Workers' Compensation

April 29, 2011

Massachusetts Governor Patrick Agrees to Workers’ Compensation Rate Freeze

Governor Deval Patrick has recently agreed to keep Massachusetts workers’ compensation rates at their current levels after an agreement was reached between the Massachusetts worker’s compensation bureau, the state insurance division and the attorney general’s office.

As earlier reported in Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Rate Freeze, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley came to an agreement last month with the Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau of Massachusetts (WCRIBMA), the organization that oversees workers’ compensation rates in Massachusetts.

The rate agreement will now be upheld and there will be no rate increase at least until September of 2012. Insurance Commissioner Joseph Murphy said that rates will remain at the current level under the agreement that the governor has reviewed and supports. The WCRIB originally proposed a 6.6 percent increase in premiums. Attorney General Coakley claimed that by freezing these rates instead of increasing them, Massachusetts employers and businesses will be able to save up to $65 million. Last year, state insurance regulators reached an agreement with the WCRIB to cut overall rates by 2.4 percent, despite the bureau’s request to increase them by 4.5 percent.

Paul Meagher, the President of the Massachusetts WCRIB, said “with the economic recovery just beginning to gain traction, the workers’ compensation insurance industry is willing to assist Massachusetts employers by waiting another year before requesting a rate increase.”

These rates for workers’ compensation insurance are negotiated and established every two years in a hearing with the Commissioner of Insurance. This year’s insurance data will be examined before a decision will be made if a further rate freeze will be necessary in 2012. Businesses in Massachusetts must purchase workers’ compensation insurance to provide coverage for workers who are injured on the job.

If you have been injured at work or have a question regarding a workers’ compensation case, contact an experienced Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyer.

Sources:

Mass. rejects hike in workers’ compensation rates, The Boston Globe,
April 12, 2011

Massachusetts workers comp rates to remain unchanged until Sept. 2012, Business Insurance, April 13, 2011
Related Blog Post:

Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Rate Freeze
Continue reading

April 26, 2011

OSHA Pushes for Safer Occupational Drivers, No Texting for Drivers on the Job

by Altman & Altman

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recently released a campaign for a safer working environment for employees who drive while working. Following national awareness and campaigns on the dangers of texting while driving, OSHA is working together with the Department of Transportation and has released a “no-texting while working” brochure and a new informational page on their website directed at employers and workers who drive on the job.

In the brochure, OSHA outlines that employers should ensure the safety of their driving employees by following these recommendations:

• Prohibit workers from texting while driving and declare work vehicles “text-free zones.”
• Establish procedures that do not require employees to text while driving.
• Establish safe procedures, locations, and times for safe communication with managers or customers.
• Train employees on safe communication practices.
• Remove any possible financial incentives or work incentives that would result in employees trying to text while driving on the job.

At a recent symposium focused on eliminating work-related driving distractions, the Symposium on Prevention of Occupationally-Related Distracted Driving, held on April 18 in Laurel, MD, OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels spoke on the importance of minimizing the need of employees to text their customers or employers while driving. In an October 2010 letter to employers whose employees work involves driving, he emphasized, “Year after year, the leading cause of worker fatalities is motor vehicle crashes. There’s no question that new communications technologies are helping business work smarter and faster. But getting work done faster does not justify the dramatically increased risk of injury and death that comes with texting while driving.”

Here in Massachusetts, bus drivers are forbidden from using any cellphone; however, there is no statewide-law forbidding cellphone use while driving, only local laws.

If you have been injured in a work-related vehicle accident, contact an experienced Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyer for legal advice and to find out if are entitled to workers’ compensation.

Source:

Distracted Driving, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Continue reading

April 20, 2011

Randolph Woman Charged With Workers’ Compensation Fraud After Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley Investigation

by Altman & Altman

The Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley has recently announced that Maria Oliveira-Soares, a woman from Randolph, Massachusetts, has been charged with two counts of Workers’ Compensation Fraud.

