Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog
A construction worker fell 30 feet off a building but escaped serious injury when he landed on bubble wrap, said a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department.
The 38-year-old-man, whose name hasn’t been released, lost his balance while working on the building at 1959 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, falling through the wooden planking of the scaffolding, said Boston Fire Department spokesperson, Steve MacDonald.
Firefighters had to cut him free from the bubble wrap. He then went to the hospital to receive treatment for back and shoulder injuries.
The building is currently under construction, and covered in bubble wrap to keep in heat and dust and block winds. “The plastic was covering the entire side of the building and engulfed him,” MacDonald said. “We had to slice the plastic away so the medics could treat him.”
One area resident reported hearing the man fall. “I heard like a crash, sort of, but I didn’t hear any voices after that. I guess it sounded like a rustling of this and a little boom,” said Karli Sultzbaugh.
Sultzbaugh said construction had been going on at the building for a while. “So, I just expected they had been knocking on something. I don’t know if he got tangled up in the plastic and that pretty much saved him from falling onto the concrete, so that’s really good.”
Federal safety officials are now investigating the incident. Representatives of OSHA, the federal agency that oversees workplace safety, arrived at the construction site later that day to inspect the building. At the moment, investigators aren’t sure where the man was standing before he fell, and don’t have much information about the company responsible for the construction.
Massachusetts Workers Compensation Attorneys
Our Massachusetts workers compensation attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP have been representing injured workers for over 50 years. If you have been hurt on the job, please contact us at 617-492-3000 or by email for a free case evaluation. You may be entitled to financial compensation, as well as time off to recover.
Workers’ compensation law is supposed to guarantee specific benefits to workers that get hurt on the job-even if the worker is the one that caused the accident. Unfortunately, receiving the benefits you’re owed is not always easy, and employers and their insurance companies have been known to claim that an injury did not happen at work or that a worker is entitled to less benefits. An insurer or employer may also try pressuring an employee to return to work sooner than what the doctor is recommending. The experienced Massachusetts workers compensation lawyers of Altman & Altman LLP will aggressively fight for the benefits to which you are entitled.
Sources:
Falling construction worker saved by bubble wrap, www.wcvb.com, February 5, 2013.
Boston Construction Worker’s Fall Cushioned by Plastic, abcnews.go.com, February 5, 2013.
Plastic sheeting breaks worker’s fall in Allston, www1.whdh.com, February 4, 2013.
