by

Earlier this month, a train collision in Chatsworth, California killed 25 people and left 135 injured. More recently, it was discovered that one of the engineers involved in the deadly train crash was sending and receiving text messages while on the job.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is still working to determine the exact timing of the text messages sent and received by engineer Robert Sanchez to see if it corresponds with the time of the crash.

According to an analyst at J. Gold Associates in Northboro, Massachusetts, “texting is worse than talking on a cell phone because your eyes are down.”

The Southern California Regional Rail Authority already prohibits rail workers from using cell phones while on the job, and more legislation is expected as a result of this tragic accident.

NTSB: Train engineer in deadly crash was texting while on job, ComputerWorld.com, September 18, 2008 Continue reading

by

The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Massachusetts reported on a Windham police officer who was recently injured on the job while directing traffic on Route 111. The incident occurred last Thursday while police Officer Bryan Smith was at a construction project at the corner of Range Road and Route 111.

Smith was struck in the back by the driver’s side mirror of a pick-up truck driven by Paul Norton, 45, of Manchester. Smith sustained back injuries and was transported to Parkland Medical Center.

This is the second time an officer has been hit by a car this summer in almost the same spot on this same construction project. In June, Officer Greg Malisos was hit by a sport utility vehicle which knocked him into a 4-foot ditch.

In the summer of 2007, Derry police Officer Robert Moore was seriously injured by a pickup truck. Moore was directing traffic on Route 28. The driver who struck him was charged with DWI.

Windham police officer struck while working Route 111 detail, The Eagle Tribune, September 12, 2008 Continue reading

by

In Walpole, Massachusetts, a construction worker died after being electrocuted. Romulo Santoes, 47, was doing overnight construction work on a Wal-Mart when he was electrocuted while trying to re-attach electrical wires. The wires had been severed by a construction crew doing demolition work.

Santos was taken to Norwood Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He is a native of Brazil, and police are working to notify his family in Brazil, according to The Boston Globe.

This construction accident is currently under investigation. Experts say that this death could have been prevented had the construction company taken the right precautions.

The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health has released a statement saying that swift action is required to ensure the safety of other construction workers on the job. According to OccupationalHazards.com, 20 building trades’ workers died on the job in Massachusetts last year and nearly half of those were immigrant workers. Between 1999 and 2007, 15 Brazilian-born workers died while at work in Massachusetts, eight from construction accidents.

Electrical Worker Death Could Have Been Prevented, Experts Say, OccupationalHazards.com, September 11, 2008
Man electrocuted while renovating Walpole Wal-Mart, Boston Globe, September 9, 2008 Continue reading

by

On Friday morning around 9 am, four constructions workers died after a drainage trench they were working in collapsed. The four men were digging the trench when it collapsed on top of them. The construction accident occurred on state Highway 12 near the town of Verdal, Nebraska, which is 155 miles Northwest of Omaha.

Police have identified the four victims as 61-year-old Gary Forsh, 43-year-old Brad Kelly, 24-year-old Travis Lunn, and 35-year-old David Peterson.

According to the Bureau of Labor, more than five thousand construction workers were killed in construction accidents in 2006, while many other workers suffered serious injuries. This type of work environment is particularly hazardous because of threats from a number of different sources: defective tools, fires, explosives, crane collapses, and other dangers.

Neb. sheriff: 4 dead in construction accident, Associated Press, September 13, 2008
Four Killed In Construction Accident, WOWT.com, September 12, 2008 Continue reading

by

A construction worker who had been pinned in a trench at a construction project last week was pronounced dead. Steven Dale Slee, 28, died from injuries to his trunk and the medical examiner’s office has pronounced the incident an accident.

Slee was taken to the hospital after 7,000 pounds of compacted dirt fell on him. After a slab of compacted fill broke, the dirt fell from the side of the trench. A second construction worker escaped from the trench with non-life threatening injuries.

The construction accident is under investigation with the state Department of Labor and Industries.

Construction worker dies from burial injuries, Seattle PI, September 6, 2008 Continue reading

by

New Hampshire contractors say that misclassification of workers among their competition has forced them to seek business elsewhere in Massachusetts. They claim that it is almost impossible for them to land construction projects in their own state because their competitors illegally misclassify workers to avoid paying for workers’ compensation, cutting their costs by about a third and allowing them to offer lower bids.

Many of these contractors have banded together to share their concerns with their local representative. A join task force is also preparing to examine the business practices of contractors throughout the state and penalize those who misclassify workers to deny them workers’ compensation.

