Workers’ Compensation Benefits Only Available for Emotional Injury Due to Personnel Actions if in Bad Faith Under Massachusetts workers’ compensation law at Mass. G.L. ch. 152, § 1 (7A), an employee is not eligible for an award of benefits for a psychological and emotional injury that results from a bona fide (good faith) personnel action. But…
Although there has been no confirmed case of Ebola in Massachusetts, health care officials and front-line workers are developing protocols for screening those at highest risk for the disease and for protecting emergency responders and members of the public from contracting the lethal virus. After two nurses in Dallas tested positive for Ebola after…
A Massachusetts company has put its workers in danger due to unsafe work practices involving the risk of electrocution and other injuries from power lines and possible injury or suffocation due to collapsed trench excavations, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). P. Gioioso & Sons, Inc. is a Hyde…
An article in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine 55:487-505 (2012) raises the question of why so many workers suffering from occupational illnesses and injuries receive no workers’ compensation benefits. The researchers, a law professor from Northeastern Law School in Boston, Massachusetts and a Labor and Management Studies professor from Rutgers…
A successful plaintiff in a lawsuit for personal injury due to an intentional or negligent act by another may be awarded damages by a judge or jury for emotional distress, in addition to compensation for physical injuries and lost wages. A Massachusetts court recently confirmed that compensation for emotional distress is also available…
The Massachusetts Legislature legalized medical marijuana in the Commonwealth by enacting the Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana Act of 2012. Massachusetts become one of 22 other states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington)…
An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who hears and decides a claim for workers’ compensation benefits must consider a detailed technical record before rendering a decision. Sometimes a crucial piece of information is overlooked or ignored in the course of the judge’s decision-making process. When this happens, and the claim for benefits…
An employee can be injured on the job, and the injury may aggravate a pre-existing physical condition. This is called a combination injury. The combination of physical problems may make it difficult or impossible for an employee to work. However, even when there may be no question that the new work injury made…
An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in Massachusetts, in deciding whether an injured employee should receive workers’ compensation benefits, must consider and use evidence correctly in making a decision, or the decision could be thrown out by the Reviewing Board. A hospital employee who was injured on the job at Brigham and Women’s Hospital…
An administrative law judge (ALJ) at a benefits hearing has the sole authority and responsibility to determine the claimant’s credibility. He or she hears the evidence, including the testimony and cross-examination of witnesses, and makes an impartial decision based on what is presented in court. Ordinarily, a Reviewing Board will not disturb…