A worker was entitled to medical and disability payments under the Massachusetts worker’s compensation statute for a work related injury even though there was evidence in his own medical record that he had a pre-existing back condition. The Massachusetts Appeals Court determined that the insurer for the employer had failed…
A serious and deadly construction accident, which took place in downtown Boston on Saturday, February 7, 2009, reminds of the dangers associated with construction related work, and in particular work being performed at high elevations using lift equipment. In the Saturday incident, a mobile lift toppled and fell into a…
The wife of an employee who suffered injuries while operating a forklift, which resulted in his death, is entitled to keep an award of $1.5 million awarded by a jury who found that the manufacturer of the forklift beached a duty it owed to the subsequent users of the machine,…
A police officer who prevented an suspected prostitute from leaving a hotel by grabbing her in a hotel hallway and then detaining in her in a hotel room, after physically preventing her from leaving the premises, may be liable for personal injuries as the result of using excessive force, but not for…
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has determined that the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund must pay benefits to an employee of a tree cutting company who failed to obtained workers’ compensation insurance based on the employee’s total earnings, including wages earned from a second job with an insured employer. The thirty-three…
KOSTRZEWA, admn. v. SUFFOLK CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC. No. 07-P-1450, December 18, 2008 The Massachusetts Apppeals Court has ruled that the general contractor for a project to renovate a government building in Boston may be found liable for an accident on the job for failing to maintain a safe workplace. The…
The attorney is a Boston civil trial attorney licensed to practice in Massachusetts and New York. He has been litigating in state and federal courts in Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont for nearly thirty years. He graduated from Yale University in 1976 and from University of…
Cosmo BISAZZA’S CASESJC-10183. November 20, 2008. The Massachusetts Appeals Court has confirmed a ruling by the Industrial Accident Board that a Boston corrections officer suffered emotional injuries related to his employment, and therefore was entitled to benefits, when inmates threatened to disseminate false stories about his harassment of prisoners, and…