Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

Insurers Claim that Painkillers Elevate Workers’ Compensation Costs

Published on: June 21, 2012 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

Workplace insurers are familiar with paying out billions of dollars each year to employees hurt in major accidents, such as being mangled by machines or building collapses. But now, the newest fast-growing cost has become payments to workers with routine injuries who have been treated with strong painkillers, such as opioids.$1.4 billion is spent annually on narcotic painkillers by workplace insurers, but if these medications are administered too early in the treatment process, too often, or for too long of a period it can delay the employee’s return to work, which drives up related disability payouts and medical expenses. TheCalifornia Workers Compensation Institute found that workers who received high doses of opioid painkillers for injuries, such as a back strain, stayed out of work three times longer that those with similar injuries that took a lower dose medication.

According to Accident Fund Holdings analysis, when a strong narcotic is used, such as OxyContin, the cost of a workplace injury is nine times higher than when a narcotic is not used. The California Workers Compensation Institute also found that there is a direct correlation between the greater use of opioids and extended recovery time from injuries occurring in the workplace.

OxyContin, Percocet and Duragesic are widely prescribed to treat common problems, but there is little evidence that they provide long-term benefits. High doses of opioids cause drowsiness, lethargy, other serious side effects and may lead to addiction. According to insurance industry data, narcotics prescriptions used to treat workplace injuries increased sixty three percent between 2001 and 2008. In 2010 in California alone, workplace insurers spent $252 million on opioids.

Toxic Dust Killed Courthouse Worker

Published on: June 18, 2012 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

In Tucker County, West Virginia, four county employees have filed a lawsuit against G.A. Brown & Sons construction company claiming that work done by the company in the Tucker County Courthouse dispersed toxic dust that caused the death of one employee of the assessor’s office, Virginia Wamsley, and potentially harmed others who have entered the courthouse since March 6.

Employees of G.A. Brown & Sons cut a hole in the side of the courthouse to install an elevator, but did not use any type of protective measures to avoid the dispersal of harmful materials. The suit states that the toxic dust contained lead, asbestos, and possibly other harmful substances. The toxic dust was spread throughout the courthouse and both county employees as well as visitors were allegedly exposed.

“The dust was so heavy it clogged the early voting machines,” the claimants’ attorney said. “Anyone who participated in early voting or who has been to the courthouse since March 6 has been exposed.”After being exposed to the dust, Virginia Wamsley immediately had difficulty breathing and the dust caused immediate damage to her lungs, which was the cause of her contracting pneumonia and other health problems. She was hospitalized many times and even required surgery, but these health problems are what led to her death. The plaintiffs’ attorney said, “Mrs. Wamsley’s doctors told her son that her death was directly caused by the dust she had inhaled.”

Bureau of Labor Statistics determine 10 Most Dangerous Jobs in the US

Published on: June 15, 2012 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics‘ most recent study, there were 4,547 occupational injury fatalities in 2010. The majority of these injuries occur in only a handful of occupations that are the most dangerous ways to earn a living in the United States. Certain jobs carry an underlying danger that can reach up to 116 fatalities per 100,000 workers.1. Fishing- The most dangerous job in the country on average since 1992. The fatality rate is 116 per 100,000 workers, 29 in total.

2. Logging Workers- Logging fatalities have increased 63.8% from 2009 to 2010 (36 fatalities to 59) with more than half of the incidents resulting from being struck by an object. The fatality rate is 91.9 per 100,000 workers, 59 in total.

3. Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers- Transportation accidents, including crashes, were a leading factor in the rate, which is 70.6 per 100,000 workers, or 78 in total.

Haverhill Teen Tried and Convicted of Homicide in Fatal Crash Resulting From Texting While Driving

Published on: June 14, 2012 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

The car accident occurred on February 20, 2011 on River Street in Haverhill. Aaron Deveau, then seventeen, crossed the centerline and smashed head-on into Donald Bowley’s car, carrying him and Luz Roman, the sole passenger. Luz Roman, Bowley’s girlfriend, suffered from collapsed lungs, broke all of her ribs and her pelvis and leg were fractured. Bowley unfortunately suffered massive injuries and did not survive; he died in the hospital on March 10, 2011.

The teen claims that he was not texting at the time of the accident, but that he sent and received four text messages in the minutes preceding the crash. Deveau is charged with violating the new Massachusetts state law that makes it a crime when a driver injures someone during a crash while texting and driving. He is also charged with negligent motor vehicle homicide and the prosecutors and trying to persuade jurors that his texting while driving warrants a criminal conviction.The Safe Driving Law Ch 90/8M(5) states, “Operators cannot use any mobile telephone or handheld device capable of accessing the Internet to write, send, or read an electronic message including text messages, emails, and instant messages or to access the Internet while operating a vehicle. Law applies even if the vehicle is stopped in traffic.”

