Massachusetts employers are required to provide workers’ compensation benefits to employees who suffer work-related injuries; however, independent contractors do not have the right to such benefits. Thus, a worker’s classification can impact their rights. However, it may not always be clear whether a worker is an employee or an independent…
Under the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act), employers generally must give employees who sustain work-related harm workers’ compensation benefits. Employers must fulfill this duty regardless of whether a third party causes the harm in question, and the employer may not have recourse for pursuing claims against the third party…
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act) people injured in catastrophic accidents at work have the right to pursue workers’ compensation benefits from their employers. In exchange for that right, though, they waive the right to pursue negligence claims against their employers for work-related harm. Further, the same…
The Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act) grants certain protections for employees. Specifically, it allows them to recover medical and wage loss benefits from their employers if they sustain injuries in the workplace. In exchange for such rights, though, employees are generally precluded from pursuing civil claims against their employers…
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act), people hurt while working can often recover workers’ compensation benefits. People must meet certain qualifications in order to obtain such benefits, however. First, their harm must be work-related, which generally means that it must occur while they are at work or…
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act, the right to recover workers’ compensation benefits arises out of the employee-employer relationship. While generally, a person can only recover workers’ compensation benefits from one employer for work-related injury, in some instances, more than one employer will be liable. In other words, in…
Generally, the law protects employees who suffer injuries at work by granting them the right to recover workers’ compensation benefits for work-related harm. While generally, such rights are conferred by state law, they can arise from federal law, like the Defense Base Act, as well. In a recent Massachusetts case,…
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act), employers must provide workers’ compensation benefits to employees who sustain work-related injuries. While generally, such benefits are paid by insurers, employers have the option of being self-insured. If they choose to do so, they are nonetheless bound by the terms of…
Pursuant to Massachusetts law, employers have an obligation to pay workers’ compensation benefits to employees who sustain injuries while working. Only work-related injuries are compensable, though, and if an employer can establish that outside factors caused an employee’s harm, they can avoid paying benefits. As shown in a recent Massachusetts…
The Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act provides that employees who are hurt while working can recover medical benefits and wage loss benefits for losses related to their harm. In some instances, other benefits may be available as well. For example, as discussed in a recent Massachusetts ruling, in some instances, assault…