Work Injury

August 27, 2014

Court Approves Workers’ Compensation to Man Injured While Playing Kickball

A state Supreme Court said that a worker at a marketing and P.R. firm who was injured while playing kickball as part of a team building event is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. The reason for this, said that court, is that participating in the game was part of his job.

The worker, Stephen Wigham, suggested the kickball game while at a meeting with managers. His boss approved the event.

While playing, Wigham shattered his fibula and tibia. He will have to undergo knee replacement surgery.

May 5, 2014

Officials Believe Clamp is to Blame for Providence, RI Circus Accident

by Altman & Altman

After completing an initial investigation, officials believe a clamp that was holding a structure by which eight women were dangling by their hair failed, plunging the performers to the floor 40 feet below and crushing a dancer who was positioned underneath. The frightening accident occurred at yesterdays’ Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus’ Legends show in Providence, RI. Nine performers suffered very serious injuries ranging from compound fractures to skull and back injuries.

The acrobats were performing their “Human Chandelier” stunt in which eight dancers hang from a metal structured 40 feet in the air by just their hair. The accident happened right at the beginning of the stunt, just after the curtain was let down, revealing the women dangling in position. Video from the scene shows the heavy metal structure simply drop to the floor below with an audible bang, crushing a dancer who was performing below.
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April 14, 2014

Utility Workers Fatally Injured in Bourne, MA Crane Accident

by Altman & Altman

Two Massachusetts utility workers were the victims of a tragic fatal crane accident this weekend in Bourne, Massachusetts.

The men, who were contracted by NStar, were working 150 feet in the air on electricity lines near the Scenic Highway when their boom truck collapsed. The men were killed on impact.

Officials are still unsure how and why this could have happened, and the incident is now under investigation by OSHA.

AERIAL LIFT ACCIDENTS

An aerial lift is any vehicle-mounted device that is used to elevate personnel, including:

• Aerial ladders • Extendable boom platforms • Articulating boom platforms • Vertical towers
Due to their mobility and flexibility, aerial lifts often replace scaffolding and ladders on certain job sites. They may be made of metal, fiberglass, plastic, or a combination of materials, and can be powered or manually operated. As exemplified by this unfortunate instance, aerial lift and crane workers risk sustaining serious and life-threatening injuries because of the substantial heights at which they are working.

The most common types of work accidents associated with aerial lifts include:

• Falls from an elevated level • Objects falling from lifts • Ejections from lift platform • Tip-overs • Structural failure • Electrocutions/electrical shocks • Entanglement hazards • Contact with objects • Contact with ceiling or overhead object Continue reading

March 30, 2014

Nail Gun Accident Leaves Contractor With One Eye

by Altman & Altman

A contractor recently lost his eye after the nail gun he was using accidentally discharged. He was working outside a home when the work accident happened. A local fire official said that it is not known at this time how the gun went off, but that it did cause a nail to strike the worker’s eye.

Unfortunately, nail gun accidents are not that uncommon, especially because they are frequently used on construction jobs. While they are faster and more efficient than the manual insertion of nails, nail guns are linked to tens of thousands of work injuries yearly. Please contact our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers today if you have been injured by a nail gun or some other tool while on the job.

According to OSHA, one study found that over four years, 2 out of 5 residential carpenter apprentices will suffer a nail gun injury. Seeing as many construction workers needed their hands to do their job, sustaining even a puncture wound can make it hard for him/her to go back to work right away. There may be needed recovery time and even physical therapy. An injury may be so severe that the Boston construction worker may not be able to work in the industry again or perhaps only in a lesser capacity. This can severely impact a person’s ability to make a living and sustain a career.

March 28, 2014

Boston Man Dies After Back Bay Elevator Shaft Fall

by Altman & Altman

Tragedy struck in a landmark Back Bay building last Friday. First responders were called to 31 Saint James Avenue after reports of a man falling to his death in an elevator shaft. According to Boston Fire spokesman Steve MacDonald, the man was an elevator operator in the building and was found unresponsive at the bottom of the shaft.

Though the police report indicates they do not believe that foul play was involved, OSHA and Boston Police investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the deadly accident. Some are speculating a safety mechanism that could have failed as the elevator was stuck between the first floor and the basement, and the man is believed to have attempted to jump to the first floor. Several local voices piped up on social media to express their concern over the freight elevator. Those who worked in the building often avoided it out of fear that something like this could happen.

Though the risk of dying in an elevator is small, the possibility of getting injured or killed on the job is not. According to the United States Department of Labor, there were 3 million work-related injuries or illnesses in 2012. Victims who are injured on the job and their families face emotional and physical pain, and well as a steep financial burden from mounting medical bills, ongoing treatment, and lost future wages.
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March 20, 2014

Two Injured in Chinatown Construction Accident

by Altman & Altman

Emergency crews were called to the scene of a partial building collapse at 45 Stuart Street this morning. Boston Fire Department reports that two victims were treated at the scene of an accident at a high rise construction site. One of the victims had minor injuries while the other was taken to Tufts Medical Center with serious head injuries, according to the Boston Globe.

