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…
Across many professions and industries, employees are routinely exposed to hazardous chemicals at work. Everyone from scientists, dealing with chemicals in labs, to janitors who use chemicals for cleaning purposes, is exposed to these substances in various settings. Unfortunately, many chemicals commonly used in workplace settings are extremely hazardous, and…
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…
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…
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s blogs, many workers in the social services and health care industry are at risk of physical assault on the job. As a matter of fact, the 2013 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that over 23,000 workers sustained serious injuries from…
It may be months before investigators conclude their probe into the construction accident that killed three workers on Monday. The deadly incident happened when a piece of scaffolding—known as the mast climber scaffold—fell to the ground, causing construction workers who were on it to fall 200 feet. A fourth worker…
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,…