Skip to main content
DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Bermudez v. Dielectrics, Inc., 113 N.E.3d 927 (2018)

Citation
Bermudez v. Dielectrics, Inc., 113 N.E.3d 927 (2018)
Parent Document
Bermudez v. Dielectrics, Inc., 113 N.E.3d 927 (2018)
Jurisdiction
Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date
2018-11-16

Full Text

1,124 chars
Discussion. 1. Statutory history. General Laws c. 152, the workers' compensation act (the act), "provide[s] wage-loss protection to employees who are injured on the *930job and incur a loss of earning capacity from the injury." Tobin's Case, 424 Mass. 250, 253, 675 N.E.2d 781 (1997). Prior to 1971, when an employee suffered from a work-related injury, she could choose either to file for benefits under the act or to file a third-party action for her injuries, but could not do both.3 See DaRoza v. Arter, 416 Mass. 377, 379 n.2, 622 N.E.2d 604 (1993). See also *494Costa v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 29 Mass. App. Ct. 176, 178, 558 N.E.2d 999 (1990) ("In earlier versions of § 15, the insurer controlled third-party litigation unless the employee took the daring step of seeking recovery from the third-party, but that would have constituted an election not to seek workers' compensation"). The statute read, in part, "[T]he employee may at his option proceed either at law against that person to recover damages or against the insurer for compensation[,] ... but ... not against both" (emphasis supplied). St. 1943, c. 432.