Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog
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.
While the current compensation limits exist because of the belief that serious scarring to the lower areas of the body or the back are not as visible, this doesn’t mean that these scars don’t cause emotional trauma, not to mention that a scar is still a scar, or that the worker didn’t suffer severe physical pain from the injury accident.
Scarring on the job can occur in different situations and industries. Some causes of work-related disfigurement and scarring include:
- Explosions involving oil or gas
- Power tool accidents
- Sockets that are ungrounded
- Chemical burns
- Electrical burns
- Crane falls
- Machinery accidents
- Falling pallets
- Slaughterhouse injuries
- Construction accidents
Our Massachusetts work injury lawyers are here to make sure that injured workers and their families get all of the benefits that they are owed. Contact Altman & Altman, LLP today and ask for your free case consultation.
Some Disfigured Employees Not Compensated for Scarring in Massachusetts, Boston.com, April 10, 2015
Specific Injuries, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
More Blog Posts:
Employees Injured Because of Workplace Violence May Be Entitled to Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyer Blog, April 7, 2015
Mechanical Failure May Have Caused Deadly Halloween Hayride Crash, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, October 30, 2014
State Superior Court $11M Topamax Injury Verdict Against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, April 6, 2015
