Thousands of Workers Injured Each Year on the Job

Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) collects data and formulates statistics each year regarding workplace injuries and workplace fatalities. The data is extensive and broken down into workplace categories, but one thing is certain: thousands of workers are injured or die at work each year.

OSHA has worked recently to prevent such incidents by issuing citation and fining businesses for not abiding by specific workplace regulations and preventative procedures. Unfortunately, accidents do still happen. So if you are injured at work, you have the right to collect workers’ compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of function and disfigurement, and lost wages for time missed.

If you are injured, you should contact an attorney to help you in collecting what you deserve. Here are some recent cases in which workers’ compensation would be applicable.

In September of 2011, three constructions workers were injured in Boston while working on the foundation of an eighteen story building. The steel rods used to reinforce construction materials shifted, which pinned two construction workers to the ground and injured another. Firefighters used a crane to lift the workers from the three-story ditch. All three workers were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

In March, a Boeing worker was injured in Washington. The man was seriously injured at the company’s facility when he somehow became pinned between two wing parts of a 747 aircraft. The employee was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

In Wisconsin, a crane doing bridge work collapsed killing one worker and seriously injuring another. The accident occurred on the Butte des Morts Bridge this month. A Department of Transportation representative says that the crane was attempting to lift a beam when it collapsed.

A construction worker died at a New Hampshire construction site after falling fifteen feet from a lift and suffering a head injury. The accident happened when the hook block of a crane accidentally made contact with the scissor lift that the deceased was working on, causing the lift to topple over.

Last week, a man was hospitalized after being pinned under thirty five foot boat he was working on. The 6,000 pound boat fell on top of the worker, and was able to be removed by a forklift. He was taken by helicopter with serious injuries to his chest and abdomen.

A steel beam fell fifteen feet and struck a construction worker in Cambridge. He was conscious and alert when police arrived, and was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Pulgini & Norton, LLP attorneys have handled workers’ compensation claims for over 25 years in and around Boston and its surrounding areas. If you or a family member has been injured at work and would like to seek legal assistance, please contact us at (781) 843-2200 or (888) 344-2046 or email us.

Cited Sources:

Three construction workers injured at Northern Avenue site, boston.com, September 23, 2011

Boeing worker hurt in accident at Everett, Wash., boston.com, March 20, 2012

1 dead, 1 injured in Wisconsin crane collapse, boston.com, July 5, 2012

Vt. worker dies from fall at NH construction site, boston.com, March 14, 2012

Man pinned while painting boat in Tiverton, boston.com, July 24, 2012

Steel beam falls on construction worker in Cambridge, boston.com, July 22, 2012

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