Workers' Compensation

Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Reviewing Board Decision Assesses The Cause of the Injury

Published on: July 14, 2014 | The Law Office of James K. Meehan

In Massachusetts personal injury cases, an injured party must show that the other party owed a duty to them, that the party failed to uphold that duty, that the failure resulted in an injury, and the type and amount of damages suffered as a result of the injury. When an injury occurs on the job, proof of negligence or fault is not necessary for recovery, but proof of causation that the injury resulted from the workplace is required.

The Massachusetts Reviewing Board issued a ruling last month in Stephan A. Dugas v. Coca-cola that looked at whether or not an employee’s hip conditions were work-related. The employee had worked from 2003 to 2009 as a merchandiser and bulk account manager, the duties of which included stocking displays, shelves, and coolers, and moving products by lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling carts with a non-electric hand jack. In 2009, the man sought treatment for pain in his hip and began to receive epidural steroid shots to relieve the pain. Eventually, the man received a diagnosis of congenital hip dysplasia with degenerative changes in his left hip and arthritis and osteophytes in his right hip.

The Reviewing Board Decision pointed out in its recitation of facts that the employee did not mention the hip as a work-related injury to either physician when he initially sought medical treatment. The Reviewing Board also addressed the employee’s history of playing football in high school and playing men’s field hockey three times a week until he injured his right knee in 2002. The employee filed for workers’ compensation and was denied, and he pursued compensation through a hearing. The judge, after hearing testimony from doctors, upheld the denial of payments for medical treatment. The judge ruled that the employee failed to show that the injury was the result of an industrial accident that occurred while working for his employer.
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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Decision Provides Guidance as to Whether the Workers’ Compensation Act Precludes Recovery Under the Wrongful Death Act

Published on: July 7, 2014 | The Law Office of James K. Meehan

In Massachusetts, if someone dies due to the negligence of another, recovery for damages like lost wages, loss of companionship, and funeral expenses may be available through the Wrongful Death Act. The Wrongful Death Act allows recovery if a willful, wanton, or reckless act caused the death of a person who would have been eligible for personal injury damages if he or she had survived. If there was malicious, willful, wanton, or reckless conduct or gross negligence by the at-fault party, punitive damages may be available.

Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a ruling in Estate of Moulton v. Puopolo, which prevented the estate of a counselor from pursuing damages under the Wrongful Death Act. The counselor was killed at a mental health clinic by a patient who had a long history of criminal acts and violent behavior. The pleadings alleged willful, wanton, reckless, and malicious conduct that constituted gross negligence by the collective defendants. The defendants included the directors of the mental health institution, psychiatric consultants involved in the patient’s admission, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the patient himself. The pleadings claimed that the directors should have known the patient’s history of violence and that the directors failed to enact policies to handle a patient with such violent tendencies. The estate left out the hospital because the hospital was the direct employer and immune from suit under the Workers’ Compensation Act.

The director defendants appealed the lower court’s decision, which refused to extend the immunity from suit extended to employers under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The court first looked at the history of the Workers’ Compensation Act, which was designed to provide quick payment for injuries suffered by employees. In exchange for quicker, more assured recovery, employees are not allowed to pursue personal injury actions against their respective employers. Employers are provided with immunity from personal injury suits so that they aren’t entrenched in time-consuming and expensive litigation.
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New Workers’ Compensation Legislation For Newtown Employees

Published on: March 7, 2013 | The Law Office of James K. Meehan

Following the Newtown school shooting, Connecticut is attempting to pass into a law a bill which would cover treatment costs for mental injury stemming from the workplace. The bill will only cover future incidents of mental injury stemming from work-related trauma; however, a special fund is being planned to cover those who are suffering mental ailments as a result of the Newtown massacre.

Massachusetts covers most workplace injuries under its workers’ compensation laws, including mental injury.

Under Massachusetts law, first responders who suffer from mental illness as a result of work-related trauma (i.e. post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD) are eligible for workers’ compensation. Unfortunately, since Connecticut law does not yet cover such claims, the first responders and teachers who suffered mental injuries as a result of the shootings must rely on a special fund set up to cover the expenses of those affected.

