Articles Posted in Workers’ Compensation

Our workers’ compensation attorneys have learned that FedEx Ground has agreed to pay the Commonwealth of Massachusetts several million dollars to settle allegations that they misclassified drivers as independent contractors. According to the attorney general, FedEx’s classification of drivers denied the state workers’ compensation, payroll taxes, and unemployment assistance contributions, as well as gave the company an unfair competitive advantage.

The $3 million awarded will go to the state’s general fund and to the thirteen drivers named in the suit. There is another lawsuit on behalf of other drivers that is still pending.

The company denies liability in the settlement with the state.

Source: Mass. reaches $3M settlement with FedEx Ground, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, July 15, 2010 Continue reading

Despite a request from the Worker’s Compensation Rating Inspection Bureau of Massachusetts to raise rates by 4.5 percent, Attorney General Martha Coakley has reviewed the industry’s proposed rates and determined that current rates will need to be reduced by 2.4 percent.

Coakley says the proposed rate hikes would have cost employers tens of millions in additional premium payments. In addition to this year’s rate reductions, Massachusetts workers’ compensation insurance companies will be subject to another rate review and possible rate cuts in 2011.

The settlement still needs final approval from the state’s commissioner of insurance. If approved, the lower workers’ comp rates will be in effect next fall. The hope is that lower costs will spur job growth across the state and protect employers from overpaying.

Source: Massachusetts: Attorney general nixes insurers’ request for increase, RiskAndInsurance.com, July 8, 2010 Continue reading

A 34-year-old Belmont man faces charges of workers’ compensation fraud and larceny in excess of $250. He reportedly suffered a work injury in August, 2006 while working as a heavy machinery mechanic in Milford, Massachusetts. He had surgery for that injury the following year and collected workers’ compensation benefits of about $857 a week between April 2007 and August 2007.

However, the general contractor of the Milford work site discovered that the man was also allegedly employed as a subcontractor for another construction company and earned almost $10,000 while out on disability. Investigators alleged that the construction worker collected $14,000 in workers’ compensation benefits to which he was not entitled.

The man was arraigned and is due back in court later this month for a pretrial conference. His case is being investigated by the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts (IFB).

Source: Belmont man facing fraud charges in Bay State, Citizen.com, June 23, 2010 Continue reading

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that Liberty Mutual was right to deny workers’ compensation benefits requested by a self-employed carpenter. The solo proprietor had severely injured his hand in 2005.

An administrative judge at the Industrial Accident Reviewing Board had earlier ruled in favor of Liberty Mutual, and the decision upholds that ruling. The carpenter had reportedly bought a workers’ compensation policy from Liberty Mutual in 2001, when Massachusetts sole proprietors could not cover themselves as employees under a workers’ compensation policy.

However, that changed in 2002, when Massachusetts began allowing sole proprietors to buy coverage for themselves as employees through a policy endorsement. Because the carpenter did not request the change to his workers’ compensation policy, the insurance company denied his request for benefits and the Appeals Court upheld that decision.

Source: Liberty Mutual Wins Dismissal of Claim for Injured Mass. Carpenter, ClaimsJournal.com, June 25, 2010 Continue reading

A Framingham lawyer has filed a lawsuit against FedEx on behalf of a former FedEx driver from Brockton, Massachusetts. The former driver worked at the company’s West Bridgewater terminal and claims he was misclassified as an independent contractor instead of an employee so that the shipping company could avoid paying workers’ compensation and other benefits.

The attorney says he already filed a proposed class action lawsuit against FedEx in 2008, but he’s waiting for a judge to decide on that class action request.

He’s also filing a series of individual lawsuits so that the former multi-route FedEx Ground drivers don’t miss out due to statues of limitations. Two Boston lawyers are apparently representing single-route drivers in other cases.