Independent contractors generally earn more per hour, but they are cheaper for the contractor to employ because they don’t require workers’ compensation coverage. This issue was recently brought to light when a local construction worker fell on a construction site and shattered the bones in his left foot. He was originally denied workers’ compensation money because he was classified as an independent contractor.

Contractors speak up on workers comp, Nashua Telegraph, August 19, 2008 Continue reading

by

Two steel-and-concrete beams intended as part of the Route 1A bridge reconstruction failed a Massachusetts state safety inspection last week, resulting in a delay in installation.

One of the 120-foot-long beams was damaged during an accident and another sustained damage during loading. Both beams will need to be remanufactured, which Adam Hurtubise of MassHighway said will set back their installation about three weeks.

However, MassHighway says that with time built into the schedule for contingencies, the completion date should remain the same. They estimate that the bridge may reopen as soon as the spring of 2009. S & R Corp., of Lowell, is the general contractor on the project and has been working on an accelerated timetable.

Since September 27, the Route 1A bridge has been closed for what highway official estimated would be a two-year reconstruction project. The original plan was to keep one of the two lanes open to traffic, but severe deterioration of the bridge forced officials to reduce traffic to one lane in the center of the bridge.

Shutting down the bridge completely has negatively impacted businesses in both Rowley and Newbury, since these companies rely on Route 1A traffic to bring in business.

Giant beams damaged at Route 1A bridge, Newburyport News, August 26, 2008 Continue reading

by

Do the parents of a murdered high school student have the right to file a wrongful death suit against their son’s part time employer when their son was killed during a shift? That’s the question that the Supreme Judicial Court is slated to examine on September 3.

In Saab, et al. v. CVS Pharmacy, the court will decide if a lower court judge made the proper decision that the exclusivity provision of the Workers’ Compensation Act prevents the Superior Court from accepting subject matter jurisdiction.

Christian Ribeiro Giambrone, a senior at Boston Latin Academy, was working part time at a CVS Pharmacy in Boston’s Longwood medical area. In February, 2004, Giambrone and the store manager confronted a thief outside the store. Giambrone bled to death after being stabbed in the neck. His killer was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

CVS paid the victim’s funeral bills, and in February, 2007, the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court. CVS moved to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that the workers’ compensation exclusivity clause mandates that all claims be brought before the Board of Industrial Accidents.

Court to weigh right of parents to sue employer, MassLawyersWeekly.com, August 25, 2008 Continue reading

by

A subcontractor employee died recently after a five-story fall down an elevator shaft several weeks ago. The accident was reported just before 6:30 am on August 4. The construction worker, David Smith, 31, of Jackson, was an employee of Schindler Elevator Corp. The construction manager on the project was Gilbane-Clark.

Construction on the six-story, $145 million University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business halted immediately after the accident but was expected to resume soon afterwards.

Investigators have ruled out criminal activity, but, as of early this month, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the construction manager was continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the construction accident.

Worker dies after fall at UM construction site, Crain’s Detroit Business, August 4, 2008 Continue reading

by

According to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, a jury recently found a forklift manufacturer not liable for a 1999 forklift accident in Wayland which resulted in severe injuries to the operator, leaving him with severe disabilities.

The operator was delivering trees to a construction site when he was thrown from the forklift. He was not wearing a seatbelt, but he lived for seven years after the accident. The plaintiff medical expert testified that the operator’s death from a brain hemorrhage was casually related to his spinal cord injury.

The trial stretched over five weeks, and at its conclusion, the jury returned its unanimous verdict on February 12, 2008. Using a single witness, the defense persuaded the jury that operator error caused the accident, not a defect in the forklift or a breach of warranty.

The worker’s own deposition testimony supported the defense’s assertion that it was operator error. Investigators for the Wayland Police Department and the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration corroborated that conclusion.

Worker thrown from forklift rendered quadriplegic, MassLawyersWeekly.com, August 18, 2008 Continue reading

Contact Information
Cambridge, MA
Main Office
675 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: 617.492.3000Fax: 617.491.3299Toll Free: 800.481.6199
Boston, MA
1 State St
Suite 2
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: 617.547.1205Toll Free: 800.481.6199
Needham, MA
250 First Avenue 2nd Floor
Needham, MA 02494
Phone: 781.675.2329Toll Free: 800.481.6199

Some Select Cases are referred to other attorneys for principal responsibility

By publishing this information on this Website, the Boston, Massachusetts law firm of Altman & Altman LLP is not claiming to represent any clients or cases mentioned here. The content provided is designed to inform readers and is not intended as legal advice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2025, Altman & Altman LLP
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design