Boston Work Accidents

September 29, 2015

New Lighting Technology Makes Work Safer

According to an article from Occupational Health and Safety Online, recent advances in lighting technology have made jobs considerably safer for workers who rely on flashlights and lanterns to see during their work. These advances in light equipment allow small hand-held devices to offer brightness that matches large floodlights.

One of the new lighting technologies that is making the job safer and reducing workers’ compensation claims is known as high lumen technology. High lumen lights are especially helpful at inherently dangerous working environments like nighttime construction sites, industrial operations, mines, and many other types of employment. LED technology has become so advanced in recent years that small lights can produce between 500 and 1,100 lumens for extended periods of time. Ten years ago, it would have taken huge lights that get hot and require a lot of power to produce anywhere near these light levels, and it would have been unheard of to have it in a handheld device. Continue reading

August 25, 2015

Worker Injured at New England Fair

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There is nothing quite like going to the fair. Whether it is teenagers heading out to the fair in the last days before school starts again, or family heading out for a day of fun, there is always a lot to see and do. It is also the chance to eat some of the unhealthiest foods imaginable.

However, men and women who work at a fair and travel with it across the country are working a job just like any other, and just like any other job, there are employees who get injured. According to a recent news article from WMUR, the Cornish Fair in New England had to close one of the rides after one worker and two guests were injured in an accident. Continue reading

August 22, 2015

Ford Reduces Employee Injuries by 70 Percent

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Large factories often employ hundreds, if not thousands, of workers each.

These employees are often at risk for a variety of reasons. In addition to the typical accidents we imagine, such as those involving heavy machinery on the production floor, there are a great deal of on-the-job injuries related to repetitive stress in factory jobs.

According to a recent news report from Assembly, Ford Motor Company has been working to reduce the number of on-the-job injuries at its production facilities, and is reporting a 70 percent reduction in the worker injury rate among its workforce. Continue reading

July 31, 2015

Road Construction Accidents – Night and Day

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Working on the side of a major highway is one of the most dangerous jobs in America. It is for this reason we see all of the reflective orange signs warning us to drive carefully as we are about to enter an active work zone. It is also the reason all workers are required to wear reflective orange and yellow clothing and be careful to stay clear of any approaching traffic. However, there is no question that no matter what precautions drivers and workers take to prevent injury, there will still be many serious accidents each years, and some accidents will be fatal.

In order to help reduce the number of accidents, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and other governmental organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and insurance companies are regularly conducting studies to determine how to make the job safer. Obviously, insurance companies are primarily interested in worker safety, as it will reduce the total number of claims each year, and this will make their respective companies more profitable. Continue reading

July 26, 2015

Update: Ironworker Injured at Boston Logan Airport Died From Injuries

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

On June 10, 2015, an ironworker was helping to build a new parking structure at Boston Logan International Airport when he was involved in a serious on-the-job accident. Authorities say victim was on the third level of the parking garage under construction and was helping to secure a massive concrete platform to the structure.

While he was attempting to secure the concrete platform, it broke free from the crane that was suspending it, and the platform and the workers fell approximately 40 feet to the ground. In addition to serious impact from his fall, the worker was left trapped between the platform and an exterior wall of the garage. Continue reading

July 22, 2015

Three New Bedford, Mass. Workers Injured in Porch Collapse

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Authorities say three workers were injured on the job in New Bedford, Massachusetts while they were renovating a three-story house according to a recent news article in the Boston Herald. The injured workers were on the third floor of the home trying to remove the porch. They were planning to remove the third floor and porch on the second floor, so they could install new windows on the home. While they were working to remove the porch, it fell off the side of the home, and the three workers fell around 25 feet to the ground.

One worker was 39-years-old at the time of the accident, and he and his 42-year-old coworker both reportedly suffered neck and back injuries. The two of them were taken to hospital, where they were treated and released. The other worker, who is 34-years-old, suffered a leg injury, but he declined medical attention and reportedly told police he planned to drive himself to a local hospital later. Continue reading

July 19, 2015

Roofing Worker Injured On the Job in Brockton, Massachusetts

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news report from The Boston Globe, a worker in Brockton was injured on the job during a roofing project when bricks from the home’s chimney came loose and fell on one of the roofers working on the home.

Witnesses say the worker was hired to help install a new roof on a two-and-a-half story home in Brockton. The worker was wearing a safety harness, as required by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and local building codes while working on the roof. While the harnesses are very effective at preventing workers from falling of a roof, on this particular day, the line from the safety harness’s rig became tangled around the chimney. Continue reading

July 15, 2015

Ironworker Injured at Logan Airport in East Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While construction work has gotten a great deal safer than it once was, ironwork is still one of the most dangerous jobs in America. The job involves constantly working at dangerous heights with little protection, and also working around thousands of pounds of iron and steal that may collapse or shift at any moment in the event of an accident.

According to a recent article from The Boston Globe, an ironworker was injured on the job at Logan Internal Airport in East Boston. Authorities say the 53-year-old worker suffered a critical injury when he was trying to secure a concrete panel weighing over 30 tons. A crane was suspending the heavy concrete panel at a height of around 40 feet off the ground. It was being lifted to the third floor of a parking garage being constructed at the airport. Continue reading

June 13, 2015

Massachusetts Worker, Customer Injured in Propane Explosion

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to recent news report from CBS Boston, a worker was filling a propane tank for a customer at an oil and gas distributor in Marshfield when the tank suddenly exploded. The propane company employee and the customer who owned the tank were serious injured as a result of shrapnel from the exploding metal propane tank.

Witnesses say the tank then turned into what was essentially a missile and flew towards the neighboring liquor store and extremely high speeds. When the tank flew from the propane distributor, witnesses say in narrowly missed hitting a car and then continued towards the neighboring business. Customers inside the store aid the sound and the shock was jarring and glass fell from the shelves of the store and a large clock was also knocked off the store wall.

A fire marshal who inspected the damage said the tank was old and heavily rusted and should never have been filled in the first place. He further said anyone filling the tank should inspect it to make sure it is proper condition, and if a tank in this condition is seen, it should be immediately taken out of service and never filled with pressurized propane liquid-gas.
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June 2, 2015

New Workers’ Comp Bill Proposed in Massachusetts

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When legislatures across the country created their state’s respective workers’ compensation systems, they looked to see what other states had done when crafting their set of laws. Some states are more favorable to the workers and others are more favorable to employers and big business. Some states try to strike and equal balance between the needs of workers to make ends meet following and injury and employer’s needs to keep costs down.

One of the common themes in virtually all workers’ compensation systems is that elected officials are hesitant to create a system where an injured worker can make the same or even more money staying at home and collecting benefits than he could at work had it not been for the on the job injury. While this may seem fair to some, the problem is the injured worker generally cannot go back to work so he or she should not have to earn less in workers’ compensation benefits than he or she would had the accident not occurred, since his or her other bill are not going to down along with his or her income.

While this is not likely to change anytime to soon, Massachusetts lawmakers are trying to make the situation a little more tolerable for injured workers by adjusting how the state average weekly wage (SAWW) is calculated. Essentially, the workers compensation board looks at what a worker would be earning according to an average worker in the state working the same job, and pays a percentage of that amount as benefits.
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