After a referral instigated by the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), AG Coakley’s office began an investigation into Oliveira-Soares’ fraudulent claims for workers’ compensation. According to the investigation, she filed a claim for workers’ compensation in March of 2004 while working for a cleaning company for an injury on the job. She then reported numerous times that she had debilitating pain from her injuries and testified to the Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) in August 2005 that she was not working because of these injuries sustained. She then reportedly worked for five different employers while collecting compensation and then even filed a second workers’ compensation claim for injuries while working as a nurse’s assistant in October 2005.

During this time she fraudulently collected over $15,000 in claims. A Suffolk Superior Court has arraigned Oliveira-Soares and she is due in court on June 14 for a pre-trial hearing.

Attorney General Coakley commented, “Workers’ compensation fraud puts an undue strain on many businesses leading to higher premiums that ultimately get passed down to consumers.”

If you have been injured in a work-related accident, contact one of our experienced Boston workers’ compensation lawyers for legal advice and to find out if are entitled to workers’ compensation.

Source:

Randolph Woman Arraigned in Connection with Fraudulently Collecting Over $15,000 in Disability Benefits While Working, Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley Press Release, April 15, 2011 Continue reading

April 18, 2011

Western Massachusetts Electric Company Employee Electrocuted in Pittsfield

by Altman & Altman

Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) is investigating an accident in which one of their employees was electrocuted and burned while working on electrical lines in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. A WMECO spokesperson reported that the Berkshire County man, who remains unidentified, is recovering at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston but would not provide further information on his condition.

The employee, who is in his mid-40s, was working late Friday morning on a pole behind an empty Patriot Suites Hotel on Dan Fox Drive in Pittsfield late on Friday morning when he was electrocuted by a live circuit. According to the Pittsfield Fire Department, the worker was knocked unconscious upon being shocked and was hanging from his safety belt before WMECO coworkers and the fire department were able to lower him to the ground with a bucket truck. An ambulance then took him to the Berkshire Medical Center before he was subsequently transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital.

As safety advice for the general public, the WMECO recommends never to touch any downed or sagging power lines. Because it is very difficult to tell the difference between a telephone line, cable television line, or electrical line, consider any line to be energized and dangerous.

If you have suffered an electrocution accident on the job or have been injured at work, contact one of our experienced Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers for a free consultation.

Sources:

‘Fairly serious’ burns for utility worker, The Berkshire Eagle, April 17, 2011

Safety, Security and Lighting, Western Massachusetts Electric Co.
Continue reading

April 13, 2011

Boston Big Dig Workers’ Compensation Case Settled: Insurer Had Right To Question Whether Employee Was Still Working

by Altman & Altman

The Massachusetts State Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that the insurance company who fought a claim by a Boston Big Dig worker should not have been penalized for taking the matter to court.

Thirteen years ago, Dante DiFronzo was hit by a car at a Boston Big Dig jobsite when he was running between two work zones at the end of his shift. Although no one has ever denied that he was hit by a car, the thirteen-year-old question is whether or not DiFronzo was still working at the time of the accident. Because Massachusetts State law does not hold employers responsible for injuries while commuting, DiFronzo would only be entitled to workers’ compensation if he were still working and had not started his commute home. DiFronzo argued that he was running to a work vehicle to make a radio call that he was about to leave his jobsite. DiFronzo was able to convince authorities that he was still technically working.

DiFronzo’s insurer, National Union Fire Insurance, took the matter to court and argued that he was running to catch a bus home when he was hit by a car. DiFronzo in return tried to file additional penalties against the insurer and his lawyer contended that the insurer wrongfully tried to deny his claim. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the insurer was indeed justified in questioning whether DiFronzo was still on the job when he was injured and that they should not have to face additional penalties. The end result of Tuesday’s ruling was that DiFronzo received his workers’ compensation but no extra penalties were filed against the insurer for questioning his claim.

If you have been injured in a work-related accident, contact one of our experienced Boston workers’ compensation lawyers to find out if are entitled to workers’ compensation.