Source: Former FedEx driver from Brockton sues over being classified as an independent contractor, Patriot Ledger, June 22, 2010 Continue reading

A former flight attendant for Delta Air Lines who sustained severe back injuries when an aircraft came to an abrupt stop on the runway attempted to file a personal injury suit against the airline. After several spinal surgeries, she was still unable to return to work as a flight attendant.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of her personal injury suit. Massachusetts law states that an employer is entitled to immunity from personal liability when the injury occurs in the scope of employment.

The claimant asserted that while she had been employed by Delta, she ended her employment relationship when she went to work for Song Airlines. However, since Song Airlines is a Delta subsidiary, the court found that she was still under Delta’s control. Therefore, the former employee was provided workers’ compensation as the sole remedy for her back injuries.

Source: Employment relationship with airline derails personal injury suit, RiskandInsurance.com, June 3, 2010 Continue reading

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed $136,000 in fines against a Massachusetts contractor that was working on a project involving the removal of asbestos-containing material at Boston Beth Israel Hospital last fall. OSHA inspectors discover 19 alleged safety violations, among them a failure to conduct an initial asbestos exposure assessment, a lack of protective clothing, and several respirator-related deficiencies.

Asbestos exposure is a serious health hazard to workers. Research has shown that prolonged exposure without appropriate safeguards in place can lead to lung cancer and other diseases.

The Danvers-based company received one willful citation with a $55,000 proposed fine for not establishing a regulated work area. OSHA also issued the company 17 serious citations totaling $80,000 in fines for the other safety issues and one other-than-serious citation with a $1,000 fine for not providing injury and illness logs in a timely fashion. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, participate in an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or contest the findings.

Source: New England Contractor Fined for Asbestos Hazards, Respiratory Deficiencies, OHSOnline.com, March 3, 2010 Continue reading

According to a new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, patients receiving workers’ compensation who are treated for back pain related to a herniated disk experience better results with nonsurgical treatment. Depending on the individual case, nonsurgical treatment options can include pain-relieving drugs, home exercise, and/or physical therapy.

Overall, patients tend to experience better results from surgery up to two years after treatment, but those receiving workers’ compensation received “no added benefit” from surgery. Those patients who underwent surgery had pain and physical function that was similar to those who’d had nonsurgical treatments. The percentage of patients returning to work or placed on disability was similar across the board, regardless of surgery or nonsurgical treatment and regardless of workers’ compensation status.

Sciatica related to herniated disks is a common reason for workers’ comp claims and it can be disabling.

Source: Workers’ Compensation Patients Benefit Less from Back Surgery, ClaimsJournal.com, February 3, 2010 Continue reading

The Boston Globe reports that a 32-year-old former TJX employee and Massachusetts resident has pleaded guilty to charges he lied under oath and schemed to falsely collect workers’ compensation benefits. The man has since moved to Florida.

According to a press release from the attorney general’s office, he was arraigned last May and pleaded guilty in December to two counts of workers’ compensation fraud.

The defendant received a one year prison sentence along with three years probation. He was also ordered to pay nearly four thousand dollars in workers’ compensation benefits he allegedly collected but not entitled to.

Source: Man sentenced for falsely collecting workers’ compensation, Boston Globe, December 17, 2009 Continue reading

The state’s highest court ruled that a Peabody High School teacher is entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits for injuries she sustained while voluntarily chaperoning a school ski trip. The teacher sought workers’ comp coverage for her medical expenses following a 2004 injury on a ski trip to Vermont. Her employer denied that request, saying her injury occurred while the teacher participated in a voluntary recreational activity.

While two administrative judges uphold the denial of benefits, the state Department of Industrial Accidents and Massachusetts’ highest court awarded the teacher her workers’ compensation benefits on appeal. The judge concluded that a teacher who acts as a volunteer chaperone to students participating in a school-sponsored activity “is acting in the course of her employment” and in her capacity as a teacher, because she was overseeing the well being of students.

The injured teacher’s attorney said his client used sick time for surgeries and physical therapy, so she filed the claim to recover sick time and any co-payments not covered by her medical insurance.

Source: Massachusetts Court Upholds Workers’ Compensation for Teacher On School Trip, ClaimsJournal.com, December 15, 2009 Continue reading