reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 26 - Injuries Arising Out of and in Course of Employment

Section 26. If an employee who has not given notice of his claim of common law rights of action under section twenty-four, or who has given such notice and has waived the same, receives a personal injury arising out of and in the course of his employment, or arising out of an ordinary risk of the street while actually engaged, with his employer's authorization, in the business affairs or undertakings of his employer, and whether within or without the commonwealth, he shall be paid compensation by the insurer or self-insurer, as hereinafter provided; provided, that as to an injury occurring without the commonwealth he has not given notice of his claim of rights of action under the laws of the jurisdiction wherein such injury occurs or has given such notice and has waived it. For the purposes of this section any person, while operating or using a motor or other vehicle, whether or not belonging to his employer, with his employer's general authorization or approval, in the performance of work in connection with the business affairs or undertakings of his employer, and whether within or without the commonwealth, and any person who, while engaged in the usual course of his trade, business, profession or occupation, is ordered by an employer, or by a person exercising superintendence on behalf of such employer, to perform work which is not in the usual course of such work, trade, business, profession or occupation, and while so performing such work, receives a personal injury, shall be conclusively presumed to be an employee, and if an employee while acting in the course of his employment receives injury resulting from frost bite, heat exhaustion or sunstroke, without having voluntarily assumed increased peril not contemplated by his contract of employment, or is injured by reason of the physical activities of fellow employees in which he does not participate, whether or not such activities are associated with the employment, such injury shall be conclusively presumed to have arisen out of the employment.
If an employee is injured by reason of such physical activities of fellow employees and the department finds that such activities are traceable solely and directly to a physical or mental condition resulting from the service of any of such fellow employees in the armed forces of the United States, the entire amount of compensation that may be found due shall be paid by the insurer, self-insurer or self-insurance group; provided, however, that upon an order or pursuant to an approved agreement of the department, the insurer, self-insurer or self-insurance group shall be reimbursed by the state treasurer from the trust fund established by section sixty-five for all amounts of compensation paid under this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 26a - Suicide

Section 26A. Dependents shall not be precluded from recovery under this chapter, nor shall the insurance company be relieved from making payment to the commonwealth under section sixty-five, for death by suicide of the employee, if it be shown by the weight of the evidence that, due to the injury, the employee was of such unsoundness of mind as to make him irresponsible for his act of suicide.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 26b - Concurrent Service of Two or More Employers; Joint and Several Liability of Insurers

Section 26B. When an employee employed in the concurrent service of two or more insured employers receives a personal injury compensable under this chapter while performing a duty which is common to such employers, the liability of their insurers under this chapter shall be joint and several. Each insurer or self-insurer liable under this section shall pay compensation according to the proportion of the wages paid by its insured in relation to the concurrent wage which the employee received from all insured employers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 27a - False Representation of Physical Condition by Employee; Right to Benefits

Section 27A. In any claim for compensation where it is found that at the time of hire the employee knowingly and willfully made a false representation as to his physical condition and the employer relied upon the false representation in hiring such employee, when such employee knew or should have known that it was unlikely he could fulfill the duties of the job without incurring a serious injury, then the employee shall, if an injury related to the condition misrepresented occurs, not be entitled to benefits under this chapter. Retention of an employee who rectifies any misrepresentation made to his employer regarding his physical condition subsequent to the hire but prior to the injury shall restore any right to compensation under this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 28 - Wilful Misconduct of Employer; Defense; Reimbursement of Insurer; Employment of Minor; Mentally Retarded Persons; Injuries at Sheltered Workshops

Section 28. If the employee is injured by reason of the serious and wilful misconduct of an employer or of any person regularly intrusted with and exercising the powers of superintendence, the amounts of compensation hereinafter provided shall be doubled. In case the employer is insured, he shall repay to the insurer the extra compensation paid to the employee. If a claim is made under this section, and the employer is insured, the employer may appear and defend against such claim only. The employment of any minor, known to be such, in violation of any provision of sections sixty to seventy-four, inclusive, or of section one hundred and four of chapter one hundred and forty-nine shall constitute serious and wilful misconduct under this section.
As used in this section the term ''minor'' shall include mentally retarded persons eighteen years of age or older unless:
(1) the employment takes place in a sheltered workshop which holds either a license from the department of developmental services or accreditation from the commission on accreditation of rehabilitation facilities; and
(2) a professional vocational specialist evaluates the employee at the employment site, for the specific job performed and such evaluation determines in writing that the employee is appropriate for and capable of such employment; and
(3) the employee has agreed in writing to the written rehabilitation plan or to an accurate verbal description of such written plan.
The division of administration shall keep statistical records on injuries that occur at sheltered workshops. If there appears to be a pattern of such injuries at a particular sheltered workshop, the office of claims administration shall notify the department of developmental services and such department shall take whatever action it deems appropriate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 29 - Required Period of Incapacitation; Personnel Actions

