According to a study of workers’ compensation claims, from 2010 to 2012, doctors in Massachusetts were likely to prescribe the strongest painkillers for injuries sustained on the job more often than physicians in other states. The Workers Compensation Research Institute conducted the study, which examined workers’ nonsurgical claims involving over seven days of time lost from work. The group looked at employee claims in twenty-five states.
Schedule II drugs include the strongest narcotics. In addition to being the most potent narcotic they carry the highest risk for addiction and abuse. Prescription opiate addicts may even switch to heroin.
The researchers did not provide a reason reason why Massachusetts physicians were the ones prescribing the most drugs to injured workers. The state even has a number of laws in place to prevent over-prescription of opiates. Doctors can’t dispense drugs from their offices, which means profit is not a motivation. The study did, however, note that there was more opiate prescribing going on in the Northeastern part of the U.S.
• Injuries on the job usually entitle a worker to Boston, Massachusetts workers’ compensation benefits, including-depending on the type and extent of your injury: Medical benefits, such as hospitalization, surgery, prescription drugs, doctors’ fees, procedures, tests, therapy, and other required medical services,
• Cash benefits for lost income, scarring, body function loss • Vocational rehabilitation benefits.
If a worker’s injury or illness leads to fatality, then family members should be entitled to death benefits.
The best way of ensuring that your employer and insurer are providing you with all the benefits to which you are entitled is to speak with an experienced Boston workers’ compensation law firm.
Workers’ Compensation: What Benefits Will I Get?, MassResources.org
The Workers Compensation Research Institute
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