Latest Massachusetts Headlines

All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Massachusetts Adds Cannabis Risks Curriculum to Driver Education Program

Dec 19 2022 // Beginning next month, Massachusetts will adopt a curriculum designed to educate teens on the risks of driving while under the influence of cannabis.Under the program, as of Jan. 1, Massachusetts will become the first state...

Alcohol Causes 1 in 20 Deaths in Massachusetts, Boston University Report Shows

Dec 15 2022 // Alcohol kills on average 2,760 people a year in Massachusetts and the health, safety and economic toll of liquor on Bay State residents outstrips revenues from state alcohol taxes.Those are among the findings from a new...

Massachusetts Settles With Walmart Over Workers’ Compensation Drug Prices

Dec 7 2022 // Retail pharmacy Walmart, Inc. has agreed to pay $500,000 to Massachusetts after allegedly failing to follow the state’s prescription pricing procedures designed to keep costs down in the workers’ compensation...

Massachusetts High Court to Weigh Fate of 27,000 Drunk Driving Cases

Dec 6 2022 // On Wednesday, December 7, the Massachusetts high court is scheduled to begin considering a case that could result in the tossing of as many as 27,000 drunk driving cases.The case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial...

Massachusetts Insurance Agent Sentenced for Disability Fraud

Dec 2 2022 // The former owner and operator of an Arlington-based insurance agency was sentenced earlier this month for fraudulently receiving disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Social Security...

Massachusetts Prison Guards Begin Body Camera Pilot Program

Dec 2 2022 // About 50 correctional officers at a Massachusetts prison are participating in a pilot program to evaluate the use of body cams in improving safety and transparency in state Department of Correction facilities, officials...

Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty in Physical Therapy Insurance Scam

Nov 30 2022 // A Boston man pleaded guilty in federal court in connection with a scheme to defraud an insurance company for physical therapy services that were not provided to patients, according to prosecutors.Officials said Slava Pride...

Agency Partnerships: SAN Group Adds Woodland Agency of Massachusetts; Vermont’s Barrett Agency Joins Renaissance

Nov 23 2022 // Independent insurance agency alliance Satellite Agency Network (SAN) Group, Inc. recently announced the addition of Woodland Insurance Agency of Hanson, Massachusetts to its network.Founded nearly 40 years ago, Woodland...

Relation Insurance Buys Garrity Agency in Massachusetts

Nov 16 2022 // California-headquartered broker Relation Insurance Services reports it acquired the assets of Garrity Insurance in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Nov. 1.Serving Massachusetts individuals and businesses for more than 100...

Judge Approves $56M Settlement Over COVID Deaths in Veterans’ Home in Massachusetts

Nov 16 2022 // A federal judge in Springfield has given the green light to a $56 million settlement between the state of Massachusetts and families of 76 veterans who died from COVID-19 while living in the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in...

OSHA Cites Massachusetts Roofing Company for Fifth Time

Nov 15 2022 // A Quincy, Massachusetts roofing contractor exposed workers on the roofs of a garage and house in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood to potentially fatal falls from heights, federal workplace safety inspectors...

World Insurance Acquires JR Tallman in Massachusetts

Nov 15 2022 // World Insurance Associates reports that it acquired JR Tallman & Co. Inc. (JRT) of Taunton, Massachusetts on October 1, 2022. JR Tallman & Co. started out as the Sidney W. Williams Co. in 1839, providing fire...

Jury Awards Massachusetts Police Detective $4M in Sex Discrimination Lawsuit

Nov 14 2022 // A jury has awarded more than $4 million to a former Massachusetts police detective who said in a lawsuit that she was subjected to demeaning and sexist comments at work and rebuked for speaking up about dangerous conduct...

Massachusetts AG Finds More Drug Overcharges in Workers’ Compensation

Nov 8 2022 // Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts, Inc. has agreed to pay $3.2 million after allegedly failing to follow prescription pricing procedures intended to keep costs down and prevent overcharges in the state’s...

Uber Can’t Force Massachusetts Crash Victim to Arbitration

Nov 2 2022 // Uber cannot compel a passenger seriously injured in a crash involving an Uber driver to go to arbitration over his $63 million damages claim without a trial.Citing a 2021 state high court ruling that also went against...

World Insurance Acquires Circle Agency in Massachusetts

Oct 28 2022 // Insurance brokerage World Insurance Associates has acquired Circle Insurance Agency Inc. of Danvers, Massachusetts.Founded in 1989 by James M. Holbrook, Circle Insurance provides personal and commercial lines as well as...

Claims Adjuster Charged With Stealing $28K, IDs of Victims of Massachusetts Gas Explosion

Oct 4 2022 // A claims adjuster working for Columbia Gas has been indicted in connection with stealing more than $28,000 and the identities of four victims of a 2018 Merrimack Valley gas explosions, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura...

Massachusetts Car Dealer Denies Racial Bias Charges: ‘We Would Be Hurting Ourselves’

Sep 22 2022 // Management at a Massachusetts car dealership accused in a lawsuit filed by the state of illegally charging Black and Hispanic customers more for remote starters, paint protection and other add-on products than it does for...

Massachusetts Auto Dealer Accused of Racial Bias in Pricing

Sep 21 2022 // A Massachusetts car dealership illegally charged Black and Hispanic customers hundreds of dollars more for remote starters, paint protection and other add-on products than it did for white customers, the state attorney...

OSHA Approves Massachusetts Public Worker Safety Plan

Sep 19 2022 // The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently granted Massachusetts initial approval for a state-run safety and health plan for state and local government workers. The Massachusetts plan covers an...