Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog
A Logan Airport construction worker was awarded $3 million in a settlement with his employer and the general contractor for the airport, after he suffered debilitating injuries from an incident in 2008.
The 37-year-old man had fallen nearly 35 feet through an unprotected opening on the arrival/departure ramp at Logan International Airport in Boston, landing on a roadway beneath the ramp and suffering multiple traumas including a traumatic brain injury. The victim’s lawyer had filed a lawsuit against the general contractor, who then filed a third-party claim against the worker’s employer. All of the parties involved agreed to partake in a mediation, which included four loss-of-consortium claims for the worker’s wife and three children.
The lawyer who undertook this case hired numerous experts including a behavioral neurologist-to demonstrate the long-lasting health effects of the victim’s brain injury, as well as cinematographers to produce video of witness interviews. Orthopedic surgeons, a neuropsychologist, a life-care planner, and physical and speech therapists were also interviewed during the mediation to further back up the victim’s claim against the plaintiffs. In a court-approved settlement, the worker was granted 58% of the monetary verdict, while his wife and children were awarded 42%. The court also granted a workers’ compensation lien reduction of $378,000. Since the initial settlement, this workers’ compensation case has been settled for an additional $1.5 million.
When a worker is injured in the state of Massachusetts, often it is through workers’ compensation that a person will collect payment to cover injury-related medical costs and lost wages. The purpose of workers’ compensation is to ensure that workers, should they be injured on the job, will be taken care of in exchange for not filing a lawsuit against their employer. Achieving all of these workers’ compensation benefits can sometimes be challenging and what people do not often realize is that workers’ compensation does not cover personal injury in the future, and that their benefits are only limited. What many people fail to know is that they can be eligible to file a secondary claim against a third responsible party to receive additional compensation for their injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured on the job, it is most advisable that you contact a seasoned Workers’ Compensation Attorney to discuss your options, and what your next step in claiming compensation should be. The attorneys at Altman & Altman have outstanding knowledge of the Massachusetts work law and have a proven track record of success achieving millions in recovery settlements for our clients, which only comes from decades of experience handling a wide range of work injury cases, including wrongful death. We also, like the attorney mentioned in this case, have the resources to hire the most knowledgeable professionals to reconstruct an incident and build a strong case, to ensure our clients are at the greatest advantage to achieving the highest possible settlement for their case. Call or email our office today if you have been recently injured at work, and speak to one of our lawyers for a free initial consultation and case evaluation. We stand prepared to help you through every aspect of your case, and we are committed to being available to our clients around the clock.
