Work Injury

July 30, 2015

Heat Stroke and Heat Related Injuries Caused By Working Outdoors

Water, rest, shade; three simple words that hold a lot of meaning if you are out working in the hot sun all day. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (otherwise known as OSHA) as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) are offering easy to follow guidelines in order to prevent heat related illness in workers across the country.

That water, rest, shade motto is the first step toward enlightening workers on what they need to do to make sure they are working in safe conditions. OSHA recommends that all workers who are outside in warm conditions drink water every 15 minutes, even if they don’t feel as though they are thirsty at the time. They also suggest that workers rest in the shade, or an air-conditioned area if available, to cool down periodically throughout the day. Wearing a hat and light colored clothing can also contribute to a person’s ability to cool down efficiently during the workday. OSHA believes that employers should train all of their workers on the signs and symptoms of heat illness so that they are effectively able to recognize it within themselves and others. Knowing the symptoms and keeping an eye on your fellow workers could lead to the prevention of serious issues arising.

Workers are not the only ones responsible for preventing heat related illness from striking in the workplace. Employers are instructed to make cooling down an easily accessible option for all of the employees under their care. Providing water stations, shaded areas, and frequent breaks are all necessities that should be provided to those who work outside in the summer heat. OSHA suggests that those who are new to working outside, or for those who usually work outside but have not done so for a period of a week or longer, to have adjusted work schedules to ensure that these individuals are becoming acclimatized to their workload for the day. Acclimatization is heavily stressed by representatives for the Occupational Health and Safety Administration purely because heat tolerance is built up over time. Gradually easing new or returning workers back into their schedule for the day is the best and safest way to be sure that these individuals are not leaving themselves at a higher risk for heat illness.

June 30, 2015

How to Avoid Work-Related Back Pain and Injury This Summer

by Altman & Altman

On-the-Job injuries can occur during the most mundane tasks, such as typing, making phone calls, and sitting at a desk all day. While certain occupations, such as construction, have a higher risk of serious injury and death, desk jobs can cause debilitating injuries that make doing your job painful, and even impossible. Back pain is one of the most common work-related injuries, but it can be easily prevented by taking proper precautions and maintaining overall health. Whether working a construction job, an office job, or outside job this summer, in Massachusetts many workers in will injure their back and often times you won’t know how significant the injury can be.

Dull, achy back pain can make concentrating on your job a challenge. Sharp, stabbing back pain can be equally distracting. However, these uncomfortable feelings are often a precursor to something more serious. Left untreated, back pain can become progressively worse. Certain jobs, such as waiting tables, nursing, and factory work, have a high risk of back injury because they typically require hours of standing, lifting, bending, and other repetitive movements. Desk jobs can also result in severe back pain if a computer and keyboard are improperly positioned, or inappropriate posture is used. Continue reading

June 29, 2015

Night Shift Increases Risk of Work Accident and Injury

by Altman & Altman

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost 15 million Americans work the night shift. That is a substantial portion of this country’s workforce. Unfortunately, working a night shift job comes with an increased risk of fatigue, loss of focus and attention, and decreased cognitive function. These negative effects can be especially dangerous for emergency workers such as doctors, EMTs, and police officers, as well as the people they are responsible for helping. Additionally, fatigued night-driving truckers, workers driving home from their night shift jobs, and those they share the road with, are equally at risk. Psychologists are studying the effects of night shift work to determine ways of reducing the risk of accident and injury for workers and the public alike.

Circadian Rhythm

Staying up all night works against the body’s natural circadian rhythm. Our circadian clock acts as a timer, controlling mood, body temperature and alertness, and regulating the release of certain hormones. For example, our brains have evolved to relax after dark and to become alert at daybreak. Night shift workers essentially have to fight their bodies’ natural metabolic processes and rest period. Even with plenty of sleep during the day, it is impossible to completely make up for this level of circadian misalignment.

May 27, 2015

Worker in Massachusetts Construction Accident Struck by 700-Pound Granite Stone

by Altman & Altman

A worker was injured in an Amherst construction accident when a granite slab weighing about 700 pounds fell on him while he was on the job at the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. Carlos Velasquez injured his hip, shoulder, and leg. He was transported to a Springfield hospital.

The Massachusetts work accident took place while the 55-year-old worker was underpinning supports for a renovation and expansion project. Velazquez is employed by Schnabel Foundation Co. The Springfield company is the subcontractor for this job.

The impact of the granite slab falling onto Velasquez pushed him into an excavated area. Workers removed the slab from his body.

May 25, 2015

If You Sustained A Cumulative Trauma Disorder on the Job, You Should Speak with a Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

by Altman & Altman

According to Bureau of Labor statistics from 2011, cumulative trauma disorders comprise over half of all occupational illnesses in the U.S. CTDs are caused and aggravated by repetitive movements or exertions that affect specific parts of the body. Nerve tissue, muscles, and tendons can be damaged over time, with the wrists, shoulders, knees, hands, eyes, neck, and back among the most common body parts affected.