Section 29. No compensation pursuant to section thirty-four or thirty-five shall be paid for any injury which does not incapacitate the employee from earning full wages for a period of five or more calendar days. If incapacity extends for a period of twenty-one days or more, compensation shall be paid from the date of onset of incapacity. If incapacity extends for a period of at least five but less than twenty-one days, compensation shall be paid from the sixth day of incapacity. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no compensation shall be paid for any period for which any wages were earned. No mental or emotional disability arising principally out of a bona fide, personnel action including a transfer, promotion, demotion, or termination except such action which is the intentional infliction of emotional harm shall be deemed to be a personal injury within the meaning of this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 30a - Medical Reports

Section 30A. Any medical report pertaining to an injury which appears to be compensable shall be furnished by the physician or other medical provider to the employee, the insurer, and the department within fourteen days of completion of the examination of the employee. Each failure to comply with such reporting requirement shall be punishable by a civil fine to be determined by the director of administration, of not less than twenty-five nor greater than one thousand dollars. A schedule of incremental increases relative to violations shall be determined by the commissioner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 30e - Development of Voluntary Agreements

Section 30E. It shall be the policy of the department to encourage and assist in the development of voluntary agreements between injured employees and insurers to provide and utilize vocational rehabilitation services when necessary to return such employees to suitable gainful employment. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement such policy.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 30f - Identification of Cases in Which Vocational Rehabilitation Services May Be Required

Section 30F. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the identification and reporting to the office of education and vocational rehabilitation of cases in which vocational rehabilitation services may be required.
The purpose of said rules and regulations shall be to facilitate the earliest possible identification of such cases.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 30g - Meetings With Injured Employees Requiring Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Section 30G. The office of education and vocational rehabilitation shall contact and meet with each injured employee who it believes may require vocational rehabilitation services in order to return to suitable employment. Any such employee who refuses to meet with the office of education and vocational rehabilitation shall not be entitled to weekly compensation benefits during the period of such refusal. An insurer may reduce by fifteen percent the weekly benefits payable to any employee deemed suitable for vocational rehabilitation services by said office when such employee refuses such services, during the period of such refusal. No lump sum settlement shall be reached between an insurer and any employee who has been deemed suitable for vocational rehabilitation services by the office of education and vocational rehabilitation who has not completed an appropriate rehabilitation program pursuant to this section thirty, without the express written consent of said office. Any employee aggrieved by a reduction in weekly benefits or the prohibition of a lump sum settlement under this section may file a claim for reinstatement of such benefits or removal of such prohibition; provided, however, that compensation shall not be reinstated nor the settlement allowed unless the claimant demonstrates that no vocational rehabilitation program of any kind would be appropriate for such claimant.
The commissioner shall provide by rule a procedure for promptly following up on such meeting by assisting an employee who needs rehabilitation services to obtain such services from the insurer, and shall monitor the progress of rehabilitation agreements and programs.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 30h - Applications for Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Section 30H. If the insurer and employee fail to agree to a vocational rehabilitation program, the employee may apply to the office of education and vocational rehabilitation for vocational rehabilitation services. The office shall determine if vocational rehabilitation is necessary and feasible to return the employee to suitable employment. Such determination by the office shall be final and not subject to review by the board or reviewing board, but may be appealed to the commissioner. If the office determines that vocational rehabilitation is necessary and feasible, it shall promptly develop, after such consultation as it judges reasonable with the employee and the insurer, an appropriate program of no greater that one hundred and four weeks for the employee. It shall inform the insurer and the employee of its determination and of the program developed. The insurer shall have ten days in which to review such determination and program. If the insurer refuses to provide the vocational rehabilitation program developed by the office, the office shall provide it to the employee with trust fund money pursuant to section sixty-five. The commissioner shall provide by rule for efficient procedures and quality controls in the office's management of such programs, which may be carried out under contract by private rehabilitation service providers. If, upon the completion of the program, the office determines that the program was successful and returned the employee to suitable employment, it shall assess the insurer no less than twice the cost incurred by the office and such assessment shall be paid into said trust fund. The insurer may contest any aspect of the assessment by filing a complaint with the division of dispute resolution. The injured employee shall not be a party to such proceedings.
A public employer or public employer self-insurance group which has filed a notice of non-participation according to the provisions of section sixty-five, and which has appealed the determination of the office to the commissioner as specified above shall be bound by the decision of the commissioner and, if required by such decision, shall provide the vocational rehabilitation program developed by the office. Such decision shall be enforceable in the same manner as an order pursuant to section twelve.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 30i - Availability of New Jobs and Job Training Programs

