Workers' Compensation

Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Attorneys

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What To Do If You're Injured At Work

Unfortunately, on-the-job injuries can wreak havoc on an injured worker and his or her family. You may feel overwhelmed in the first days or weeks following a work injury. How will I get paid? How much will I receive if I can't work? Who will be paying me? What about my medical bills? It's important to get straight answers to these and other questions you may have. It's also important to protect your job and make sure your employer doesn't try to mislead you or force you to return to work before you are able. Don't hesitate to call any of the ten attorneys at Keches & Mallen who practice workers' compensation law for help in sorting through the confusion and making choices that are right for you and your family. We are one of the largest -- if not the largest -- workers' compensation law firms in the state of Massachusetts. And since attorney's fees are part of the workers' compensation package of benefits, sound legal advice is available for the price of a phone call.

For more information regarding our practice and how we can help you, contact workers' compensation lawyers at Keches & Mallen today. We have excellent relationships with unions and have represented countless union member clients.

What Should I do after My Injury?

It's important to understand your rights both as an employee and an injury victim. Not all employers are willing to explain your rights or provide you with the information you need to protect your job. Here's a quick checklist of what to do if you're injured at work:

• As soon as possible report the accident and your injury to your supervisor or boss, documenting the time, date, and place of your injury, and what you were doing at the time you were hurt;
• Jot down the names, addresses and telephone numbers of witnesses;
• Go to a physician or hospital of your own choice, and if appropriate, insist on being taken there by a co-worker or ambulance;
• Give medical personnel an accurate description of your injury and a detailed history of what happened prior to, during and after your work-related injury;
• Never give a recorded interview or statement to the insurance company without consulting with your attorney first.

What Happens Next?

After you have reported your injury, your employer is required to notify its workers' compensation insurer that you have suffered an injury at work and may be eligible for workers' compensation benefits. All employers in Massachusetts are required to carry workers' compensation insurance. If your employer does not have workers' compensation insurance, there are provisions in the law that will still ensure that you are covered. Once the insurance company has received notification of your injury, it has 14 days to decide whether to pay you benefits or to deny the claim. The insurance company must notify you in writing of its decision.

What If a Contractor was Involved?

If your injuries were caused by a contractor performing work at your job site, you can also seek damages against them. This is especially important to keep in mind in cases involving serious, debilitating injuries. While workers' compensation benefits may pay for initial medical costs and lost wages, they may not cover costs associated with serious, catastrophic injuries. Our lawyers also represent injured workers in cases involving third party liability on the part of contractors and subcontractors.

Once You're Eligible to Receive Benefits

If your employer's insurer decides to pay you benefits, it may do so for up to 6 months on a without-prejudice basis. This means that the insurance company reserves the right to dispute your case, even though it is paying you benefits, and may stop your benefits at any time during the six-month period. If your benefits are stopped within the first six months, your only recourse is to file a claim and go to court to have benefits restored.

When Claims are Denied

Sometimes, the insurance company may deny your claim from the outset, asserting that your injury did not happen or that your medical condition is not work-related. When this happens, the appropriate claim must be filed at the Department of Industrial Accidents in order to have all the issues addressed by a judge as quickly as possible. The Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) is the government agency that administers the workers' compensation system in Massachusetts. The DIA has its own courtrooms and administrative judges who hear claims. DIA offices are located in Boston, Lawrence, Fall River, Worcester, and Springfield. Where you live determines which DIA office has charge of your claim.

What Benefits Are Available?

In Massachusetts, the workers' compensation law is designed to replace wages that are lost as a result of a work injury. Workers who are totally disabled after being hurt on the job are entitled to 60% of their gross (pre-tax) average weekly wage. The insurance company is required to obtain a wage statement from your employer showing your weekly wages for the 52 weeks prior to the date of your injury. The wages for the 52 weeks are then averaged together to arrive at your correct workers' compensation weekly benefits. The benefits are paid to you tax-free. You cannot claim weekly workers' compensation benefits if you lose less than five days of work, though you may still be entitled to medical benefits for treatment related to your injury.

If you have not worked for your employer long enough to calculate your average weekly wage in this manner, in most cases your wages will simply be calculated based on the number of weeks you have actually worked for your employer or on the wages of a similar employee. Unfortunately, unless you are working on a public works project that is subject to the prevailing wage laws of Massachusetts, your fringe benefits such as union pension or annuity payments are not included in the calculation of average weekly wage.

Under Massachusetts law, weekly temporary total disability benefits are capped at 3 years. An injured worker may also be entitled to up to 5 years of partial disability benefits. For those individuals who are seriously hurt and will never be able to work again, the law provides for permanent and total disability benefits.

The Massachusetts workers' compensation law is essentially a no-fault system. This means that you do not have to prove that your employer's negligence, if any, caused your injury. Workers' compensation benefits, however, are your exclusive remedy under the law for your injury. In return for accepting workers' compensation benefits, you cannot sue your employer even if you think your employer or a co-worker did act negligently in causing your injury. In some cases, though, someone other than your employer or a co-worker may have acted negligently in causing your injury. Or your injury may have been caused by a defective tool, machine or product made by another manufacturer. Under these circumstances, you do have the right to sue a third party other than your employer for damages, such as pain and suffering, that are not available under the workers' compensation system. You will need sound legal advice to explore all options available to you.

One of your biggest worries may be who will pay for your medical treatment if you are hurt on the job. Workers' compensation insurers are required to pay for medical treatment related to your injury. You have the right to treat with a physician of your choice, not your employer's, not the insurance company's. In addition to paying for your visits to your doctor, you are also entitled to payment of your prescription medications, mileage to and from your doctor's office, hospital, and/or physical therapist, and any other incidental expenses that are reasonable and related to your injury.

What Kinds Of Injuries Are Covered By The Law?

In many cases, it's simple to identify when an injury has occurred at work. An ironworker slips and falls on a wet beam at a construction site, injuring an ankle or shoulder. A nurse feels pain in her low back and legs while moving a patient. An assembler's hand is crushed by malfunctioning or defective machinery. All of these types of physical injuries represent viable workers' compensation claims.

Sometimes, though, it's more difficult to decide if you have a workers' compensation claim. A supervisor, co-worker, or job requirement is causing you emotional stress. You feel pain in your hands, arms, or other parts of your body as a result of repetitive activities such as typing or packing boxes, even though you can't identify a specific day or time of injury. You have developed a debilitating condition or disease that your doctor says is related to workplace exposures such as asbestos. In these types of instances, you may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits.

Why Do I Need A Lawyer?

As you can see, the workers' compensation system in Massachusetts is complex and difficult to navigate on your own. Rest assured that the insurance company has attorneys, experts, and other people it has hired and trained to represent its interest. You, too, should protect your rights and those of your family by hiring an experienced legal advocate to help you with your claim. Proper representation from the beginning of the process will help ensure that the insurance company does not put you at a disadvantage. Remember, attorney's fees in Massachusetts are part of the benefit package provided you by law.

The seasoned team of attorneys and staff at Keches & Mallen are ready to provide you with the choices and advice that will help you decide what's right for you and your family.