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COMPENSATION LAWYERS |
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Parker Scheer LLP
Boston Office
1 Constitution Plz
Boston, Massachusetts
02129
Directions
Phone: 617-886-0500
Fax: 617-886-0100
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The Workers' Compensation Act was designed to
be administered in a simple and summary manner that provides
injured workers with timely access to the Department of Industrial
Accidents. The first step in the workers' compensation battle
is a conference before an Administrative Judge who issues
a temporary order following a conference at the Department
of Industrial Accidents. The subject of these conferences
is typically a claim for benefits filed by an injured worker
whose claim has been denied by the insurance company, or a
request by the insurance company to reduce or entirely stop
paying weekly benefits. The order issued by the Judge either
instructs an insurer to start paying, or allows it to reduce
or stop paying the injured worker.
While timely access is essential, if an insurer
refuses to honor the order of the Judge, then such an appearance
is meaningless. The insurance company, which enjoys a superior
economic position over an injured worker, may be allowed to
stop paying, and the employee's only recourse is to request
a hearing before the Department. The injured worker cannot
compel the insurer to continue to pay, as he or she must first
successfully complete the hearing process, which can take
as much as a year. However, if the employee prevails, what
happens if the insurer decides it is not going comply, and
refuses to make the payments ordered?
The legislature recognized that these orders
must have compelling force in order to carry any weight. For
years, an employee's only remedy was to pursue an enforcement
action in the Superior Court, a process, which if appealed,
might take far more time. The Legislature provided additional
incentive for insurers to comply with orders when it enacted
penalties provisions when an insurer fails to make timely
payments of benefits ordered by a Judge following a conference.
Section 8(1) of the Workers' Compensation Act provides that
penalties from $200.00 to $10,000.00 are payable to employees
when an insurer refuses to make all payments ordered within
the time frame defined in the statute.
Even with such large penalties, insurers continue
to abuse their economic bargaining position to gain advantages
over injured workers. It was set against this background that
Attorney Joseph Burke pursued sanctions against the MBTA,
one of the region's largest self-insured employers, for its
refusal to pay Christopher McCarthy benefits, which Attorney
Burke won for him at a conference.
When the T defiantly refused to pay Mr. McCarthy,
Burke successfully pursued the penalties provided in the Massachusetts
Workers' Compensation Act for him. The Administrative Judge,
whose order was ignored by the T, awarded Mr. McCarthy a $
10,000.00 penalty. Unfazed by this order, the T appealed to
the DIA Reviewing Board, which upheld the decision of the
Administrative Judge.
Undeterred, the T took its appeal to the Appeals
Court of the Commonwealth. The Appeals Court rejected the
arguments of the MBTA when it affirmed the decisions of the
Department of Industrial Accidents. Mr. McCarthy, and the
system prevailed. This case is an example of what one must
be willing to do to protect the rights of the injured workers
of this Commonwealth. It sends a clear and unequivocal message
that there are lawyers who are willing to take the fight to
insurers and employers. And it sends an equally important
message that Courts of this Commonwealth will respond by protecting
the rights of the injured.
To speak with a highly experienced workers’
compensation lawyer, click
here, or telephone Parker Scheer LLP seven days
a week, toll free at 886-414-0400. There is no fee charged
to discuss your case, and all information furnished will be
kept strictly confidential.
Massachusetts
Workers' Compensation - F.A.Q's
Massachusetts
Premier Workers' Compensation Lawyers
Other Massachusetts Workers'
Compensation Resources
Massachusetts
Workers' Compensation Act
Massachusetts
Department of Industrial Accidents
Injured
Worker's Guide (Publication of Mass. Department of Labor)
The
Workers' Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau
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Parker Scheer LLP lawyers handle workers' compensation claims in Massachusetts towns including Acton, Amesbury, Amherst, Andover, Arlington,
Ashburnham, Ashfield, Ashland, Athol, Attleborough, Barnstable,
Barre, Bedford, Belmont, Berkley, Berlin, Bolton, Boston, Boxborough,
Boxford, Boylston, Bradford, Braintree, Burlington, Buzzards
Bay, Cambridge, Carlisle, Charlemont, Charlestown, Charlton,
Chelmsford, Chelsea, Clinton, Concord, Danvers, Dedham, Deerfield,
Dudley, Duxbury, East Longmeadow, Essex, Fall River, Fitchburg,
Foxboro, Framingham, Franklin, Freetown, Gardner, Gill, Gloucester,
Granby, Groveland, Hadley, Hamilton, Hanover, Haverhill, Holbrook,
Holliston, Holyoke, Hopkinton, Hubbardston, Hudson, Ipswich,
Kingston, Lakeville, Lancaster, Lawrence, Leominster, Lexington
Lincoln, Lowell, Ludlow, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Marblehead,
Marlborough, Marshfield, Maynard, Melrose, Methuen, Methuen,
Middleborough, Middlefield, Milford, Milton, Monterey, Nantucket,
Natick, Needham, New Bedford, Newbury, Newburyport, Newton,
North Attleborough, North Brookfield, Northampton, Northborough,
Paxton, Peabody, Pepperell, Pittsfield, Plymouth Provincetown,
Quincy, Reading, Richmond, Rockport, Rowe, Rowley, Salem, Saugus,
Sherborn, Southbridge, Spencer, Sterling, Stoughton, Stow, Sturbridge,
Sudbury, Templeton, Topsfield, Townsend, Truro, Upton, Wakefield,
Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley, West Boylston, West
Newbury Westborough, Westford, Weston, Westport, Williamstown,
Wilmington, Winchendon, Winchester, Woburn, Worcester, Yarmouth.
Parker Scheer also provides referral services for personal injury
lawyers in states other than Massachusetts.
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