Section 30I. The department shall assist and cooperate with the department of unemployment assistance, the United States Department of Labor, and any other appropriate state or federal agency, in attempting to make available to disabled employees eligible to receive compensation benefits, new jobs and job training programs, including, but not limited to, those conducted under the job training partnership act of nineteen hundred and eighty-two and successor programs. The department of unemployment assistance shall assist in such efforts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 34 - Total Incapacity; Compensation

Section 34. While the incapacity for work resulting from the injury is total, during each week of incapacity the insurer shall pay the injured employee compensation equal to sixty percent of his or her average weekly wage before the injury, but not more than the maximum weekly compensation rate, unless the average weekly wage of the employee is less than the minimum weekly compensation rate, in which case said weekly compensation shall be equal to his average weekly wage.
The total number of weeks of compensation due the employee under this section shall not exceed one hundred fifty-six.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 34a - Permanent and Total Incapacity; Compensation

Section 34A. While the incapacity for work resulting from the injury is both permanent and total, the insurer shall pay to the injured employee, following payment of compensation provided in sections thirty-four and thirty-five, a weekly compensation equal to two-thirds of his average weekly wage before the injury, but not more than the maximum weekly compensation rate nor less than the minimum weekly compensation rate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 34b - Review Date; Supplemental Benefits to Secs. 31 or 34a

Section 34B. October first of each year shall be the review date for the purposes of this section.
Any person receiving or entitled to receive benefits under the provisions of section thirty-one or section thirty-four A whose benefits are based on a date of personal injury at least twenty-four months prior to the review date shall have his weekly benefit adjusted, without application, in accordance with the following provisions; provided, however, that no increase in benefits shall be payable which would reduce any benefits the recipient is receiving pursuant to federal social security law.
(a) The director of administration shall determine the percentage change between the average weekly wage in the commonwealth on the date of the injury and the average weekly wage in the commonwealth on the review date. For purposes of this section, no increase in the average weekly wage in the commonwealth shall exceed the lesser of the following: (i) the percentage change in the most recent annual consumer price index calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for the northeast region for all urban consumers; (ii) five percent.
(b) The death benefit under section thirty-one or the permanent and total disability benefit under section thirty-four A that was being paid prior to any adjustments under this section shall be the base benefit. The base benefit shall be changed on each review date by the percentage change as calculated in paragraph (a); the resulting amount shall be termed the adjusted benefit and is the amount of benefit to be paid on and after the review date. If the adjusted benefit is larger than the base benefit, the difference shall be termed the supplemental benefit. In no instance shall the adjusted benefit under this section be greater than three times the base benefit.
(c) The supplemental benefits under this section shall be paid by the insurer concurrent with the base benefit. Insurers shall be entitled to quarterly reimbursements for supplemental benefits, pursuant to section sixty-five, for cases involving injuries that occurred on or before October first, nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and for those cases occurring thereafter, to the extent such supplemental benefits are due to the increase of greater than five percent in the average weekly wage in the commonwealth in any single year. No self-insurer, self-insurance group or municipality that has chosen non-participation in the assessment provisions for funding such reimbursements pursuant to section sixty-five shall be entitled to such reimbursements.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 35 - Partial Incapacity; Compensation

