Slip & Fall Workplace Accidents

Slip and falls represent the majority of workplace accidents in Massachusetts’s industries. In fact, slip and fall incidents are second only to vehicle accidents on the job as a cause of occupational fatalities. Because of the high frequency of slip and fall workplace injuries, federal safety standards address walking and working surfaces for general industry, the construction industry, shipyards and marine terminals.

If you or a loved one has suffered a workplace injury from a slip and fall accident, contact our experienced Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorneys about the benefits you are entitled to, including lost wages, medical treatment expenses and vocational rehabilitation costs as a result of a work-related slip and fall accident.

Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. is a workers’ compensation law firm with more than 20 years experience fighting for the rights of individuals injured in the course of their employment. The workplace injury attorneys at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. exclusively represent individuals injured in the course of their employment, providing individual attention to every client we represent.

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, our job injury lawyers help injured workers across Massachusetts, including but not limited to Boston, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth and Merrimack River. We also represent Rhode Island and New Hampshire residents whose injuries occurred in Massachusetts or who were hired in Massachusetts but who were injured out of state.

For a free, no obligation evaluation of your slip and fall workplace injury, please complete our online form or call us toll free at 800-367-0871.

Workplace Hazards That Cause Slips and Fall Injuries

According to Massachusetts workplace safety data, slips, trips and falls resulting in workplace injuries account for 20 percent of workplace injuries in private industry in Massachusetts resulting in missed days of work.

Workplace hazards that can cause slip and fall accidents are numerous. Even before you walk in the door of your workplace or job site, slip and fall hazards are present in a slippery walkway, a parking lot covered with snow or ice, a pothole or an uneven surface. Other workplace hazards that can trap your foot or cause you to lose your footing and slip and fall include the following:

• Building entrances where rain and snow are tracked inside;
• Stairways;
• Unguarded ledges and platforms;
• Warped or uneven flooring;
• Wrinkled carpeting;
• Slippery surfaces;
• Poorly lit work areas, hallways or passageways;
• Exposed cords stretched across hallways and work areas;
• Portable ladders;
• Open hatches;
• Barges;
• Spilled water around water fountains, sinks and restrooms;
• Grease or oil or fluids on floor;
• Clogged drains preventing wet surfaces from draining; and
• Ice and snow covered parking lots.

Certain occupations record especially high rates of slip and fall injuries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care workers had an injury rate from slip and falls that was nearly double the overall rate for all private industries. Caused by water, grease and other fluids on the floors, slips, trips and fall are the second most common cause of workplace injuries in hospitals behind overexertion.

More than 600 U.S. workers died in fatal falls in 2009. In addition, nearly half of those fatal workplace falls involved construction workers.

What Workers’ Compensation Disability Benefits Are Available?

If a slip and fall in the workplace has left you incapacitated, you may be eligible for temporary total disability, partial disability or permanent and total incapacity. Employee’s workers’ compensation benefits are determined by several factors including your average weekly wage and your degree of incapacity from a workplace injury. A knowledgeable workplace injuries attorney can review your asbestos exposure and advise you about which benefits you may collect.

If you are employed by a subcontractor and a general contractor’s inattention to workplace safety contributed to your slip and fall accident, you also may be able to bring a third-party lawsuit against the general contractor to collect damages for your injuries and medical bills.

Why You Need a Workers’ Compensation Attorney

The Massachusetts’ workers’ compensation system is set up to ensure that employees who are injured or disabled by workplace injuries such as slips and falls receive benefits while they are incapacitated. All employees have legal rights to workers’ compensation for work-related injuries. Yet, employees often have trouble obtaining their full workers’ compensation benefits, even though Massachusetts has a no-fault workers’ compensation system. The insurance company may deny your injury was caused by a slip and fall in the workplace.

At the hearing to decide your workers’ compensation claim, the employer’s insurance company will have a lawyer arguing on their behalf. That’s why you need your own experienced workers’ compensation attorney standing up for your legal right to benefits.

Contact Our Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Today

While many Massachusetts lawyers practice in a number of different areas of the law, our firm concentrates exclusively in the area of workers compensation. Our firm believes in a proactive educational approach to the law. Each client is an active participant in all facets of their case. Our workplace injury lawyers do not pass off cases to other Massachusetts law firms or to junior associates. A client will have the same attorney handling his or her claim from start to conclusion.

Our workers’ compensation attorneys handle claims for Massachusetts workers who were injured in Massachusetts or while working out of state. We also represent Rhode Island and New Hampshire residents whose injuries occurred in Massachusetts or who were hired in Massachusetts but injured out of state.

For a free, no obligation evaluation of your workers’ compensation claim, contact the Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. through our online form or toll free at 800-367-0871.

Remember that if you hire a workers’ compensation attorney because you have been denied benefits, Massachusetts’ workers’ compensation law states that the workers’ compensation insurer will pay the majority of your attorneys’ fees.