Brockton dispatcher, injured in horseplay, denied pension
By Globe Staff
The state appeals court has denied an accidental disability retirement to a Brockton police dispatcher who injured her right wrist and elbow because of the horseplay of a fellow employee.
Teresa Damiano had just stood up at her desk, intending to go to the bathroom and then to pick up some forms she needed, when a police officer placed her in a headlock and the two crashed to the floor. She injured her wrist and elbow so badly she never returned to work.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court, affirming a decision by the Contributory Retirement Appeal Board, said Damiano may have been injured "as a result of" her job, but she was not injured while in the performance of her duties, which is a requirement for a public employee to receive a disability pension.
"She sustained her injuries on account of an intervening fortuity unrelated to her job and while not actually engaged in the performance of her job," the court ruled.
The court said that a public employee injured at work may be entitled to workers' compensation but not to accidental disability benefits for the same injury.
The court said the requirements for an accidental disability retirement law are stricter because the benefits are more generous.