Section 35. While the incapacity for work resulting from the injury is partial, during each week of incapacity the insurer shall pay the injured employee a weekly compensation equal to sixty percent of the difference between his or her average weekly wage before the injury and the weekly wage he or she is capable of earning after the injury, but not more than seventy-five percent of what such employee would receive if he or she were eligible for total incapacity benefits under section thirty-four. An insurer may reduce the amount paid to an employee under this section to the amount at which the employee's combined weekly earnings and benefits are equal to two times the average weekly wage in the commonwealth at the time of such reduction.
The total number of weeks of compensation due the employee under this section shall not exceed two hundred sixty; provided, however, that this number may be extended to five hundred twenty if an insurer agrees or an administrative judge finds that the employee has, as a result of a personal injury under this chapter, suffered a permanent loss of seventy-five percent or more of any bodily function or sense specified in paragraph (a), (b), (e), (f), (g), or (h) of subsection (1) of section thirty-six, developed a permanently life-threatening physical condition, or contracted a permanently disabling occupational disease which is of a physical nature and cause. Where applicable, losses under this section shall be determined in accordance with standards set forth in the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairments. Where the insurer agrees or the administrative judge finds such permanent partial disability as is described in this paragraph, the total number of weeks the employee may receive benefits under both this section and section thirty-four shall not exceed five hundred twenty. Where there has been no such agreement or finding the number of weeks the employee may receive benefits under these sections shall not exceed three hundred sixty-four.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 35a - Added Compensation for Dependents; Payment; Presumed Dependents; Dependency Determined by Facts

Section 35A. Where the injured employee has persons conclusively presumed to be dependent upon him or in fact so dependent, the sum of six dollars shall be added to the weekly compensation payable under sections thirty-four, thirty-four A and thirty-five, for each person wholly dependent on the employee, but in no case shall the aggregate of such amounts exceed the average weekly wages of the employee. No weekly payment to the employee under this section shall allow the employee to receive an amount in excess of one hundred and fifty dollars per week when combined with the compensation due under sections thirty-four, thirty-five and thirty-four A. For the purposes of this section the following persons shall be conclusively presumed to be wholly dependent for support upon an employee:
(a) A wife upon a husband with whom she lives at the time of his injury.
(b) A husband upon a wife with whom he is living at the time of her injury.
(c) Children under the age of eighteen years, or over said age but physically or mentally incapacitated from earning, if living with the employee at the time of his injury, or, if the employee is bound or ordered by law, decree or order of court, or by any other lawful requirement, to support such children, although living apart from them, or over said age and a full-time student qualified for exemption as a dependent under section one hundred and fifty-one (e) of the Internal Revenue Code. Children within the meaning of this paragraph, shall also include any children of the injured employee conceived but not born at the time of the employee's injury, and the compensation herein provided for shall be payable on account of any such children from the date of their birth.
(d) A parent upon an unmarried child under the age of eighteen. In all other cases questions of dependency shall be determined in accordance with the fact as the fact may be at the time of the injury.
An administrative judge or the reviewing board may in his or its discretion order the insurer or self-insurer to make payment of the six dollars aforesaid directly to the dependent.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 35b - Return to Work; Subsequent Injury; Rate of Compensation

Section 35B. An employee who has been receiving compensation under this chapter and who has returned to work for a period of not less than two months shall, if he is subsequently injured and receives compensation, be paid such compensation at the rate in effect at the time of the subsequent injury whether or not such subsequent injury is determined to be a recurrence of the former injury; provided, that if compensation for the old injury was paid in a lump sum, he shall not receive compensation unless the subsequent claim is determined to be a new injury.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 35c - Date of Eligibility; Benefits Applicable; Adjustments

Section 35C. When there is a difference of five years or more between the date of injury and the initial date on which the injured worker or his survivor first became eligible for benefits under section thirty-one, thirty-four, thirty-four A, or section thirty-five, the applicable benefits shall be those in effect on the first date of eligibility for benefits.
For purposes of adjustments to compensation under sections thirty-four B and thirty-five F for employees subject to this section, the first date of eligibility for benefits rather than the date of injury shall be used for purposes of computing such supplemental benefits.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 35d - Computation of Weekly Wage

