Repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) can affect workers in almost any occupation. These injuries typically occur when a repetitive motion damages soft tissue in a specific part of the body. There are various types of RSI, but the most common is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This condition is most commonly found in…
Workers’ Compensation exists to protect both employee and employer in the event a worker is injured, becomes ill, or dies on the job. Workers’ comp protects injured employees by covering eligible medical bills and providing disability payments while the employee is unable to work. Employers, on the other hand, are…
According to a University of British Columbia, Vancouver study, individuals with sleep apnea have a substantially greater risk of on-the-job injuries than those without the condition. In fact, people with a severe case of the breathing disorder, known as obstructive sleep apnea, have nearly double the risk of being injured…
There is rising concern in the workers’ compensation industry over the security of the personal and health information of employees. Worker’s compensation organizations manage an extensive database of such information on employees around the country. According to managed care services provider Genex Services, L.L.C., the amount of medical data and…
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…
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…
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…
A circuit judge has turned down Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ motion to dismiss a complaint submitted by a woman whose husband died while testing a ride. Terrie Roscoe sued the company in 2012, the year after her husband, attractions mechanic Russell Roscoe, was struck by a ride vehicle at…
A jury has awarded Robert Matthews $64.5 million for catastrophic injuries he sustained in a 2009 construction accident. Matthews, then 25, was crushed by an 11,000-pound prefab building. At the time, he had been underneath the building. The structure fell when a train passed by the site, causing the ground…
As part of commemorating Workers’ Memorial Day on Friday, labor leaders in Springfield read the names of the 62 people killed in Massachusetts work accidents in the last 16 months—that’s a little over one death a week. National Council for Occupational Safety and Heath director Mary Vogel said that most…