Boston Injury Attorney Blog

Recently, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has expressed concern over the number of Massachusetts teen work injuries. Over the last decade, the number of work-related injuries sustained by Massachusetts teens has seen only minimal declines. According to the Boston Globe, from 2004-2008, three Massachusetts teens under age 18 were fatally injured while working and more than 4,000 sought emergency care for injuries sustained on the job. Now, nearly 3 teens for every 100 with jobs in the state have sustained a work-related injury. While this appears to be a low rate, that is about twice the rate for older workers in the state.

The Massachusetts Department of Health discovered the underwhelming improvements in teen work-injuries after their "Teens at Work" project, which collects data from area hospital emergency departments and workers' compensation claims. According to John Auerbach, the state's public health commissioner, the Department of Health was "trying to determine what type of injuries occur so we can prevent them in the future...sometimes, what's required is more training, sometimes educating employers, and sometimes changing laws."

About 30% of teen work-injuries occur in retail jobs and an additional 30% in hotel, restaurant, and food-service jobs. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, what is most troubling about the findings is that employers consistently violate minor employment laws in the state. For example, despite a law prohibiting most work for minors under age 14, nearly one-fifth of Massachusetts middle schoolers reported that they held a job in 2009. Additionally, many of the reported injuries occur when the teens are carrying out orders from their employers. This has resulted in a number of reported injuries, including "thumb cuts from meat slicers, shoulder strains from heavy lifting, and hand injuries from cracked plates in the dishwasher."

Under federal law, minors cannot be placed in dangerous work situations. Nine months ago, the specific regulations were passed that prohibit minors from engaging in such dangerous activities like using meat slicers, wood-working machines, or bakery equipment. As this latest report shows, though, Massachusetts employers are not adhering to the laws as strictly as they should.

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Due to unsafe working conditions, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently fined a Massachusetts company. The Danvers, Massachusetts Company, A.C. Castle Construction Co. Inc., was issued 21 citations and $60,800 in fines.

The investigation began after employees were seen working on roofs without the proper safety equipment, putting them at risk of injury. Employees were also observed working within three feet of live electrical wire, using ladders without nonconductive handrails, and using ungrounded or frayed power cords. Three of the 21 citations were repeat citations, after OSHA had observed similar hazards at a work cite in Hamilton, Massachusetts in December of 2009. The remaining 18 citations were classified as 'serious' due to a substantial probability that death or serious harm might result from a hazard the employer knew or should have known about.

OSHA is the government entity involved in ensuring businesses of all types offer safe and healthy working conditions for their employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 holds employers responsible for providing safe working environments for employees. Each employer shall comply with occupational safety and health standards and shall furnish each employee with a working environment free from recognized hazards that could cause death or physical harm.

The OSHA director for Essex and Middlesex counties in Massachusetts indicated that the working environment should be of 'vital concern to employers,' and that conditions such as those maintained by A.C. Castle Construction Co, Inc. should 'never have existed in the first place.' He also advised employers to participate in a 'spring tune-up' for the purposes of reviewing safety guidelines with employees and inspecting work cites to ensure they comply with OSHA's standards.

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A Massachusetts worker was recently awarded $1.28M after suffering a fractured arm, severe lacerations, and ulnar nerve damage while cleaning a pasta machine at her job. The machine turned on unexpectedly and trapped her arm for 10 minutes, causing the injuries. The woman sought legal redress for her injuries in Reyes v. Tecna, which was heard in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, Massachusetts, in front of Judge Thomas Connors.

The injured plaintiff required numerous surgeries and never regained her ability to work. Accordingly, she brought a claim against the machine manufacturer for breach of warranty and negligence, arguing that there were not adequate warnings about accidentally switching the machine on. She was awarded $1.28M for her lost lifetime earnings, pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and medical expenses.

In this particular case, breaches of warranty and negligence charges were brought against the manufacturer for the woman's injuries. However, in many cases where personal injuries result from a defective product, the manufacturer is held strictly liable for the injuries. In strict liability cases, if injured by a defective product, you do not need to prove that the manufacturer was negligent, but only that the product was defective and the defect caused the injury. Such strict liability actions for personal injuries or death caused by a defective product can be brought against parties that designed, manufactured, or sold the product.