Judge Stephen Abany presided over this case. The judge sentenced Deveau to concurrent sentences of two and a half years on a charge of motor vehicle homicide and two years for negligent operation of a motor vehicle causing serious injury while texting. Due to Deveau’s age and lack of a criminal record, Judge Abany ordered him to serve one year in the Essex County House of Corrections. Deveau’s license was also suspended for fifteen years in accordance with the Safe Driving Law.

Everett Crossing Guard Struck and Killed During Morning Commute

Published on: June 13, 2012 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

Seventy one year old, Marie Stewart, was killed after a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority pickup truck struck her as she entered a crosswalk near George Keverian Elementary School. The risks crossing guards take each day to ensure street safety often go unnoticed.

In the past decade, two crossing guards have been struck and killed, and two others struck and injured in the Boston area. The Boston Police Department employs 198 crossing guards and the Department of Conservation and Recreation employ about 40.Crossing guards receive four hours of classroom training before they are taken to the street to test their ability to direct pedestrians across their specific intersection. Crossing the street is usually the most dangerous part of the trip to school for children. “There are lots and lots of parents who feel comfortable sending their child to school by foot or by bicycle because they know that a crossing guard is part of a child’s trip to school,” said the associate director of theNational Center for Safe Routes to School.

Unfortunately, crossing guards are not allowed to issue tickets to drivers who violate traffic laws. Many are paid a little more than minimum wage, which is not just compensation for the dangerous job that they perform.

AIG to Pay $146 Million Workers’ Compensation Settlement to the States

Published on: June 6, 2012 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

American International Group (AIG) agreed to pay state regulators $100 million in fines and $46.4 million in premium taxes and assessments. The company is guilty of misreporting workers’ compensation premiums from 1985 to 1996, hiding at least $2.12 billion, by attributing it to other lines of insurance and thereby lowering its assessments and taxes.

“AIG systematically underreported workers’ compensation insurance premium by putting this premium into the general liability or commercial automobile liability categories. The practical effect of this misreporting was to report premium in lines of business with lower residual market obligations or premium tax rates and assessments.” said Kevin McCarthy, president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).All states and the District of Columbia participated in the examination. Florida was one of the lead states conducting the examinations and the probes built on previous inquiries by the attorney general of New York in 2006 as well as officials in Indiana, Minnesota and Rhode Island. Massachusetts is slated to receive $3.4 million in fines and penalties alone.

Before the settlement could take effect, AIG had to reconcile a $450 million class-action settlement with some of AIG’s competitors that suffered losses due to its underreporting. The companies contested that the underreporting of premiums forced them to pay higher than necessary assessments to fund different markets around the country. Hartford Financial Services Group, Travelers Indemnity, Technology Insurance, ACE Ina Holdings, Auto-Owners Insurance Co., Companion Property & Casualty Insurance Co., and Firstcomp Insurance Co. were some of the companies that participated in that lawsuit. Another lawsuit called for AIG to pay out $25 million to several insurance guaranty associations around the country, and this settlement also went into effect before the recent one with the states.

Middleton Adhesive Manufacturer Settles DOL Workplace Safety Litigation for $600,000

Published on: May 21, 2012 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

A Middleton, Massachusetts adhesives manufacturer has settled litigation related to a number of safety violation citations issued by the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) following a March 2011 workplace explosion. In September 2011, Bostik Inc. received $917,000 in proposed penalties for 50 safety violations following a six-month OSHA investigation of the explosion. The company recently agreed to take corrective action and pay a total of $600,000 in fines.

Bostik was accused of failing to correct serious deficiencies in the company’s direct solvation process safety management program despite that internal and third-party compliance audits revealed several program inadequacies. A process safety management program is a detailed set of procedures that an employer must follow in order to address the dangers associated with the use of hazardous chemicals. Bostik used large quantities of acetone in the company’s manufacturing process and on the day of the explosion a transfer line valve was allegedly left open. As a result, acetone vapors reportedly escaped and ignited. Fortunately, the workplace explosion occurred when the company’s manufacturing plant was largely empty.

Following an investigation of the accident, OSHA issued nine willful violations with proposed penalties of $630,000 to Bostik. A willful violation exists when an employer knowingly disregards the law with plain indifference to the health and safety of company employees. In addition to an incomplete process safety management program, the company also reportedly failed to address prior health and safety incidents, and failed to ensure forklifts and electrical equipment were approved for use in an environment where flammable vapors may be present.