Source:

Supreme Judicial Court rules against Big Dig worker, Boston Business Journal, April 12, 2011 Continue reading

April 10, 2011

Department of Transportation Worker Falls Into Shaft in Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston

by Altman & Altman

A Massachusetts Department of Transportation worker fell into a 20-foot deep shaft in the Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston early on Friday morning. Officials have reported that either a ladder broke or the worker slipped just after 1 a.m. He was reported to have suffered from leg injuries from the fall and also hit his head. Because he fell into a water drainage system, officials were concerned that his wounds could be contaminated from the possible presence of natural gas and thus took necessary procedures to disinfect the worker. The worker was rescued from the hole after being stuck in the shaft for an hour. He has worked for the department for five years and his name was not released.

Firefighter Ronald Cook commented, “It’s like anything else, it’s time consuming, it takes a lot of guys to do, it’s manpower intensive…We had quite a few companies that turned out to do it and everybody did a great job.”

The state Department of Transportation is reviewing their safety protocol and investigating whether or not the 51-year-old electrician was following their set safety standards. Adam Hurtubise, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, confirmed that they are “…conducting our own review, and if we determine we need to call in OSHA, we will.”

As reported just last week, this work-related fall has happened a week after an MBTA employee fell 30 feet into a concrete shaft below the tracks at the Charles/MGH Red Line Station. He was walking on a plank of plywood that was covering the shaft when he fell through and was stuck for hours before Boston firefighters could rescue him.

If you have been injured in a work-related accident and to find out if are entitled to workers’ compensation, contact one of our experienced Boston workers’ compensation lawyers for a free consultation.

Sources:

Worker rescued from shaft in Ted Williams Tunnel, 7-News, whdh.com, April 8, 2011
Department of Transportation worker’s fall in tunnel sparks probe, The Boston Herald, April 9, 2011 Continue reading

April 7, 2011

Contractor In Windham Suffers Amputated Leg On The Job

by Altman & Altman

A contractor who was hired to take apart an above the ground pool at a residence in Windham has suffered severe injuries and is in critical condition. Fire Chief Thomas McPherson Jr. reported that, “Preliminary reports indicated that the patient was a contractor who was disassembling an above-ground pool, which had a large amount of ice and water in it, and was being drained…It is believed that, at some point, the metal sides of the pool gave way, striking the patient.”

The victim, Steve Harriman, from Dover, New Hampshire, was reported to have a detached lower right limb just below the knee. He was transported to the Boston Medical Center by a medical helicopter and underwent surgery. He is now in critical condition. Other than the build-up of ice and water in the pool, the cause of this work-related accident has not been determined.

McPherson, who was on the team of responders said, “What we do is prepare the part that has been amputated and take care of that…Hopefully, we can get that person stabilized, get him over to the helicopter, to get him down to Boston, where, hopefully, that limb can be saved and reattached.”

As a victim of a work injury and amputation, an employee is entitled to wage benefits and can also possibly file a claim against the manufacturing company for a faulty product. Employers are obligated to protect their workers from workplace accidents and injuries.

If you have been injured in a work-related accident and to find out if are entitled to wage benefits, contact one of our highly experienced Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers for a free consultation.

Source:

Man severs leg in Windham work accident , Eagle Tribune, April 1, 2011 Continue reading

April 4, 2011

Former Massachusetts Department of Corrections Employee Guilty of Workers’ Compensation Fraud

by Altman & Altman

The Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley has announced that John Cloutier, 46, of East Freetown, Massachusetts, is guilty of Workers’ Compensation Fraud while working for the Department of Correction. From July 2008 to March 2010, Cloutier collected workers’ compensation for a work-related injury and told medical examiners that he could not stand for an extended period of time or take part in any activities that might stress or worsen his injuries. However, it was later discovered and proven that he ran a long-distance marathon and several half-marathons during this same time period.

In March of 2010, a workers’ compensation judge at the Department of Industrial Accidents decided that he was not eligible for any workers’ compensation after his first marathon as they were given evidence that he ran long-distance races from January 2009 to September 2009. Investigations into the matter found that he wrongfully collected over $56,000 after January 2009. The Department of Correction then handed the matter over to the Attorney General’s Office for prosecution in April of 2010.

