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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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Earlier this month, a hearing for a 44-year-old Hingham Sewer Department staffer brought up issues of workplace safety. The worker is accused of insubordination and stood before a three-person elected board as they considered whether to fire him. He argued that that town is trying to get rid of him after he filed a complaint about unsafe working conditions with the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety.

Hingham has 13 stations that pump raw sewage, but the man’s complaints were focused on the Bayberry Station. He alleges that a colleague was hit with electrical shocks while working at that station. He also says that the town failed to fix the cause of that workplace accident and that there could still be unaddressed workplace violations at the station. It was also the site of a fire in 2008, according to the man.

The Sewer Commissioner has said the town is working to address safety concerns.

Source: Workplace violations alleged at hearing of Hingham sewer worker, Boston Globe, July 14, 2010 Continue reading

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Heightened stress from the recession and the tight job market have led to several workplace shootings in recent years. While most people don’t think of shootings as a common cause of work-related deaths, statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that assaults and violence is actually the third most-common cause of at-work deaths.

The most recently recorded statistics are from 2008 and show that assaults and violent acts accounted for 816 deaths, a decrease of 5% from 2007. The top cause of death was transportation accidents and contact with objects or equipment, causing 2,130 and 937 deaths respectively. Other common causes include falls, exposure to harmful substances, and fires or explosions.

According to Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., assaults and violent acts are the 10th most-common cause of disabling injuries in the workplace. In 2007, these injuries cost employers $600 million. However the top cause of serious injury is heavy lifting or other forms of overextension.

Source: Violence Is Workplace Hazard, Portfolio.com, July 13, 2010 Continue reading

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Following a serious construction accident in Salem, Massachusetts, the Commonwealth has ordered the exterior walls to be removed from the new state courthouse. The $106 million courthouse construction project was to include 576 outside wall panels, but after a 500-pound limestone wall panel fell and seriously injured a worker, the contractor halted work on the panels.

A spokesperson for the agency overseeing the construction project said it would take a few weeks to remove the154 limestone panels that had already been installed, but it should not delay the project, which is due to open in the summer of 2011.

Federal investigators have gotten involved and are looking to discover the cause of the construction accident. The construction manager said he plans to conduct his own investigation. Both investigations could take several months to complete.

Source: State orders wall panels removed from Salem court building, Gloucester Daily Times, June 30, 2010 Continue reading

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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

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Here in Massachusetts, we’ve had several notable subway and construction accidents in recent years. Workers in China face many of these same hazards; in fact, two workers were killed in a Beijing construction accident earlier this week.

On Wednesday, emergency response crews retrieved the bodies of the two workers whose bodies were buried under debris. The steel supporting the structure reportedly collapsed around 4:30pm local time, pouring steel, rocks, and dirt on top of the construction workers.

Eight other workers sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. The cause of the construction site accident is still being investigated.

Source: Two killed in Beijing subway construction site accident, Xinhuanet.com, July 14, 2010 Continue reading

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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

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