OSHA Proposes $130,300 in Fines for Safety Violations Following Worker’s Death at Lancaster Package Manufacturing Facility

Published on: May 12, 2012 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

In early May, the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued citations to a Lancaster, Massachusetts packaging manufacturer for 12 alleged willful and serious safety violations. OSHA issued the citations after an investigation of Horn Packaging Corporation following an employee death in a workplace accident on November 7, 2011. As a result of the investigation, the company now faces $130,300 in proposed fines.

Horn Packaging received one willful citation for an alleged failure to provide protection to employees who were exposed to moving parts on one of the company’s machines. The willful violation was issued as a result of the 2011 employee death. The worker was killed after he became entangled in a machine drive shaft that reportedly lacked proper safety guards. According to Mary Hoye, a Massachusetts Area Director for OSHA, proper machinery safeguards would likely have prevented the tragic fatality. OSHA issues willful violations when inspectors believe an employer intentionally or voluntarily disregarded the law or exhibited plain disregard for the health and safety of its workers. The willful violation resulted in a proposed penalty of $70,000.

The company was also cited $60,300 in proposed penalties for 11 serious violations. The violations included additional machine guard hazards as well as a failure to provide employees with safety training, failure to implement a written chemical hazard communication program, failure to place covers over electrical boxes, and failure to address deficiencies in Horn Packaging’s hazardous energy control program. The goal of the energy control program is to keep machinery from becoming engaged and injuring or killing workers during maintenance. OSHA will issue a serious violation when an employer knew or should have known about a safety hazard that is likely to cause serious physical harm or death to an employee.

Massachusetts-Based Stone Fabricator Fined $47,600 for Serious and Repeat Safety Violations

Published on: May 7, 2012 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an arm of the United States Department of Labor, has cited a Massachusetts-based stone fabricator $47,600 in proposed fines for serious and repeat violations at a Connecticut facility. OSHA inspected International Stone Inc.’s Ansonia granite and marble fabrication site following a safety complaint. During the inspection, 11 alleged workplace safety violations were discovered.

OSHA cited the Woburn-based company $35,000 in proposed fines for nine alleged serious violations. The serious violations included employee operation of grinders with no guards and no eye, hand, or face protections, use of unapproved electrical machinery in wet conditions, misuse of extension cords, inaccessible circuit breakers, improperly maintained lift crane buttons, unmarked and inaccessible exits, and trip and fall hazards. A serious violation is a violation that an employer knew or should have known was substantially likely to cause serious harm or death to an employee.

International Stone also received $12,600 in proposed fines for two repeat violations. A repeat violation occurs when an employer is cited more than once in a five-year-period for a violation of a substantially similar federal safety rule, regulation, or standard. The alleged repeat hazards included failure to inspect lifting cranes for potential defects or hazards and the use of extension cords that were not approved for a wet environment in wet conditions. International Stone was previously cited for similar violations at its Marshfield, Massachusetts location in 2008.

OSHA Proposes $589,200 in Fines for Safety Violations at Tewksbury-Based Grocery Chain

Published on: April 27, 2012 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has filed a complaint against Tewksbury, Massachusetts-based DeMoulas Super Markets for fall and laceration hazards at the company’s chain of Market Basket stores. The Boston Regional Solicitor’s Office also requested enterprisewide relief against the grocery chain after an OSHA inspection of several of the company’s more than 60 stores located in Massachusetts and New Hampshire revealed the company allegedly subjected workers to dangerous conditions. The two most recent OSHA inspections resulted in 30 alleged willful, repeat, and serious violations of workplace safety standards with proposed fines of $589,200.

According to OSHA, Market Basket stores reportedly exposed employees to unguarded fall hazards in work and storage areas at the company’s Rindge and Concord stores. DeMoulas Super Markets was also previously cited for the same fall hazard at Concord, Fitchburg, Lawrence, and Tewksbury stores. Additionally, an employee at both the Rindge and Billerica locations was seriously injured as a result of falls in recent years. In April 2011, a worker reportedly suffered a head injury and broken bones after falling 11 feet onto a concrete floor in Rindge. Following the accident, location managers allegedly refused to call emergency responders. Instead, the injured worker was carried by managers to a loading dock where a relative picked him up. The relative finally transported the hurt worker to a local hospital.

The super market chain is also accused of failing to protect deli, bakery, and produce employees from being cut by knives and other instruments. OSHA cited the company for neglecting to identify and provide worker hand protection needs. After OSHA issued citations for similar hazards in 2006, Market Basket stores agreed to conduct a job hazard analysis at each location but reportedly failed to follow through with the requirement. Company employees allegedly suffered more than 40 hand laceration injuries at the supermarket chain’s Concord and Rindge stores between 2008 and 2011. DeMoulas Super Markets was previously cited by OSHA for the same hazards at its Tewksbury and Westford locations.

Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Blog