Archive for October 2021
What Does ‘Res Judicata’ Mean and How Can It Impact My Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Case?
There can many traps awaiting the unwary claimant in a workers’ compensation case. Your employer, or its insurer, likely will be armed with knowledgeable attorneys who are well-versed both in the facts of the case and the law. They may recite Latin words and phrases you don’t know, or legal terms with which you are…
Read MoreWhat It Takes to Qualify as an Employee (and Not an Independent Contractor) in a Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Case
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently issued an important new ruling regarding who qualifies as an employee and who is an independent contractor when it comes to workers’ compensation benefits. While court did not adopt the rule for which the injured worker advocated and the ruling ultimately was an unsuccessful outcome for this particular worker, that does…
Read MoreHow Small Details Can Make Big Differences in Your Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Case
A famous book once advised, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” While that advice may work well in many areas, the law is not one of those areas. In legal matters, including workers’ compensation cases, small details can make big differences in outcomes. To make sure you have all of your bases covered in your workers’…
Read MoreObtaining the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Survivor Benefits You Need After Losing a Loved One in a Workplace Accident
Each workplace accident that ends in death is tragic as it cuts a life short far too soon. It is also traumatic for the loved ones left behind. In addition to emotional damage, workers who die as a result of industrial accidents can potentially cause major financial crises for their immediate loved ones, as they…
Read MoreHow the ‘Prevailing Wage’ Law Impacts Your Claim for Workers’ Compensation in Massachusetts
For any worker who’s been hurt on the job, workers’ compensation benefits can serve as an essential aid, allowing them to meet their financial obligations while they are unable to work. This can be especially vital for manual laborers with limited academic backgrounds, as they may lack the skills to take on many types of…
Read MoreReviewing Board Upholds an Award of Temporary Total Disability Benefits for a Massachusetts Worker with Carpal Tunnel Injuries
When you find yourself in need of workers’ compensation benefits, it is important to be sure you make your best possible presentation and arguments at your hearing. It is generally much easier to defeat an employer’s appeal of your successful workers’ compensation hearing (and award of benefits) than it is to mount a successful appeal…
Read MoreTruck Driver Wins Claim for Temporary Total Disability Benefits After Falling Out of His Truck
Achieving a successful result in your initial workers’ compensation benefits hearing is very important. If you succeed and your employer appeals, there are limited ways the employer can win. An appeal that essentially asks the Reviewing Board to reweigh the evidence very likely won’t succeed. The workers’ compensation judge is the trier of fact and…
Read MoreA Boston Paramedic Was Still Entitled to His Workers’ Compensation Benefits Despite Being Suspended from His Job
Once you’ve successfully filed a workers’ compensation claim and obtained an award of benefits, your employer may attempt various techniques to stop paying, or avoid paying entirely, the benefits you were awarded. In one recent Supreme Judicial Court case, the employer tried to avoid paying because the benefits recipient was suspended from his job, and the law…
Read MoreWinning Your Trip-and-Fall Case in Massachusetts
In many situations, there may be more than one type of legal theory that allows you to win your case and obtain a recovery of damages. For one woman who broke her hip trying to enter a Cape Cod garden store, she was able to advance her premises liability lawsuit even though she didn’t have…
Read MoreWhen You Can Pursue a Massachusetts Property Owner for Injuries Caused by a Third-Party Assault
In Massachusetts, a property owner has a legal duty to those on their property to maintain it in a reasonably safe condition. While many people may associate this obligation with maintaining the property in a hazard-free condition to avoid trip-and-fall and slip-and-fall accidents, the duty actually goes beyond just that. One of the other obligations…
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