Lawrence Workers' Compensation Law Firm

How workers' compensation cases proceed under Massachusetts law

Massachusetts workers' compensation does not ask who caused a Lawrence workplace injury. M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 26 conditions benefits on one question, whether the employee received a personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment, and the section says nothing about fault. Ordinary carelessness, inattention, or breaking a safety rule a worker knew about still leaves the claim payable. The one fault-based bar is narrow: M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 27 withholds compensation only where the injury resulted from the employee's own serious and wilful misconduct, a considerably higher standard than being at fault, and even then it does not bar a dependent's claim if the injury causes death. Nearly every Essex County employer has to carry this coverage. M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 25A requires every employer to provide for the payment of compensation, whether through a private insurer, a self-insurance group, or a self-insurance license, with no minimum headcount and only a short list of narrow statutory exceptions.

Once a claim is accepted, Massachusetts pays a Lawrence worker's lost wages on a tiered structure rather than a single flat rate. M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 34 pays sixty percent of the average weekly wage for total incapacity, for up to 156 weeks. Where a worker can return to work but not at the old earning level, sec. 35 pays sixty percent of the wage difference, capped at seventy-five percent of the sec. 34 rate, ordinarily for 260 weeks and extending to 520 weeks on findings such as a permanent loss of seventy-five percent or more of a specified bodily function. Where the incapacity for work is both permanent and total, sec. 34A pays two-thirds of the average weekly wage with no week limit at all. A separate schedule under sec. 36 compensates specific losses of function and disfigurement, paid in addition to every other benefit, with disfigurement capped at fifteen thousand dollars and limited to the face, neck and hands for scarring alone. Underneath all of it, sec. 30 requires the insurer to furnish adequate and reasonable medical care with no copayments and no deductibles, for as long as the treatment is related to the Lawrence injury.

A Lawrence workplace injury caused by someone other than the employer, a defective piece of equipment, a negligent subcontractor, a driver on the road, does not force a choice. M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 15 entitles the employee, without election, to compensation benefits and preserves a separate claim against the at-fault third party; the compensation insurer holds an interest in that recovery only to the extent of what it paid, anything above that goes to the employee, and any settlement needs board or court approval after a hearing. Attorney fees in a Essex County comp case are not privately negotiated. M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 13A fixes a dollar amount at each stage of a Department of Industrial Accidents dispute, and in a contested case the worker wins, the insurer pays that fee on top of the benefits rather than out of the weekly check. On a lump-sum settlement, the fee is capped at fifteen percent where liability has not yet been established and twenty percent once it has.

Massachusetts statutes and case law

• M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 26. Conditions benefits on whether the injury arose out of and in the course of employment; contains no fault requirement and several conclusive presumptions, including for vehicle use and fellow-employee horseplay a worker did not join.
• M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 27. The one fault-based bar in the chapter: an employee is denied compensation only for an injury caused by their own serious and wilful misconduct, and even then a dependent can still recover if the injury results in death.
• M.G.L. c. 152, secs. 34, 35 and 34A. The wage-replacement tiers: sixty percent of the average weekly wage for total incapacity (up to 156 weeks) under sec. 34, sixty percent of the wage difference for partial incapacity under sec. 35, and two-thirds of the average weekly wage with no week limit for permanent and total incapacity under sec. 34A.
• M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 36. Scheduled payments for specific losses of function and disfigurement, paid in addition to all other compensation; disfigurement is capped at fifteen thousand dollars and, for pure scarring, limited to the face, neck and hands.
• M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 15. Preserves a third-party tort claim alongside a compensation claim without requiring the worker to elect between them; gives the compensation insurer a reimbursement interest and requires board or court approval of any third-party settlement.
• M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 13A. Sets workers' compensation attorney fees by statute rather than by private negotiation; the insurer pays a fixed, stage-based fee in a contested case the worker wins, and a lump-sum settlement fee is capped at 15 or 20 percent depending on whether liability has been established.

Common case patterns in Lawrence

1. A Lawrence worker hurt performing an ordinary job task, with no dispute about how the injury happened, evaluated under the no-fault standard in sec. 26.
2. A Essex County worker whose own carelessness contributed to the injury, where the insurer cannot deny the claim without meeting the narrow serious-and-wilful-misconduct standard in sec. 27.
3. A Lawrence worker hurt by defective equipment or a negligent subcontractor, layering a third-party claim under sec. 15 on top of the compensation claim.
4. A Lawrence worker whose weekly benefit is disputed by the insurer, requiring a claim and conference before the Department of Industrial Accidents.
5. A Essex County worker with a permanent loss of function or disfigurement, seeking the separate scheduled payment under sec. 36 on top of ongoing wage-replacement benefits.

