 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Plymouth County Retirement Board v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Board12/4/2003
e "did dispose of the case fully and finally, and that the appeal is therefore a viable one." Seymour's Case, 6 Mass. App. Ct. 935 (1978). Carnute's Case, 10 Mass. App. Ct. 814, 815 (1980) (order may be treated as final disposition of the case where "nothing remained for the [agency] to do except the ministerial task of entering a decision as the judge had ordered").
2. The undisputed facts are as follows.
Newman began working for the town highway department in 1977 and steadily rose in rank. In 1982, he was appointed superintendent of the highway department. In his application for accidental disability retirement, he described his personal injury as " ajor depression exacerbated by stresses at work including lack of support and cooperation and a hostile environment." So far as appears, he specifically cited three separate events between December, 1995, and January, 1996. The first occurred in early December. His crew abandoned their duties during a difficult major snowstorm, leaving him alone for about sixteen hours "to fight the effects of the storm." On December 13, Newman was present during the discovery of his neighbor's body, who had hanged himself inside his home. Newman related the tragic event to his staff the next day. Fifteen days later, on December 28, 1995, he was startled to see a hangman's noose on the time clock at his office. He interpreted this as a taunt by a disgruntled employee. Upset, he instructed one of his staff to remove it. In a bizarre retort, the worker refused, claiming that it was "not a legal hangman's noose" because it did not have "thirteen rings." Newman then ripped the noose from its mooring and threw it away. The third and final straw for Newman occurred on his final day of work, January 4, 1996. About 4:30 A.M. that day, Newman was called out to inspect a busy intersection that the police feared had become unsafe because of freezing temperatures. After viewing the site, he informed a police officer on site that sand and salt would be ineffective because of the extremely low air temperature. As a temporary alternative, he suggested the officer place his cruiser in the middle of the intersection to deter motorists from speeding. That solution, to put it mildly, did not appeal to the police officer. Next, the chairman of the town board of selectmen called Newman and ordered him to salt and sand the intersection. Newman subsequently requested that a "hot load" solution be obtained from the State highway department to get the job done. Newman was conversing with an administrative assistant to the board of selectmen on this topic when one of his crew berated him for spurning the chairman's direct order. That, apparently, was enough for Newman, who, reduced to tears, told the assistant that "he couldn't take it any longer."
In addition to these findings, the magistrate also found that on two occasions in 1991, Newman had disciplined several employees for insubordinate conduct and that the board of selectmen overturned his disciplinary action in both instances.
Based on these largely undisputed facts, the magistrate concluded that Newman had not only failed to meet his burden of proof to show a "personal injury sustained or hazard undergone as a result of, and while in the performance of, his duties at some definite place and at some definite time," but had also failed to "demonstrate that his employment as the Highway Superintendent exposed him to an identifiable condition that was not common and necessary to all or a great many occupations." She fobbed off the three incidents as "job conflicts with some of the members of his crew and with some police officers." In contrast, CRAB concluded that "the non-medical facts as found support an awar
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Massachusetts Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|