Section 35D. For purposes of sections thirty-four, thirty-four A and thirty-five, the weekly wage the employee is capable of earning, if any, after the injury, shall be the greatest of the following:—
(1) The actual earnings of the employee during each week.
(2) The earnings that the employee is capable of earning in the job the employee held at the time of injury, provided, however, that such job has been made available to the employee and he is capable of performing it. The employee's receipt of a written offer of his former job from the employer, together with a written report from the treating physician that the employee is capable of performing such job shall be prima facie evidence of an earnings capability under this clause.
(3) The earnings the employee is capable of earning in a particular suitable job; provided, however, that such job has been made available to the employee and he is capable of performing it. The employee's receipt of a written report that a specific suitable job is available to him together with a written report from the treating physician that the employee is capable of performing such job shall be prima facie evidence of an earnings capability under this clause.
(4) The earnings that the employee is capable of earning.
(5) Implementation of this section is subject to the procedures contained in section eight. For purposes of this chapter, a suitable job or employment shall be any job that the employee is physically and mentally capable of performing, including light work, considering the nature and severity of the employee's injury, so long as such job bears a reasonable relationship to the employee's work experience, education, or training, either before or after the employee's injury. The fact that an employee has enrolled or is participating in a vocational rehabilitation program paid for by the insurer or the department shall not be used to support the contention that the employee's compensation rate should be decreased in any proceeding under this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 35e - Persons Eligible for Old Age Benefits or Pension; Entitlement to Benefits Under Secs. 34 or 35

Section 35E. Any employee who is at least sixty-five years of age and has been out of the labor force for a period of at least two years and is eligible for old age benefits pursuant to the federal social security act or eligible for benefits from a public or private pension which is paid in part or entirely by an employer shall not be entitled to benefits under sections thirty-four or thirty-five unless such employee can establish that but for the injury, he or she would have remained active in the labor market. The presumption of non-entitlement to benefits created by this section shall not be overcome by the employee's uncorroborated testimony, or that corroborated only by any of his family members, that but for the injury, such employee would have remained active in the labor market. Claims for compensation, or complaint for modification, or discontinuance of benefits based on this section shall not be filed more often than once every twelve months.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 36a - Death Before Full Payment of Compensation for Specified Injuries; Brain Damage

Section 36A. In the event that an injured employee who has become entitled to compensation under section thirty-six dies before fully collecting the said compensation, the balance remaining shall become due and payable in a lump sum to his dependents, or if none, to his surviving issue, or if no surviving issue, then to surviving parents, or if no surviving parents then to surviving brothers and sisters. If there are none of the persons described in the preceding sentence remaining to receive such compensation, then the balance of compensation remaining at the death of the employee shall be paid into the special fund in the custody of the state treasurer established under section sixty-five, to be used for the purposes and in the manner prescribed in said section sixty-five.
Where any specified loss, losses or disfigurement under section thirty-six is a result of an injury involving brain damage, payment in total under that section for the sum of such loss, losses or disfigurement resulting from said brain damage shall not exceed an amount equal to the average weekly wage in the commonwealth at the date of injury multiplied by one hundred and five. In no event shall payments be made under this section to any employee where the death of such employee occurs within forty-five days of the injury.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 36b - Unemployment Compensation Benefits; Eligibility

Section 36B. (1) No benefits shall be payable under section thirty-four or section thirty-four A for any week in which the employee has received or is receiving unemployment compensation benefits.
(2) Any employee claiming or receiving benefits under section thirty-five who may be entitled to unemployment compensation benefits shall upon written request from the insurer apply for such benefits. Failure to do so within sixty days after written request shall constitute grounds for suspension of benefits under said section thirty-five. Any unemployment compensation benefits received shall be credited against partial disability benefits payable for the same time period, or, if for a period of time for which partial disability benefits have already been paid, shall be credited against any future partial disability benefits which are or may become payable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 37a - Compensation for Disabled War Veteran; Reimbursement

Section 37A. Any employee who is a war veteran and disabled as the result of his military or naval service and has been certified as such by the United States Veterans Administration and who, in the course of and arising out of his employment, receives a personal injury which is aggravated or prolonged by such disability for which he is receiving compensation from said administration, shall receive the compensation provided by this chapter, or said compensation shall be paid to his dependents, if death results from the injury. Such compensation shall be paid by the insurer or self-insurer, who shall be reimbursed, in an amount not to exceed fifty per cent thereof for any period up to one hundred and four weeks and thereafter in an amount not to exceed one hundred per cent, by the state treasurer from the fund created by section sixty-five. In the event that said fund becomes exhausted, the state treasurer shall make such payments from the general fund without appropriation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 38 - Consideration of Employee's Savings, Insurance and Other Benefits

Section 38. Except as expressly provided elsewhere in this chapter, no savings or insurance of the injured employee independent of this chapter shall be considered in determining compensation payable thereunder, nor shall benefits derived from any other source than the insurer be considered in such determination.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 39 - Payment of Compensation Payable in Case of Death; Payment of Expenses and for Legal Services

