Articles Posted in Work Injury

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The head flight instructor for the Beverly Flight Center was killed this past week after being struck by a moving propeller. The victim, a Weymouth resident, had been an instructor for the past ten years at the Beverly Airport.

The Essex District Attorney’s Office stated that the pilot’s death appears to be accidental. The accident occurred at approximately 12:15 p.m. on August 27th. The DA’s office further stated that the victim exited his plane on the runway in order to assist another instructor that was in the process of helping a student with a canopy. It was the propeller on his own plane which struck him.

The victim was pronounced dead upon the arrival of rescue workers at the scene of the accident. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston will be conducting an autopsy.
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Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual report on fatalities in the workplace. While the final figures will not be released until April of 2010, the preliminary report states that there were 4,340 fatal work injuries in 2009. The number of fatal work injuries has decreased 17 percent since the 2008 report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Interestingly, the report states that 90 percent of all fatal work injuries in 2009 involved workers in the private industry.

The construction industry incurred the most fatal injuries of any industry in the private sector, with 816 deaths in 2009. Private construction fatalities have dropped by more than a third since reaching its highest numbers in 2006. The report suggests that the current economic condition of the country may explain this decline.
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This past week, two construction workers were working below street level in Bellingham Square in Chelsea when their equipment contacted an electrical line, causing an explosion. The explosion, which is currently under investigation by the Federal Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), injured two workers.

One of the injured workers, a 50-year-old resident of Everett, was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of the injuries he sustained from the construction accident. The other construction worker injured by the blast received medical treatment at the scene.

The workers’ compensation and personal injury attorneys at Altman & Altman have successfully represented injured workers and their families throughout Massachusetts for over 50 years. If you have been injured on the job, please contact our office for an initial consultation free of charge.

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Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys have learned that a workplace accident injured a Massachusetts man earlier this week. The accident occurred at a gas pipeline work site when the man lost control of the bulldozer he was operating and it went down a steep embankment with a grade of about 1,800 or 1,900 feet.

The worker was found about 1,100 feet from where the bulldozer initially went out of control and was taken to a local hospital. He was listed in stable condition and his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

Police say it’s unclear whether the fall was the result of mechanical failure or operator error. Federal workplace safety investigators plan to look into what caused the bulldozer accident.

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William Nichols, a 58 year old electrician, passed away Friday night as a result of injuries he sustained from a Norfolk home explosion. William Nichols was working in his capacity as an electrician when the Norfolk home suddenly exploded, injuring Nichols and seven others.

Nichols was airlifted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he was subsequently pronounced dead. The explosion also injured four other construction workers, two firefighters and a resident who lives in an adjoining unit.

The blast occurred around 12:30 pm as a construction crew was working on the heating and air conditioning system in the unfinished section of a Duplex at the Village at River’s Edge in Norfolk. The explosion caused the ceiling of the home to collapse which trapped Nichols in the basement for over 90 minutes before rescue workers were able to remove him from the rubble.
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Our Massachusetts workplace accident attorneys have learned that the Department Industrial Accidents has changed its policy on missed appointments for impartial workers’ compensation medical examinations.

Now when an administrative judge or the judge’s administrative assistant receives notice of a cancelation at least 48 hours in advance, the department shall reschedule the exam without charging the $100 missed appointment fee. Missed appointments or appointments canceled less than 24 hours in advance will not be rescheduled until the unit manager receives the miss appointment penalty.

However, if the injured worker misses an exam due to an unavoidable emergency, the worker may be eligible for a fee waiver.

Source: Massachusetts: Department cancels missed appointment fees, RiskandInsurance.com, July 29, 2010 Continue reading

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On Monday evening, a three-alarm fire at an Everett triple-decker home injured two firefighters and left a dozen people homeless. An estimated 70 firefighters were called the scene of the fire, and fire authorities originally closed off a section of Route 99 in Everett. They later reopened that stretch of road.

Firefighters saved four residents, among them a 10-year-old fire victim, from a third floor apartment. The left side of the building later collapsed. All 12 people who were living there had been accounted for, but they are now homeless.

Two injured firefighters were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Source: 2 firefighters hurt while battling blaze at Everett home, WHDH.com, May 25, 2010 Continue reading

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According to MassCOSH (the Massachusetts Coalition of Occupational Safety and Health), eight Massachsuetts teens have been killed at work since 2000. Many of them were performing jobs that were in violation of Child Labor Laws. On top of that, an estimated one thousand minors are treated for work-related injuries in Massachusetts emergency rooms each year.

Just in time for young people beginning summer jobs, Governor Deval Patrick has dubbed May “Safe Jobs for Youth Month” to raise awareness about the increased risk of workplace accidents among young workers who may not be aware of their rights or may be asked perform tasks which they lack the strength or experience to perform safely.

Governor Patrick’s proclamation was announced recently at a three-day youth leadership conference. Students from across Massachusetts gathered to discuss ways of decreasing Child Labor Law violations, workplace deaths, and injuries.

Source: “Safe Jobs for Youth” month, Boston.com, May 13, 2010 Continue reading

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Following the April 20 explosion off the coast of Louisiana that killed several oil rig workers, families of the deceased and some of the workers who survived the accident have filed wrongful death or personal injury lawsuits against companies involved in the offshore drilling operation. An electronics technician who was seriously injured is seeking $6 million in damages. He filed a lawsuit in Louisiana federal court.

On Tuesday, three workers who escaped the explosion on lifeboats have filed a suit claiming they were kept floating at sea for hours as they watched the rig burn, knowing their friends were inside. That lawsuit was filed in county court in Galveston, Texas, and seeks unspecified damages on behalf of the three workers and the family of a worker who is missing and presumed dead.

Working on an oil rig is among the most dangerous jobs in the world, so this incident may lead to new legislation regarding safety standards for offshore drilling operations.

Source: Suit: Workers kept at sea hours after explosion, Associated Press, May 4, 2010
Lawsuit filed in Gulf oil rig blast, The Galveston County Daily News, May 5, 2010 Continue reading

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Our Massachusetts work injury attorneys have learned that a construction worker was injured when the ceiling of a church collapsed in Rockland, Massachusetts. According to fire officials, the ceiling collapse occurred in the lower level of the Holy Family Church last Thursday morning while workers were performing demolition work on the plaster ceiling of the church’s lower sanctuary. A 20-by-30 foot section of the ceiling reportedly collapsed.

The unidentified worker was flown by medical helicopter to Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital. The injured worker’s condition is unknown. A second person suffered minor injuries but did not require hospitalization, according to officials.

The demolition accident is still being investigated to determine the cause.

Source: Worker Hurt in Ceiling Collapse at Massachusetts Church, ClaimsJournal.com, March 16, 2010 Continue reading

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