Under Massachusetts and federal safety regulations, employers are required to offer adequate safety training to employees to reduce the risk of on-the-job injuries. When employers fail to provide such training, too often workers suffer serious if not life-threatening injuries as a consequence. Readers in the Boston area know that construction sites can be especially risky places for workers if the right precautions aren't taken. Given the varied combination of implements -- scaffolding, power tools, electrical equipment, cranes, forklifts and other potentially dangerous machinery -- workers need all the help they can get in preventing injury.

Unfortunately, one construction worker in Hopkinton suffered a workplace injury when he fell from a house he was helping build. A fire rescue official said that a LifeFlight helicopter had to land at the local New England Laborers Training Center to pick up the worker and transport him to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester for treatment. According to the rescue official, the worker suffered a construction site fall of 20 feet. He was conscious and alert after the accident but complained of back pain.

Apparently, the worker was not fluent in English, so a language barrier contributed to some difficulties with the accident investigation. However, police officers alerted the Boston office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which will likely conduct its own investigation into the construction accident.

When workers are injured on the job, a careful analysis of the circumstances of the accident is often needed to determine who was at fault. In many cases, a workers' compensation claim can help injured workers recover damages for medical expenses, lost wages or any pain and suffering that may have been caused by the accident. To make certain that all of the options for compensation are considered, the worker in this case will likely want to contact a legal professional who is experienced in filing workers' compensation claims and helping to ensure that due compensation is awarded.

Source: metrowestdailynews.com, "Construction worker injured in Hopkinton fall," Danielle Ameden, Jan. 29, 2012