Section 39. The compensation payable in case of the death of the injured employee shall be paid to his legal representative; or, if he has no legal representative, to his dependents; or, if he leaves no dependents, to the persons to whom payment of the expenses for the last sickness and burial is due. If payment is made to the legal representative of the deceased employee, it shall be paid by him to the dependents or other persons entitled thereto under this chapter. When the appointment of a legal representative of a deceased employee or dependent, or the appointment of a guardian or conservator of an employee or dependent who is a minor or is otherwise legally incapacitated, is required to comply with this chapter, the insurer shall furnish or pay for legal services rendered in connection with the appointment of such legal representative, guardian or conservator or in connection with his duties, and shall pay the necessary disbursements for such appointment, the necessary expenses of such legal representative, guardian or conservator, and reasonable compensation to him for time necessarily spent in complying therewith. Said payments shall be in addition to sums paid for compensation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 41 - Notice of Proceedings for Compensation; Limitation of Actions

Section 41. No proceedings for compensation payable under this chapter shall be maintained unless a notice thereof shall have been given to the insurer or insured as soon as practicable after the happening thereof, and unless any claim for compensation due with respect to such injury is filed within four years from the date the employee first became aware of the causal relationship between his disability and his employment. In the event of death, no claim shall be made later than four years after the death. Where an action against a third person, as provided by section fifteen, is discontinued, no claim for compensation shall be made later than sixty days after such discontinuance.
The payment of compensation for any injury pursuant to this chapter or the filing of a claim for compensation as provided in this chapter shall toll the statute of limitations for any benefits due pursuant to this chapter for such injury.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 42 - Notice in General

Section 42. The said notice shall be in writing, and shall state in ordinary language the time, place and cause of the injury, and shall be signed by the person injured, or, in case of his death, by his legal representative, or by a person to whom payments may be due under this chapter, or by a person in behalf of any one of them. Any form of written communication signed by a person who may give the notice as above provided, containing the information that the person has been so injured, giving the time, place and cause of the injury, shall be considered a sufficient notice.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 43 - Service of Notice

Section 43. The notice shall be served upon the insurer or an officer or agent thereof, or upon the insured, or upon one insured person if there is more than one, or upon any officer or agent of a corporation if the insured is a corporation, by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served, or leaving it at his residence or place of business, or by sending it by registered mail addressed to the person on whom it is to be served, at his last known residence or place of business.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 44 - Inaccuracies In, and Want Of, Notice

Section 44. Such notice shall not be held invalid or insufficient by reason of any inaccuracy in stating the time, place or cause of the injury unless it is shown that it was the intention to mislead and that the insurer was in fact misled thereby. Want of notice shall not bar proceedings, if it be shown that the insurer, insured or agent had knowledge of the injury, or if it is found that the insurer was not prejudiced by such want of notice.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 45 - Examination by Physician; Filing Copy of Report; Refusing or Obstructing Examination; Reimbursement of Travel Expenses and Wages

Section 45. After an employee has received an injury, and from time to time thereafter during the continuance of his disability he shall, if requested by the insurer or insured, submit to an examination by a registered physician, furnished and paid for by the insurer or the insured. The employee may have a physician provided and paid for by himself present at the examination. If a physician provided by the employee is not present at the examination, it shall be the duty of the insurer to file with the division a copy of the report of its examining physician or physicians if and when such report is to be used as the basis of any order by the division. If the employee refuses to submit to the examination or in any way obstructs it, his right to compensation shall be suspended, and his compensation during the period of suspension may be forfeited. The employee's right to compensation shall also be suspended during any period the employee refuses the insurer's written request that the employee be evaluated by a vocational rehabilitation specialist within the department. This written request may occur only once every six months.
If the injured employee, at the request of the insurer or the division undergoes medical examination or treatment such employee shall be reimbursed by the insurer for reasonable travel expense incidental thereto and for any loss of wages as a result thereof in like manner as though he were disabled under the provisions of this chapter. Such payments shall not be construed as an admission of liability by the insurer in those cases where the liability has not been assumed by it. If the amount of such reimbursement is not agreed upon by the parties, it may be determined by a hearing as provided under section twelve.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 46 - Waiver of Rights to Compensation; Arbitration

Section 46. No agreement by any employee to waive his right to compensation shall be valid. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the parties from entering into an agreement to submit to binding arbitration pursuant to the provisions of section ten as an exclusive alternative to proceedings within the division of dispute resolution.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 47 - Assignments; Attachments; Liability for Debts