The accident occurred when the twelfth floor of a partially constructed building collapsed down to the fifth floor when 120 workers were on the site. “A dead load on the 12th floor collapsed, pancaked down to the fifth floor,” Deputy Fire Chief Robert Calobrisi told CBS Boston. The cause of the collapse was not immediately known, but construction workers are not permitted to resume work until the structural integrity of the building is evaluated by an engineer.
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February 28, 2014

Massachusetts Office Accidents Can Cause Serious Boston Work Injuries

by Altman & Altman

An office setting can be rife with potential safety hazards. Yes, sitting behind a desk is definitely safer than hauling lumber at a construction site, but don’t think Boston injury accidents still don’t happen. If you were injured at the office, please contact our Massachusetts workers’ compensation law firm today. You may want to explore your options.

Common Office Accidents:

• Fall accidents are the most common kind of office accident (includes slip and fall accidents, trip and fall accidents, step and fall accidents, and other falls.) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, office workers are at least two times likely to sustain a disabling injury in this type of incident. Common causes include wet floors, poor lighting, bending or reaching for an object while in an unsteady chair, electrical cords on the ground, an open drawer, uneven flooring, objects left on the floor, or standing on a chair instead of a ladder, and dark hallways and stairwells.

February 7, 2014

Seasoned Natick, MA DPW Employee Fatally Injured in “Freak Accident”

by Altman & Altman

A long-time employee of the town of Natick was killed and a second town employee was injured Tuesday night while making emergency repairs to a water line.

According to reports, six members of the Department of Public Works went to repair a water line break. Two of the employees on scene were working in a trench, when a backhoe was accidentally pulled forward and the stabilizer struck the workers.

No other information was provided and police and town officials are continuing their investigation of the incident.

For family members of those who have been killed on the job, there is undoubtedly no amount of monetary compensation that can recompense their loss of life. Family members including spouses and children may file a wrongful death and/or workers’ compensation claim to receive financial relief. Immediate family members may be entitled to recover up to 60% of the deceased worker’s average weekly wage as well as other benefits.
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October 17, 2013

Worker Fatally Injured at 49ers Stadium Construction Site

by Altman & Altman

A delivery truck driver died on Monday after he was crushed by a steel rebar being unloaded at the new 49ners stadium construction site.

The victim, Edward Lake II, 60, died as he was unloading a bundle of rebar set to be used in the construction of the new $1.2 billion stadium. Both state and local authorities investigated the incident, and the lead construction manager halted work on the project for the remainder of Monday. The death is the second to take place at the site in four months. According to the contractor, employees would resume work on Tuesday and take part in safety meetings and be offered counseling.

It is unclear whether OSHA will cite the contracting company for the incident. The prior fatal incident, according to OSHA investigators, did not warrant a formal citation as the incident was deemed “unexplained.”

More than 4,000 workers suffer fatal work injuries each year in the United States according to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). National statistics continue to show the construction industry as the most hazardous work environment for individuals, with construction site injuries occurring nearly three times the rate of any other industry in the United States.

Construction’s “Fatal Four”

Nearly 20% of all occupational injuries occur in the construction industry. Falls accounted for 35% of deaths, followed by struck by an object (10%), electrocutions (9%), and caught in-between injuries (2%). Considering the statistics, these “fatal four” accounted for more than 55% of all construction worker deaths in 2011.
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September 18, 2013

Charlestown Workers Injured During Scaffolding Incident

by Altman & Altman

Two men working at an under-construction home in Charlestown were injured after the scaffolding they were standing on collapsed.

The incident occurred around 8 a.m. yesterday morning, and Boston fire rescue was immediately dispatched to the scene. Both men were transported to a local Boston hospital with injuries to their backs, legs, and necks. It is unclear of the cause of the accident or whether OSHA had been called in to investigate the incident.
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The construction business remains the most hazardous work industry in the United States, accounting for nearly 20% of all workplace fatalities annually. While both victims in this case are expected to survive, the incident serves as yet another reminder to construction workers of how dangerous their job can be. Carpenters and roofers incur risky situations on a day-to-day basis, and among these types of workers, falls are the leading cause of injury or death. In a report published by The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational and Safety Health, out of the 32 reported work-related deaths in Massachusetts last year, six were cause by falls.

Scaffolding is used as a temporary platform that is used to help build, install, repair, or reach any surface that cannot be reached by ladder. Scaffolding incidents can occur for a number of reasons including incorrect assembly and improper manufacturing. Accidents can also happen when supports fail or collapse, when scaffolding is broken, scaffolding is wet and a worker slips and falls, or when workers are inadequately trained on how to operate equipment.

Approximately 2.3 million men and women or 65% of those in the construction industry work on scaffolds in the United States. Protecting workers on construction sites where scaffolding is commonly used may prevent an estimated 4,500 injuries and 60 deaths each year, according to OSHA.

No matter what the actual cause of the incident-whether it was a misstep by the victims, a manufacturing defect with the scaffolding or any other circumstance that caused the men fall, ultimately the construction company may be liable. By OSHA standards, employers are responsible for providing safe work environments for all of his or her employees to prevent hazardous situations that pose the threat of serious bodily injury or death. Though the details of this situation are still vague, what can be discerned is that had proper safety precautions been taken; such as the use of a safety harness, the men’s injuries may have been prevented.
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