Morrison Mahoney Partner Austin Powell was recently quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
The Department of Industrial Accidents Review Board Decision in Rosado vs. Suddekor, LLC was featured in last weeks Lawyers Weekly. The Decision is very well crafted and can almost be used as a “primer” for Mass. Workers Compensation law in the area of Section 28 liability. Section 28 imposes double compensation penalties where there is a determination that an employer is guilty of Serious and Willful Misconduct resulting in the injury at work. The workers compensation insurer is responsible for payment to the injured Employee for double indemnity and medical penalties and must then then seek indemnification from its insured employer.
According to Powell, one of the challenges of defending §28 claims is that the claimant’s allegations of serious and wilful misconduct are often too general. “Sometimes it’s hard to get the employee to say exactly what they are alleging,” he said. “It might come down to a hearing before a judge to pin people down as to what specifically they are alleging as far as what the quasi-criminal conduct was.”
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