CTDs can be cause by small, repetitive movements, not taking breaks, poor workstation setups, non-ergonomic working conditions, working in the same position for extended periods, too much physical grasping while working, poor work techniques.

May 21, 2015

Employer Cannot Get Credit for Lump Sum Previously Paid in Workers’ Compensation Case, Rules Court

by Altman & Altman

According to a ruling by a state Supreme Court, an employer is not allowed to get credited for the full amount of a lump sum workers’ compensation settlement that it already paid in a case that was later re-opened after the employee’s occupational disability worsened. The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the employer Gardens Glen Farm did not have a right to receive dollar-for-dollar credit for payments made previously to the claimant.

The employee, Bethany Balderas, was seriously injured while working as an exercise trainer for Gardens Glen in 2006. The horse she was riding fell and rolled over her, causing her to fracture two vertebrae. She underwent fusion surgery before going back to work. For her harm suffered, Balderas negotiated a $100K lump sum payment based in part on a 29% disability impairment rating.

However, according to court filings, she petitioned to have her workers’ compensation claim re-opened because her occupational disability had worsened. An administrative law judge ruled two years later that Balderas had demonstrated that with a decreased range of spinal motion and other impairment issues, her impairment had increased by 30%. She also was no longer able to work as an exercise trainer.
The judge awarded her 425 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits at a rate of $275/week. That amount was determined in part by Balderas’s eligbility of $456.25 in benefits a week, with $180.42/week credited to offset her claim when she had settled earlier with Gardens Glen.

April 14, 2015

Massachusetts Bill Could Expand Workers’ Compensation Benefits to Include Permanent Disfigurement to the Lower Body

by Altman & Altman

In the state Senate, a bill was introduced this year that could enhance the benefits allowed for injuries involving permanent disfigurement under the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act. Currently, workers here who sustain disfigurement on their legs, arms, and torsos are not entitled to work injury compensation for those injuries, although they may still receive other benefits for income loss, medical care, and non-scar based disfigurements.

Massachusetts workers’ compensation for permanent scarring is only provided for disfigurement that occurs to the neck, face, or hands. State workers’ compensation law awards a lump-sum payment to these permanently scarred or disfigured workers. If the injury is purely scar-based, the amount of the award will depend on the size of the scar and whether discoloration occurred.

The bill would allow workers disfigured on the lower areas of their body to get compensation too.

March 19, 2015

OSHA Confirms that Workers Have Not Been Helped by Workers Comp. Reforms

by Altman & Altman

In a recent Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Blog post, we wrote about an NPR and ProPublica probe that found that recent workers’ compensation reforms are hurting more than helping injured workers. Now, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued its report that reflects similar findings.

According to OSHA’s report, statistics show that over three million workers are hurt every year, with thousands killed while doing their job. These figures do not include incidents that go unreported and chronic illnesses that continue even after exposure on the job to hazardous substances has stopped.

Many workers who were seriously hurt find it hard to keep working—especially as modifications to workers comp. insurance programs have made it harder for someone who was hurt on the job to get full benefits. Employers are now taking care of just a small portion of overall workplace injury and illness costs through their work injury compensation programs.

February 25, 2015

Teen Worker Falls 25 Feet While Shoveling Roof in Westwood, MA

by Altman & Altman

A 17-year-old student, part of a work crew shoveling snow off of a department store roof, was injured after falling through a skylight.

Officials say the teen was helping to remove snow at Frugal Fannie’s clothing store in Westwood yesterday morning when he fell. Witnesses say he fell nearly 25 feet; his fall was broken by one of the store’s clothing racks. However the extent of the young man’s injuries remains unclear. The teen was flown to an area hospital by helicopter.

This unfortunate story is one of many that we’ve heard in Massachusetts and throughout the Northeast as our region continues to be blasted with heavy snowfall. Last week, two people in Canton were fatally injured due to roof falls and two horses died when the barn they were kept in collapsed.

According to The Patch, MEMA (Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency), there have been more than 130 reports of roof collapses in just two weeks in the state. Many of the injuries sustained were directly from roofs collapsing under weight of snow, or people falling while attempting to remove snow from their roofs.
Continue reading

February 12, 2015

Massachusetts Nursing Assistants Sustain Back Injuries, Repetitive Trauma, Other Work Injuries

by Altman & Altman

NPR reports that according to statistics from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor, nursing employees sustain over 35,000 back and other injuries each year. These injuries are serious enough that they warrant taking time off from work.

Nursing employees are also three times more likely than construction laborers to suffer musculoskeletal injuries. Registered nurses aren’t far behind after warehouse workers, truck drivers, and store clerks.

The main causes of these injuries are the duties of lifting and moving patients, which nursing employees do every day. During a typical day, a worker might lift a patient weighing much more than the employee at least a dozen times a day. This may lead to back pain, sprains, strains, and shoulder injuries.