By Todd Feathers | Lowell Sun DRACUT — Town Manager Jim Duggan has scheduled a civil-service hearing Monday to determine whether Deputy Police Chief David Chartrand violated department policy and state law when he released documents regarding a Dracut police lieutenant to The Sun. Chartrand received a letter notifying him of the hearing on Wednesday and through a lawyer expressed his expectation that the hearing
You’ve been in a serious car accident along the busy roads of Worcester. The damage to your vehicle is great, but that doesn’t measure up to the pain that goes along with your injuries. Not only is your car totaled, but you’re about to receive numerous medical bills for thousands of dollars. Who pays for that? • Medical Bills The state of Massachusetts follows the
Construction Accidents happen for many reasons. People injured in construction accidents within the state of Massachusetts often face medical bills and related expenses that can dig deeply into their budgets and that also cause undue hardships for their families. Dangerous conditions at work sites caused by negligence, dangerous working conditions and the unsafe practices of contractors, architects, subcontractors, product or tool manufacturers and others who
In 2015, RJA secured the dismissal of a civil rights claim brought against the Chief of Police for the City of Fall River. The plaintiff in the action accused a Fall River police officer of raping her while the officer was on duty, and the claim against the Chief of Police was that the Chief had failed to supervise or discipline the officer appropriately in
In Massachusetts, the DIA or Department of Industrial Accidents oversees workers’ compensation claims from Construction Accidents. OSHA, which is the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has Safety and Health Regulations for Construction that specifically cover construction site safety. Likewise, Massachusetts regulates construction site safety in certain sections of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations, in the State Building Code and in the
By Jeanette DeForge | MassLive A Chicopee Police Department sergeant, once accused of sharing graphic photos of murder victim Amanda Plasse, has been reinstated by the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission after being demoted to patrolman for “untruthfulness” on a burglary case. Following an appeal hearing, the commission reversed the demotion of Police Sgt. Jeffery Godere made by Mayor Richard J. Kos. It however upheld a
What is a Whistleblower? A Whistleblower is a person who brings violations of the law to the attention of the appropriate enforcement authorities. But that’s risky, isn’t it? If you report that your employer is not following safety, reporting or other standards, he can just fire you, can’t he? As a society, we value whistleblowers. We need to have people willing to stand up
By Jim Russell | Special to The Republican The South Hadley Fire District 1 Prudential Committee has notified Fire Chief Robert Authier they intend to keep him as chief, even though the board has not renewed his contract that expires on Dec. 30. Earlier this year, the three member panel had begun a search for a replacement chief. But in a letter to Authier, Prudential
Winter is coming, and there will be snow and ice. In fact, if it’s anything like last year, there may be a lot of snow and ice. Injuries due to snow and ice may be cause for damages in a premises liability case. Premises liability in Massachusetts, however, describes many types of injuries and accidents, not just those caused by our weather. The term “premises
By Jim Russell | Special to The Republican The South Hadley Fire District 1 Prudential Committee has voted not to renew the employment contract of Chief Robert Authier, which expires on Dec. 31. The board has begun a search process to hire a new chief, meeting minutes also show. Contacted Tuesday, Authier said he has retained lawyer Andrew Gambaccini, of the Worcester firm Reardon, Joyce
