said, initial claims are often denied due to minor application errors or omissions. That is why it is so important to consult with an experienced Boston workers’ comp attorney. With skilled legal representation, you are more likely to receive the full benefits you deserve in a timely manner. Continue reading

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The widow of one of two workers who died in a 2016 explosion at a New York asphalt company has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her husband’s employer. At the time of the accident, the workers were using a blow torch, which ignited vapors coming from liquid asphalt in the holding-tank they were heating.

The Glenville, NY based Mohawk Asphalt Emulsions was cited for two safety violations that may have contributed to the tragic incident. As a result, Mohawk had to pay more than $17,000 in fines to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Now Karen Nichols, the wife of Joseph Nichols—the 56-year-old worker who was killed on the job—is suing the asphalt company, alleging negligence.

According to the lawsuit, Nichols was told to use a blow torch to loosen a clog in the line of a holding tank. A work crew had added a mixture of asphalt and kerosene into the holding tank, but it had thickened and become clogged. Nichols was instructed to heat the clogged area in an effort to soften the mixture so that it could flow freely through the line.

The lawsuit alleges that Joseph Nichols was wearing flammable clothing at the time of the explosion, and that a broken fire extinguisher prevented his co-workers from quickly extinguishing the flames. Due to severe burns covering most of his body, and other related medical complications, Nichols died two days after the accident. Failure to provide appropriate protective gear was one of the violations Mohawk was cited for by OSHA. A MA wrongful death attorney can help you determine how to proceed if you’ve lost a loved one due to another’s negligence.

Wrongful Death or Workers’ Compensation?

Although the wrongful death lawsuit against Mohawk Asphalt Emulsions does not specify an exact dollar amount in damages, a lawyer working with Nichols’ widow says it “could be a substantial amount.” This case brings up an important question—when a worker dies as a result of an on-the-job accident, doesn’t workers’ compensation handle the claims of a surviving spouse? If the accident was the victim’s fault, workers’ compensation may indeed be the more appropriate solution. However, when another’s negligence was involved, the surviving spouse may be entitled to a far larger sum by filing a wrongful death claim against the negligent party or parties.

Was Negligence a Factor?

In order to prove that negligence caused another’s death, and that a surviving family member is entitled to damages, the following factors must have existed:

  • A person died;
  • due to the negligence of another; and
  • surviving family members have suffered damages as a result of the person’s death.

The fact that Mohawk had to settle with OSHA for safety violations will likely factor heavily into Nichols’ case. If you have lost a loved one to the negligence of another, a Boston wrongful death attorney can help you determine how to obtain compensation. Continue reading

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Construction is widely known as one of the most dangerous occupations, but many common construction accidents—and their resulting injuries—are easily preventable. By grouping the most common causes of construction accidents into different categories, we can better understand why they occur and how to prevent them.

The four most common construction accident categories are as follows:

  • Electrical incidents: Electrocution is common in the construction industry, and this type of injury is often fatal. By following certain safety precautions, however, electrocutions are one of the easiest accidents to prevent. Most often, electrocution occurs when a worker comes into contact with a power line, or through improper use of electrical equipment, such as extension cords.
  • Falls: Just as electrocutions are easy to prevent with proper safety practices, so are falls. When working in high places or on elevated platforms, workers should always be equipped with personal fall protection gear. In addition, the improper use of scaffolds and ladders contribute to serious falls in the construction industry every year. A Boston work injury lawyer can help you determine how to proceed if you’ve been injured in a work-related accident.
  • Struck-by accidents: According to a recent report by Lorman, a professional training and regulatory company, when it comes to struck-by accidents, “in the great majority of cases, cranes and trucks are the main cause of accidents and deaths.” In addition to cranes and trucks, falling objects can also strike and seriously injure, or kill, construction workers. By ensuring proper use of cranes, adherence to safe driving practices, and proper storage and installation of objects and equipment, struck-by accidents can be dramatically reduced.
  • Trenching and evacuation accidents: Sadly, trenching and evacuation accidents are commonly fatal. As such, taking strict preventative measures to avoid these accidents is of the utmost importance. In addition to cave-ins, trenching and excavation fatalities are often the result of the inhalation of toxic fumes, a lack of oxygen, or drowning.

Of the four categories above, falls are responsible for the most serious and fatal work accidents in the construction industry. In fact, in 2016, nearly 40 percent of all fatal construction injuries were a result of falls. A total of 5,190 workers were fatally injured on the job in 2016, and more than 20 percent of those occurred in construction. As sobering as these statistics may be, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reminds us that the vast majority of these injuries and deaths could have been prevented.

Most Common OSHA Violations

In 2017, OSHA conducted tens-of-thousands of safety inspections in businesses across the nation. The agency is responsible for establishing, and enforcing, workplace safety regulations. When violations are discovered, the workplace must resolve the issues immediately, at the very least. In many cases, employers face large fines. According to its website, the top 10 OSHA violations for 2017 were:

  • Fall protection;
  • Hazard communication procedures;
  • Scaffolding safety requirements;
  • Respiratory protection;
  • Hazardous energy control;
  • Ladder safety;
  • Powered industrial truck safety regulations;
  • Requirements for machinery and machine guarding;
  • Training to prevent fall protection; and
  • Electrical wiring methods and equipment safety.

A MA work injury lawyer can help you obtain the compensation you deserve if you’ve been hurt in a work-related accident. Continue reading

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