Opinion
No. 12–P–1932.
2014-04-10
Jeffrey D. CHAPUT'S (dependent's) CASE.
This statute, enacted in 1937, significantly changed the law and “was intended to make it easier for a dependent to recover compensation in the event of an employee's suicide than it had been under the prior law.” 6 McCarthy's Case, 28 Mass.App.Ct. 213, 215 (1990). See Nason et al., Workers' Compensation § 10.15 (3d ed.2003). The most recent case to interpret the statute states “that a suicide is within the purview of § 26A if it is simply causally connected to the unsoundness of mind resulting from the injury, without having to show any particular quantity or quality of that cause.” Dube's Case, 70 Mass.App.Ct. 121, 127 (2007) (quoting from the board's decision in that case).