Office Injury Lawyer in Massachusetts

Office Injuries and Your Legal Rights

Office workers are not immune from serious injuries. Slip and falls on wet floors, trips over unsecured cables and uneven transitions, falls on inadequately maintained stairs, injuries from falling objects, parking lot accidents, and ergonomic injuries from inadequate workstation setup all occur in office environments. When an office injury occurs in a workplace you are employed in, workers’ compensation is your primary remedy. When an injury occurs in an office that is not your employer’s, for example, a building you are visiting, premises liability applies. Attorney Jeffrey C. Lavey handles both frameworks for office injury victims throughout Massachusetts.

Workers’ Compensation for Office Injuries

If you are injured at your employer’s office during the course of your employment, Massachusetts workers’ compensation provides medical benefits for all necessary treatment and wage replacement benefits for time missed from work. These benefits are available regardless of fault, you do not need to prove your employer was negligent. However, workers’ compensation is an exclusive remedy against your employer, meaning you generally cannot also sue your employer for your injury. Attorney Lavey advises office injury clients on when workers’ compensation applies and when additional claims are available.

Third-Party Claims for Office Workers

Even when workers’ compensation applies, a separate personal injury lawsuit against a third party may also be available. If your injury was caused by a contractor performing work in the building, by defective equipment, by the building owner’s negligence in maintaining common areas, or by any entity other than your direct employer, a third-party personal injury claim may be pursued simultaneously with your workers’ compensation claim. This combination can significantly increase your total recovery. Attorney Lavey evaluates third-party claims in every office injury case.

Premises Liability for Office Visitors

When an office visitor, a client, contractor, delivery person, or other non-employee, is injured by hazardous conditions in or around an office building, premises liability applies. The building owner or occupying tenant owes visitors a duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions, address known hazards, and warn of conditions that cannot be immediately remedied. A visitor who slips on a wet entrance floor or trips on a broken tile in a common area has a premises liability claim against the responsible party. Attorney Lavey handles office visitor injury claims throughout Massachusetts.

Ergonomic Injuries and Workers’ Compensation

Repetitive stress injuries and ergonomic conditions, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, back injuries from poor workstation setup, develop gradually in office workers but are compensable under Massachusetts workers’ compensation when they are causally related to work activities. Establishing the work-related nature of gradual onset conditions requires medical documentation linking the condition to job duties. Attorney Lavey handles workers’ compensation claims for occupational disease and repetitive stress conditions in office workers.

Frequently Asked Questions