• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

Keches Law Group is now the official law firm of The New England Patriots - Learn More

offical injury law firm of the New England Patriots, Boston Bruins and Free Jacks

en_US English
en_US English es_ES Español pt_BR Português do Brasil
Free Confidential Consultation  (617) 898-0808

Keches Law Group

Workers' Compensation and Injury Lawyers

  • Home
  • Attorneys
  • Practice Areas
    • Personal Injury
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Class Actions
    • Employment Law
    • Social Security Disability
    • Accidental Disability Retirement
    • Insurance Disputes
  • Case Results
  • Client Reviews
  • About
    • News & Media
    • Careers
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • No Fee Policy
    • Keches Cares™ Giving
    • Scholarship Essay Contest
    • Attorney Referrals
  • Search
  • Contact Us
  • en_USEnglish
  • es_ESEspañol
  • pt_BRPortuguês do Brasil

Mobile Menu

  • Home
  • Attorneys
  • Practice Areas
    • Personal Injury
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Class Actions
    • Employment Law
    • Social Security Disability
    • Accidental Disability Retirement
    • Insurance Disputes
  • Case Results
  • Client Reviews
  • About
    • News & Media
    • Careers
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • No Fee Policy
    • Keches Cares™ Giving
    • Scholarship Essay Contest
    • Attorney Referrals
  • Search
  • Contact Us

Call Now. We’re available 24/7.

Se habla español

(617) 898-0808

Most Old Work Injuries Are Still Compensable

You are here: Home / News / Most Old Work Injuries Are Still Compensable

October 13, 2015 //  by Keches Law

Under the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act, an injured employee must file a claim ‘within four years from the date the employee first became aware of the causal relationship between his disability and his employment.’ M.G.L. c. 152 41. This statute of limitations provision is particularly beneficial for workers who have suffered rather ambiguous injuries, such as those caused by repetitive physical stress, exposure to toxic chemicals, and psychological trauma at the workplace.

Filing a claim, obviously, is the easiest way to satisfy the statute of limitations. But what about those injuries that happened many years ago but are still causing pain and discomfort for an injured employee? Fortunately, The Workers’ Compensation Act also provides several ways in which the statute of limitations can be ‘tolled,’ i.e., permanently satisfied. Aside from filing a claim, this can be achieved if (1) the insurer pays compensation to the injured employee; or (2) the insurer pays a medical bill relating to the workplace injury.

Say, for example, a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital strains her back while lifting a patient in 2003. Because of her pain, her doctors recommend that she remain out of work for one month. As such, the insurer pays the nurse’s medical bills pertaining to the back injury, in addition to disability benefits for that one month she was unable to work. Now, after returning to her job, the nurse works for the next 12 years despite the moderate discomfort in her back. Her doctor, in 2015, now says that her current pain is the result of her 2003 work injury and that she will need an injection and another month off work. Because the insurer paid the nurse’s benefits back in 2003, the statute of limitations was satisfied forever. Therefore, the nurse is not prevented from filing a claim to have the insurer pay her while she recovers for that month in 2015. (It is also important to note that even if the nurse missed no work in 2003, the statute of limitations would still be satisfied if the insurer paid for the nurse’s medical treatment, however small or nominal).

Repetitive stress injuries (ones that happen over a period of time) are also subject to the statute of limitations like any other industrial accident. However, these injuries are usually not as obvious to the injured worker with respect to the injury’s cause. A slip and fall injury, for example, is easy to assess: an employee fell at work and is now disabled. A repetitive stress injury, on the other hand, happens over the course of weeks, months, or years, and it is sometimes hard to pinpoint with respect to causation. This is where the ‘causal connection’ element of the statute of limitations provision is helpful. As stated before, the statute begins to run once the employee first becomes ‘aware of the causal relationship’ between the disability and work; and not once the injury actually occurs. So for those who have suffered a debilitating repetitive stress injury, the law provides some leniency when it comes to filing a claim. For instance, imagine the nurse form Mass. General never had a back strain in 2003. Instead, the nurse worked, without incident, for 25 years. Throughout the course of her employment, she was constantly required to lift patients, be on her feet, and push hospital beds. These activities, unbeknownst to the nurse, eventually caused her back to become so painful that she was forced to stop working in 2007. Because the nurse always felt that her back pain was simply a symptom of getting old, she never filed a claim or notified her supervisor of any workplace injury.

In 2015, eight years after she stopped working, the retired nurse’s back doctor then finds that the cause of her back pain was the repetitive job duties she performed during the 25 years she worked as a nurse, culminating in 2007 to the point where she was no longer able to work. Because the nurse has now become aware of the causal connection in 2015, she has until 2019 to file a claim for benefits.

The attorneys at KECHES LAW GROUP, P.C. are experienced in handling issues involving old work-related injuries and are qualified to help you with any inquiries you may have. If you or someone you know has been injured on the job, contact KLG for a free consultation.

Category: News

Looking for help? or just have a question?

Contact us for a free, no obligation consultation today. It won’t cost a thing and it’s 100% confidential.

Call, chat or email us today.

Contact Us

Previous Post: « Bad Care or Medical Malpractice?
Next Post: Workplace Injury Statistics »

Primary Sidebar

Free Case Evaluation

Call 617-898-0808 for immediate help or fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Secure Form

[brb_collection id="2306"]

Footer

About Us
Keches Cares™
Careers
Diversity & Inclusion
Scholarship
Attorney Referrals
No Fee Policy

Recent Blog Posts:

  • Gallery: Salute To Nurses 2025
  • Keches Law Group Proudly Sponsors Boston Globe’s “Salute To Nurses” Celebration
  • We Built This City – Celebrating the workers who keep New England going
  • Keches Law Group Celebrates Five Attorneys Listed Among Best Lawyers®

Contact Us

We are available 24/7 by phone

Se habla Español / Portugues
en_US English
en_US English es_ES Español pt_BR Português do Brasil


Office Hours:
Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM

Saturday, Sunday and evening appointments available upon request.

We’re just a call or click away if you need help.

617-898-0808

Contact Us By Email →

Follow Us:


The Official Injury Law Firm of: official injury law firm

  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • ADA Notice
  • Blog
  • Press Releases

Site Footer

We serve all of MA, NH, RI, CT including the following locations: Bristol County including Attleboro, Fall River, New Bedford, and Taunton; Norfolk County including Brookline, Dedham, Franklin, Milton, and Quincy; Worcester County including Fitchburg, Leominster, Shrewsbury, Westborough, and Worcester; Hampden County including Ludlow, Springfield, West Springfield, and Westfield; Middlesex County including Cambridge, Framingham, Lowell, and Medford; and Plymouth County including Brockton and Plymouth.

Attorney advertisement disclaimer: the information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. Any information submitted through a form is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Copyright © 2025 Keches Law Group · All Rights Reserved

en_US English
en_US English
es_ES Español
pt_BR Português do Brasil