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It is not intended as professional advice and should not be construed as such.
Medical Malpractice
Whether defending the rights of construction workers or professional athletes, Attorney Joseph M. Burke brings over 30 years of experience handling workers’ compensation, personal injury, and Social Security disability claims to ensure that his clients get exactly what they need and deserve.
True to his working-class upbringing, he has become a successful workers' compensation and personal injury lawyer through hard work and tireless dedication to his clients, their families, and their well-being.
Product Liability
Motor Vehicle Negligence
Personal Injury
Head & Brain Injuries
Workers' Compensation
Notable settlements include:
- $3.265 million lump sum for a self-employed 56-year-old quadriplegic who suffered a catastrophic injury. Attorney Burke's intervention with the insurer enabled the injured employee to refit his home to provide wider doorways to accommodate his wheelchair, install an elevator from his basement garage, build out caretaker’s living facilities and a physical therapy room, and create alternative handicap accessible emergency exits, in addition to the cash settlement.
- $1 million settlement for the family of a company executive who committed suicide as a result of job-related stress.
- $1.5 million settlement for a construction laborer who survived a fall from the third story of a building.
- $1.2 million settlement for a painter who was not provided protection on the job, which led to a fall over nearly 100 feet.
Significant appellate cases include:
Murphy v. Comm'r of Dep't of Indus. Accidents, 415 Mass. 218 (1993), a successful challenge to the constitutionality of the Massachusetts workers’ compensation impartial physician system before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
McCarthy’s Case, 66 Mass. App. Ct. 541 (2006), affirming the award of a $10,000 penalty against a self-insurer which refused to pay full payment. The importance of this decision is its deterrent effect upon insurers that refuse to pay a Judge’s conference order which significantly prejudiced an injured worker.
Lorden’s Case, 48 Mass. App. Ct. 274 (1999), reversing an Administrative Judge’s denial of a toxic encephalopathy claim for a bus mechanic.
Chambers v. Lemuel Shattuck Hosp., 41 Mass. App. Ct. 211 (1996), reversing the dismissal of a nurse’s violence pay claims.
Cognata v. Massachusetts Tpk. Auth., DIA No. 010456-91 (1996), which defines the evidence that an employee can utilize when an insurer seeks to terminate weekly compensation payments after an injured employee becomes eligible for retirement benefits.
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Joseph M. Burke
Workers' Compensation & Personal Injury Trial Attorney