Mental injury stemming from the workplace can be more difficult to identify than a physical injury; however, it is important to remember that such injuries do occur and are covered under workers’ compensation in Massachusetts. Mental illness can result in missed work, used sick days, decreased performance, and large medical bills, and as a result, it is important that claims be filed if the mental illness is connected to the activities performed professionally. Claims for mental injury are just as legitimate as claims for physical injury, so workers should not be afraid to file a claim if they have suffered a trauma at work leading to injury, whether mental or physical.

In Massachusetts, employees who suffer mental and/or emotional injuries as a result of a particular event or series of events can pursue a claim for a mental injury arising from such an event.

According to Massachusetts case law, there are several requirements to prove a compensable mental injury: (1) the predominant cause of the disability; (2) an event or a series of events occurring within the employment; (3) that is not a bona fide, personnel action; or (4) is the intentional infliction of emotional harm in a bona fide personnel action. See Walczak v. Mass. Rehab. Comm., 10 Mass. Workers’ Comp. Rep. 539 (1996).

Here are some helpful Massachusetts workers’ compensation links for additional reading:

Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Guide for Injured Workers, April 2012

Hurt on the Job? Workers’ Compensation Can Help, March 2012
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Is Someone Following Me? – Private Investigators and Your Workers’ Compensation Claim

Published on: January 17, 2013 | The Law Office of James K. Meehan

Recently a man was found guilty of workers’ compensation fraud after a private investigator filmed him at the gym doing some serious weightlifting. Apparently he had a doctor’s note stating he could only lift 10 lbs. Well, this video proves him wrong. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a video is priceless!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCpdQTjB5J0

Committing insurance fraud is against the law. This man’s deceit and dishonesty cost him three years of probation, nine months of suspended jail time, and over $31,000.00 in workers’ compensation benefits that he must pay back.

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Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation and NFL Players Association

Published on: April 17, 2012 | The Law Office of James K. Meehan

On April 12, 2012, Attorney James K. Meehan attended the annual National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) Workers’ Compensation Panel Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Over several days, the group, comprising workers’ compensation attorneys nationwide, addressed issues confronting professional athletes injured while playing. This year’s meeting included lengthy discussions regarding the new collective bargaining agreement entered into by the player’s union and the National Football League.

Discussions also involved the National Football League Players Association’s (NFLPA) recent lawsuit against the National Football League for concussions. The lawsuit alleges that the league failed to disclose to players the severity of their head injuries and failed to provide adequate treatment. In addition, claims are being made that the teams forced players back into action prematurely before full recovery from their concussions. The player’s union is bringing this civil lawsuit in addition to workers’ compensation claims being made for individual players.

Attorney Meehan has been a member of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) Workers’ Compensation Panel for almost two decades. Over that time, he has represented numerous professional athletes who sustained premature career ending injuries. He has also represented members of the Boston Red Sox, New England Revolution, and a ballerina for the Boston Ballet Company.

The Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Law is set forth in M.G.L. c.152. The Act provides disability benefits and medical coverage for most injuries occurring in the workplace. Types of injuries include neck injuries, back injuries, knee injuries, shoulder injuries, psychiatric/stress-related injuries, repetitive trauma injuries, and neurological disorders. Commonly, in the case of an injured professional athlete, the insurance company denies the injury and a claim is filed at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Industrial Accidents. At this agency, the workers’ compensation claim is heard by an Administrative Judge. If benefits are ordered, then the player can receive weekly benefit checks, medical benefits, loss of function/scarring benefits, and vocational rehabilitation or job retraining benefits. The amount and length of benefits generally depends upon the severity of the injury and amount of pre-injury pay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFkWTGKNLT8

Quite often a Massachusetts’ workers’ compensation case is resolved by way of a lump sum settlement. Generally, acceptance of a lump sum settlement of a workers’ compensation case closes out the right to receive a weekly disability benefit but leaves open medical benefits and vocational rehabilitation or job retraining benefits for two years. In the case of a permanently disabling injury, a claimant may also be entitled to social security disability benefits.
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