Workplace Injury Lawyer in Massachusetts

Your Rights After a Workplace Injury in Massachusetts

Every Massachusetts worker injured on the job is entitled to workers' compensation benefits without having to prove that the employer was negligent. Workers' compensation provides medical benefits for all necessary treatment and wage replacement for lost work time. But for many serious workplace injuries, particularly those caused by third parties, defective equipment, or hazardous conditions created by someone other than the direct employer, additional personal injury compensation beyond workers' compensation is available. Attorney Jeffrey C. Lavey represents injured workers throughout Massachusetts and pursues every source of recovery.

Workers' Compensation: What It Covers

Massachusetts workers' compensation covers all medical treatment for work-related injuries including physician visits, emergency care, surgery, physical therapy, prescriptions, and medical equipment. It provides wage replacement benefits, a percentage of the average weekly wage, for time missed from work. Permanent impairment benefits compensate for lasting physical limitations. Vocational rehabilitation benefits support retraining for workers who cannot return to their previous occupation. Attorney Lavey pursues every category of available workers' compensation benefit for every injured worker client.

Third-Party Claims: When You Can Do More Than Workers' Comp

Workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy against your direct employer. But when a workplace injury was caused or contributed to by any party other than your direct employer, a negligent third-party driver, a manufacturer of defective equipment, a subcontractor on a construction site, a property owner whose premises created a hazard, a full personal injury lawsuit against that third party is available simultaneously. Third-party lawsuits recover pain and suffering, which workers' compensation never provides, and can significantly exceed the workers' compensation recovery in serious cases. Attorney Lavey evaluates every workplace injury for third-party liability.

When Workers' Compensation Is Denied or Disputed

Employers and their insurance carriers dispute many workers' compensation claims, challenging whether the injury occurred at work, whether it is as serious as claimed, whether the treatment is necessary, or whether the claimant is able to return to work. Disputed claims proceed through the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA). Attorney Lavey represents injured workers at every level of the DIA process and has the medical expert relationships and advocacy experience to pursue disputed claims successfully.

The Most Important Things to Do After a Workplace Injury

Report the injury to your employer immediately and ensure that a written incident report is completed. Seek medical attention and tell every treating provider that the injury occurred at work. Follow all treatment recommendations and keep all medical appointments. Document your symptoms and their daily impact in a personal journal. Do not provide a recorded statement to the workers' compensation insurance carrier without first consulting Attorney Lavey. Contact Attorney Lavey as soon as possible to ensure your rights are fully protected from the earliest stages of the claim.

Frequently Asked Questions