Filing A Claim In Massachusetts

Normally it is an employer’s obligation to initiate the workers’ compensation claims process by reporting a worker’s job-related injury. This makes it important to notify your employer in writing whenever you suffer a work-related injury or disabling condition. Your written report should include specific information about the time and date when the accident happened, where it happened, what happened, what sort of injury you suffered, as well as any witnesses to the accident.

For experienced legal help filing your workers’ compensation claim, please contact us online or call us toll free at 800-367-0871 to speak with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. We have more than 20 years of experience fighting for the rights of individuals injured in the course of their employment.

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the workplace injury lawyers at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. 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.

More About Workers’ Compensation Claims

If your injury keeps you off work for five full or partial calendar days, or requires you to obtain medical treatment, Massachusetts law requires your employer to file notice of your injury with the Department of Industrial Accidents and the employer’s workers’ compensation insurer. This is done with what is known as Form 101, “Employer’s First Report of Injury or Fatality,” and it must be filed within seven calendar days from the fifth day of your disability. The workers’ compensation insurer then has 14 days from the time it receives your employer’s notice to investigate and decide whether it will pay benefits to you. If your employer does not file notice of your claim as required by law, it is subject to penalties for failing to do so.

If your employer fails or refuses to file a report of your accident, you will need to report your injury to your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer and the Department of Industrial Accidents using what is known as Form 110, “Employee’s Claim.” (This is the same form that you would file if your claim were later denied by the workers’ compensation insurance company; more information about it is included just below.)

You should be able to find out the name and contact information for your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer from your employer, either by asking your employer directly, or from a poster displayed in your workplace. If that fails, you can contact the Office of Insurance within the Department of Industrial Accidents at 617.727.4900, and get their help in finding out the name and contact information for the insurance company.

When To File A Workers’ Compensation Claim

You should file a worker’s compensation claim, yourself, in three situations:

1. Your employer won’t report your workplace injury or illness despite your having provided written notice of your injury;
2. Your employer does report your claim, but the claim is either denied by the workers’ compensation insurance company, or the insurance company never responds; or
3. The workers’ compensation insurance company approves your claim, but it doesn’t provide the workers’ compensation benefits that you believe you ought to receive (whether it agrees to fewer benefits than you believe you should receive, or it later modifies or terminates benefits for reasons that you disagree with).

If you are facing any of those situations, then you should file a claim.

Note that for a work-related injury, you must file your claim within four years of the date of the injury. For a work-related illness, the time limit is four years from the date you first learned that your illness was work-related. Regarding a claim for death benefits, survivors or dependents must file a claim within four years of the date of the employee’s death.

Filing Your Workers’ Compensation Claim

As an employee, you file a workers’ compensation claim using Department of Industrial Accidents Form 110, “Employee’s Claim.” Getting your claim on file means that you are starting an organized dispute resolution process for obtaining a final and binding agreement, or a final and binding decision by an Administrative Judge, about the benefits that you’re entitled to receive. There’s more information on that process in the following section.

Form 110 requests information about your injury, what types of compensation you’re seeking, and various forms of documentation pertinent to your claim. It is very important that you provide information as fully and accurately as possible when completing the form, and that you provide all documentation requested.

Among the documents that should accompany your Form 110, you should include medical reports, medical bills, and any other available medical evidence which shows that you suffered a work-related injury or disabling condition. In addition to providing the original of Form 110 to the Department of Industrial Accidents, you also should send a copy to the workers’ compensation insurer.

Any failure to provide necessary information or supporting documents, as well as any errors in preparing the Form 110 and submitting claim package to the Department of Industrial Accidents, can result in your claim being returned to you for correction or supplementation before being submitted again.

Should You Be Represented By An Attorney When You File Your Claim?

It’s your decision whether to file your workers’ compensation claim form yourself, or to retain an attorney who can represent you in the workers’ compensation claims process. If you decide to proceed with your claim without an attorney, be sure you understand that you will be solely responsible for advancing your claim through a complex benefits system. This requires marshaling the evidence proving your claim, and in some cases carrying out time-consuming and complicated witness interviews. And, throughout the proceedings, your claim and your efforts will be opposed by a skilled attorney whose job is to represent your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company.

You should ask yourself whether you really wish to go it alone, or instead have the benefit of an experienced workers’ compensation attorney who can: (1) answer your questions; (2) sit down with you to understand your circumstances and best advise you about your claim and maximizing the benefits to which you’re entitled under Massachusetts law; (3) and advocate on your behalf in all stages of the claims process.

Injured on the Job? Contact Our Workplace Accident Lawyers

The Massachusetts’ workers’ compensation system is designed to ensure that workers who are injured on the job receive paid medical treatment and compensation for lost wages after being fully or partly disabled for five days or more. The experienced workers’ compensation lawyers at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C., based in Boston, Massachusetts, can help you obtain your full benefits after a workplace accident.

For a free case evaluation of your workers’ compensation claim, please contact us online or call us toll free at 800-367-0871 to speak with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. We have more than 20 years of experience fighting for the rights of individuals injured in the course of their employment.

Our workplace injury lawyers at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C. 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.