Workers’ compensation may help injured utilities worker

People in Massachusetts who are injured on the job may find themselves struggling to bounce back both physically and financially. Fortunately, workers’ compensation can help in both areas. One utilities worker in another state recently suffered injuries on the job at a wastewater treatment plant.

The workplace accident took place on a Wednesday. Authorities said the accident happened when a district wastewater treatment plant catwalk broke. The employee ended up falling between 25 and 30 feet.

District managers said there was no reason to think that the injured worker was not abiding by safety protocols and guidelines. The incident was reported to the state division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An independent investigator was also slated to be hired to look into the accident so that officials can prevent such accidents in the future. How this accident ended up being discovered is one part of what is being investigated.

Companies in Massachusetts must buy workers’ compensation insurance that provides benefits to workers who are injured on the job. The benefit of this insurance program is two-fold: First, it enables employees who have been hurt at work to receive monetary benefits no matter who was at fault in the accident. These workers also receive the medical care they need to get better quickly. Second, through workers’ compensation, companies are protected from being sued by their injured workers. It is within the rights of employees to pursue the appropriate amount of benefits and the medical treatments to which they are entitled after being hurt on the job.

Source: uniondemocrat.com, “TUD worker injured in catwalk fall“, Guy McCarthy, Nov. 27, 2015