Massachusetts Work Injury Matters
Thousands of Massachusetts workers are injured or killed in work related accidents each year. Companies must adhere to state and federally mandated safety codes, but many accidents still occur. An injured worker will have claims under Workers' Compensation laws that are handled by the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents, but may also have potential private causes of action as well.
When a work site accident occurs, the owners, architects,
insurance companies and manufacturers of dangerous equipment
can be held responsible for inadequate safety provisions. The
general contractor and all subcontractors are required to provide
a reasonably safe site, to warn of hazards inherent in the site
and work, to hire careful employees, to coordinate job safety
and to supervise compliance with safety specifications.
Third Party Negligence
Manufacturers of equipment are responsible designing and maintaining safe products. Defective or dangerous products may include the following: scaffolding, cranes, power tools, derricks, hoists, conveyors, woodworking tools, ladders, winches, trucks, graters, scrapers, tractors, bulldozers, forklifts, back hoes, heavy equipment, boilers, pressure vessels, gas detectors and other types of construction equipment.
It is often possible to find liable third parties in the event
of an accident or injury. Since most sites involve many subcontractors, it is very common to locate
several potential third party Defendants. The lawyer may also
consider claims against the general contractor, who may be responsible
for supervision and my be contractually responsible for the injury.
In more complex cases, the legal principles of Agency and analysis
of Corporate law may lead to sophisticated determinations as
to who is technically an "employee" and who the "third
parties" are in a given situation.
Workers' Compensation
Workers' Compensation law is designed to help injured workers
as well as employers in dealing with the problems of health insurance.
The Workers' Compensation Act provides benefits to workers who
are injured on the job or suffer an occupational disease arising
out of and in the course of employment. The benefits under Workers'
Comp include weekly payments based on a percentage of the employee's
average weekly wage for temporary total disability, partial disability,
permanent and total disability and permanent loss of function
and disfigurement. Workers' Comp also covers medical expenses
for treatment that is reasonable, necessary and related to the
industrial injury and vocational rehabilitation services.
Unfortunately Workers' Compensation alone may be insufficient
compensation especially in the case of very serious and catastrophic
personal injuries. As indicated above it is necessary to look
for a negligent third party such as the manufacturer of a dangerous
or defective product, improper safety devices or some other party
who is at fault. These cases require immediate attention and
expertise because the responsible third party may be difficult
to locate and evidence (such as a piece of defective machinery)
needs to be preserved.
Submit Your Case to Massachusetts Attorneys
for a free evaluation.
Please fill out the information and write an informal
case description in the form below. You will be contacted by
a Massachusetts attorney who is experienced in the area of personal
injury law. We are experienced handling claims of people injured
in Massachusetts from all over the country and overseas.
