How to Handle Workplace Injuries

A Massachusetts bridge contractor is facing over $40,000 in fines from the federal Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA). The investigation of the company occurred following a July 15, 2010, explosion at a maintenance facility that injured a worker.

In the accident, a 48-year-old welder broke his leg and suffered head injuries when an explosion threw him from a pontoon boat on which he was welding. The welding appears to have ignited vapors from the inside of the boat. OSHA found multiple reasons for the explosion, including the following:

• there had not been adequate ventilation of the flammable gases
• the worker was performing the welding in an explosive atmosphere
• the company had not established a welding area or welding procedures
• damaged welding cables and an ungrounded extension cord were in use

 

OSHA cited the company for 11 serious violations in regards to the explosion. OSHA issues these citations when there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard that the company should have known about. OSHA has fined the company five times over the past five years, including for a January accident in which an excavator tipped over because its concrete load was too heavy. A Boston injury attorney is available to help you understand your legal options if workplace dangers or negligence has injured you or a family member.

Workers Compensation and Workplace Injuries

In general, workers cannot sue their employers if they have suffered a workplace injury and the workers' compensation system applies to them. Workers' compensation is a trade-off. Workers receive compensation for medical care without having to battle their employer, and employers are immune from lawsuits for the workplace injury.

There are several instances, though, in which an injured employee may be able to sue his or her employee even though workers' compensation applies:

• The employer intentionally injured the employee
• The employer lacks sufficient workers' compensation insurance to cover the injured worker's injuries

 

A lawsuit may also be appropriate for an injured worker to bring against a third party. Workers' compensation systems do not bar these lawsuits. For example, injured workers can sue designers, manufacturers or distributors of products that are defective and dangerous and that injure the worker.

Workers Compensation in Massachusetts

Massachusetts legislators passed a series of amendments in 1991 to the state's 1911 Workers' Compensation Act. These amendments made it more difficult in certain cases for workers injured on the job to receive compensation. They also reduced benefits in many instances. Despite efforts to win back concessions for workers, the 1991 amendments remain in effect.

Workers with pre-existing conditions who aggravate those injuries on the job can find it difficult to receive workers' compensation benefits. In order to receive benefits, these workers must show that the aggravation is a major contributing cause to their injuries. Additionally, the 1991 amendments reduced the total-disability benefit amount to 60% of wages and shortened the duration of total-disability benefits to three years.

Contact a Washington DC injury lawyer at Pollack & Flanders, LLP for more information if you have suffered an injury while on the job.