Superior Court Judge Frances McIntyre charged Cloutier with two and a half years in the House of Correction and with a probation period of five years. During Cloutier’s probation, he is not allowed to work for a public entity, he must inform any employer of his sentence, and he also must repay the entire amount of compensation that he was not eligible for after January 2009 in the amount of $56,733.

To find out if you have grounds for a workers’ compensation case or if you have been injured in the workplace, contact one of our experienced Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyers for a free consultation.

Source:

Former Correction Officer Pleads Guilty, Sentenced for Fraudulently Collecting Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley Press Release, March 30, 2011 Continue reading

April 1, 2011

Boston Real Estate Development and Property Development Company Guilty of Improper Asbestos Disposal

by Altman & Altman

Attorney General Martha Coakley has recently announced that the Boston real estate development and property management company, JM Realty Management, Inc., and President John McGrail, were found guilty of improper removal and disposal of asbestos. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) witnessed asbestos material at one of their construction sites and employees also complained that the company was working at three different properties containing asbestos in Lynn, Boston, and Worcester, and that the debris was later taken to dumpsters not permitted for the disposal of asbestos waste.

After these complaints to the District Attorney’s Office, an investigation was started by the Massachusetts Environmental Crimes Strike Force (ECSF), a collaboration overseen by the Attorney General, the MassDEP, and the Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary. A serious violation of the Clean Air Act, asbestos removal and disposal is regulated by the government because breathing in the miniscule fibers can cause potentially fatal health problems and work-related illnesses, such as lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Regina Quinlan ordered McGrail, age 44, of Boston and JM Realty to collectively pay $200,000 in fines. She also sentenced the defendants to three years probation under the condition that they do not violate federal, state or local environmental laws. The defendants were also ordered to provide all employees with asbestos training and must have an independent auditor to evaluate their environmental actions.

In addition to these environmental charges, the company also faces charges for a lack of proper tax, payroll, and unemployment insurance.

If you or you loved one has suffered from a work illness due to asbestos exposure, you may have grounds for legal action. Contact one of our experienced Boston workers’ compensation lawyers for a free consultation.

Source:

Boston-Based Real Estate Company, President to Pay $200,000 for Illegal Asbestos Removal and Disposal, Office of Attorney General Press Release, March 24, 2011 Continue reading

March 30, 2011

MBTA Worker Falls Down 30-Foot Concrete Shaft at Charles/ Massachusetts General Hospital Station in Boston

by Altman & Altman

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority employee fell down 30 feet into a concrete shaft below the tracks at the Charles/MGH Red Line Station in Boston early this morning. Identified as Edward Rowe, 46, of Haverhill, the employee has worked for MBTA since he was 18 years old.

According to officials, the accident happened around 4:30 a.m. this morning. Rowe, an electrician for MBTA, was shutting off the power to a Red Line rail at the station. He was walking on a plank of plywood that was being used to cover up the deep shaft and subsequently fell through the hole as the plywood gave way. Rowe was stuck for hours before Boston firefighters were able to lift him to the surface around 8 a.m.

A fire department spokesperson, Steve MacDonald, said that, “The only way to get him out was to hoist him straight up…It’s very tough, confined conditions.” Firefighters ended up rigging a pulley system and lowered a firefighter down to where Rowe was trapped so that he could evaluate Rowe and attach him to a safety harness in order to pull him out. After having to adjust the safety harness so that Rowe was not in too much pain, firefighters eventually were able to safely pull him out.

Rowe is now in critical condition at Massachusetts General Hospital where he is reported to have two broken legs. After this early-morning workplace accident, the MBTA General Manager, Richard A. Davey, requested that all plywood used as shaft covers be removed and replaced with metal shaft covers.

If you have been injured at work, our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers can help you explore your legal options with advice and a free consultation.

Source:

Boston firefighters save MBTA worker who fell 30 feet , Boston Globe, March 30, 2011 Continue reading