Section 47. No payment shall be assignable or subject to attachment or be liable in any way for debts, except to a veteran's agent or the secretary of veterans' services as and to the extent permitted by section five of chapter one hundred and fifteen and except as permitted to the department of public welfare under chapters eighteen, one hundred and seventeen, one hundred and eighteen, and the division of medical assistance under one hundred and eighteen E, and except to an obligee of support payments who is entitled to receive such payments pursuant to a support order under chapter two hundred and eight, two hundred and nine, two hundred and nine C, two hundred and seventy-three or two hundred and nine D. The division shall permit a veteran's agent, the secretary of veteran's services, the department of public welfare and the division of medical assistance to inspect the records of the division to ascertain the existence of a claim for personal injuries filed with the division by any employee under this chapter and the existence of any assignment, attachment, or liability for debts permitted under the provisions of this section. This section shall prevail over sections 9–406 and 9–408 of chapter 106 to the extent, if any, that such sections might otherwise apply.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 49 - Claim in General

Section 49. The claim for compensation shall be in writing, and shall state the date, place, cause and nature of the injury. It shall be signed by the person injured, or, in the event of his death, by his legal representative, or by a person to whom payments may be due, or by a person in behalf of any of them, and shall be filed with the department. A claim for compensation shall not be held invalid or insufficient by reason of any inaccuracy in stating the date, place, cause or nature of the injury unless it is shown that it was the intention to mislead and that the insurer was in fact misled thereby.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 50 - Interest on Unpaid Claims

Section 50. Whenever payments of any kind are not made within sixty days of being claimed by an employee, dependent or other party, and an order or decision requires that such payments be made, interest at the rate of ten percent per annum of all sums due from the date of the receipt of the notice of the claim by the department to the date of payment shall be required by such order or decision. Whenever such sums include weekly payments, interest shall be computed on each unpaid weekly payment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 51 - Natural Increase Considered in Determining Weekly Wages

Section 51. Whenever an employee is injured under circumstances entitling him to compensation, if it be established that the injured employee was of such age and experience when injured that, under natural conditions, in the open labor market, his wage would be expected to increase, that fact may be considered in determining his weekly wage. A determination of an employee's benefits under this section shall not be limited to the circumstances of the employee's particular employer or industry at the time of injury.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 52b - Priority of Premiums and Interest Charges Over Other Claims

Section 52B. All premiums and interest charges on account of policies insuring the payment of the compensation provided for by this chapter which may be due from an employer to any insurance company authorized to transact the business of workers' compensation insurance in this commonwealth shall be entitled to priority or preference over claims not otherwise preferred by law in bankruptcy involving such employer.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXI - Labor and Industries › Chapter 152 - Workers' Compensation › Section 52d - Appeal From Action or Decision of Rating Organization; Rating Information

Section 52D. Any member of or subscriber to a rating organization may appeal to the commissioner from the action or decision of such rating organization in approving or rejecting any proposed change in or addition to the filings of such rating organization and the commissioner shall, after a hearing held upon not less than ten days' written notice to the appellant and to such rating organization, issue an order approving the action or decision of such rating organization or directing it to give further consideration to such proposal, or, if such appeal is from the action or decision of the rating organization in rejecting a proposed addition to its filings, he may, in the event he finds that such action or decision was unreasonable, issue an order directing the rating organization to make an addition to its filings, on behalf of its members and subscribers, in a manner consistent with his findings, within a reasonable time after the issuance of such order. In deciding such appeal the commissioner of insurance shall apply the standards set forth in section fifty-two.
Every rating organization and every insurer which makes its own rates shall, within a reasonable time after receiving written request therefor and upon payment of such reasonable charge as it may make, furnish to any insured affected by a rate made by it, or to the authorized representative of such insured, all pertinent information as to such rate. Every rating organization and every insurer which makes its own rates shall provide within the commonwealth reasonable means whereby any person aggrieved by the application of its rating system may be heard, in person or by his authorized representative, on his written request to review the manner in which such rating system has been applied in connection with the insurance afforded him. If the rating organization or insurer fails to grant or reject such request within thirty days after it is made, the applicant may proceed in the same manner as if his application had been rejected. Any party affected by the action of such rating organization or such insurer on such request may, within thirty days after written notice of such action, appeal to the commissioner, who, after a hearing held upon not less than ten days' written notice to the appellant and to such rating organization or insurer, may affirm or reverse such action.