Typical timeline

1. The claim starts with notice and treatment. Massachusetts requires notice of a Lawrence workplace injury as soon as practicable, and medical treatment begins under M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 30, which requires the insurer to furnish reasonable medical care with no copayments or deductibles from the outset. The insurer then accepts or disputes the claim; a dispute moves the matter toward the Department of Industrial Accidents.
2. A disputed Essex County claim proceeds through a conciliation and, if unresolved, a conference before an administrative judge, then a full evidentiary hearing if either side still disagrees. Attorney fees at each of these stages are fixed by M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 13A, and in a case the worker wins, the insurer pays the fee rather than the worker.
3. Ongoing benefits continue under the applicable wage-replacement tier, sec. 34, sec. 35 or sec. 34A, for as long as the incapacity lasts and the statutory week limits allow. Many Lawrence claims eventually resolve through a lump-sum settlement, and where a third party also caused the injury, any settlement of that separate claim requires the review described in sec. 15 before it becomes final.

What Massachusetts workers' compensation benefits can provide

• Weekly wage-replacement benefits under sec. 34, sec. 35 or sec. 34A, calculated as a percentage of the average weekly wage before the injury.
• All reasonable and necessary medical care related to the injury, with no copayments or deductibles, under sec. 30.
• A scheduled payment for a specific loss of function or disfigurement under sec. 36, paid in addition to weekly benefits.
• A lump-sum settlement at the Department of Industrial Accidents.
• A separate third-party recovery against someone other than the employer, such as an equipment maker or a negligent driver, under sec. 15.
• An attorney fee paid by the insurer rather than out of the worker's recovery, in a contested case the worker wins, under sec. 13A.

Key terms

Average weekly wage

The pre-injury earnings figure that Massachusetts workers' compensation benefits, roughly 60 percent of it, are calculated from.

Exclusive remedy

The rule that a worker generally cannot sue their own employer in tort because compensation benefits are the sole remedy against that employer.

Department of Industrial Accidents

The state agency where most Massachusetts workers' compensation claims and lump-sum settlements are resolved.

Third-party claim

A separate lawsuit against a party other than the employer, such as an equipment maker or subcontractor, that is not barred by exclusivity.

Workers' compensation claim vs. third-party claim

More questions from Lawrence residents

• Does it matter who was at fault for my Lawrence work injury?

  Almost never. M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 26 pays benefits based on whether the injury arose out of and in the course of employment, not on who caused it. The only fault-based bar is sec. 27, which requires the employee's own serious and wilful misconduct, a standard well above ordinary carelessness.

• Can I sue my employer instead of filing a workers' comp claim?

  Usually not. Under M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 24 an employee is treated as having waived the right to sue the employer in tort for a compensable injury, unless written notice preserving that right was given at hiring. Where the employer's own serious and wilful misconduct caused the injury, sec. 28 doubles the compensation instead of opening a lawsuit. A claim against someone other than the employer is a separate matter under sec. 15.

• What if my Lawrence employer had no workers' compensation insurance?

  M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 25A requires nearly every employer to carry coverage, and an employer that does not can face a stop-work order, fines and prosecution under sec. 25C. A missing policy does not end the claim: sec. 65 created a state Workers' Compensation Trust Fund that pays approved claims against uninsured employers, and sec. 66 lets the worker sue that employer in court with its usual defenses reduced.

• How are workers' comp attorney fees paid in Massachusetts?

  By statute, not by private negotiation. M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 13A fixes a dollar fee at each stage of a Department of Industrial Accidents dispute, and in a contested case the worker wins, the insurer pays that fee on top of the benefits. On a lump-sum settlement the fee is capped at 15 percent where liability has not yet been established and 20 percent once it has.

• Can I get workers' comp and also sue the driver who hit me on the job?

  Yes, where someone other than your employer caused the injury. M.G.L. c. 152, sec. 15 entitles the employee, without election, to compensation benefits while preserving the third-party claim; the compensation insurer has a reimbursement interest limited to what it paid, and anything above that belongs to the employee, subject to board or court approval of the settlement.