Best Read Massachusetts Headlines

Headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page with the most time spent reading.

#1 Fishing Community Mayor, Top Officials Off the Hook in Retaliation Claims

Dec 1 2023 // The mayor and other city officials in the fishing community of Gloucester, Massachusetts are protected under qualified immunity against claims by the city’s harbormaster that they violated his First Amendment...

#2 Lawsuit Blames Negligence by Plant Owner, HVAC Contractors for Cannabis Worker’s Asthma Death

Nov 29 2023 // A lawsuit has been filed over what has been identified as the cannabis industry’s first asthma workplace death.The mother of a worker who died from an asthma attack at a Massachusetts cannabis processing plant in...

#3 State’s High Court Asked to Define ‘Surface Waters’ Under Flood Coverage

Dec 22 2023 // Do “surface waters” covered by property flood insurance include rainwater that accumulated on an enclosed roof one or more stories above the ground?The landlord and operator of a suburban Massachusetts hospital...

#4 Massachusetts Climate Strategy Brings Together Its 78 Coastal Communities

Nov 30 2023 // Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has announced a plan to assist the state’s 78 coastal communities from Cape Cod to the North Shore, where 2.5 million live, with their development of long-term regulatory, policy,...

#5 Massachusetts to Remove 8 Aging Dams for Water Quality, Flood Mitigation, Safety

Dec 4 2023 // Eight aging dams in central and western Massachusetts will be removed as part of a $25 million initiative announced Friday by state environmental officials.The structures to be dismantled include the abandoned high-hazard...

#6 State Troopers Arrested for Alleged Commercial Driver’s License Bribery Scam

Jan 31 2024 // Two current and two former Massachusetts State Police troopers are among six charged in connection with an alleged conspiracy to give passing scores to certain Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) applicants, including...

#7 Status of Uber, Lyft Gig Workers Riding On Massachusetts Court Fight

May 6 2024 // Massachusetts has become the latest front in a years-long battle in the United States over whether ride-share drivers for Uber and Lyft should be treated as independent contractors or employees entitled to benefits and...

#8 Teen Who Ate Spicy Tortilla Chip Died of High Chile Consumption; Also Had Heart Defect

May 22 2024 // A Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge on social media died from eating a large quantity of chile pepper extract and also had a congenital heart defect, according to autopsy results...

#9 Citing Immunity Law, Judge Tosses Body Parts Theft Claims Against Harvard

Feb 13 2024 // A Massachusetts Superior Court judge has dismissed negligence, infliction of emotional distress and other claims against Harvard and the operators of its medical school’s anatomical gift program by relatives of...

#10 200 Patients Sue, Alleging Sexual Abuse, Unnecessary Exams by Boston Doctor

Apr 12 2024 // More than a decade ago, Kristin Fritz was struggling with pain in her spine and saw a rheumatologist recommended by her doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.The visit with Dr. Derrick Todd started...

#11 Ban on Switchblades Violates Second Amendment: Massachusetts High Court

Aug 28 2024 // A 1957 Massachusetts law banning the possession of certain switchblades violates the federal Second Amendment right to bear arms, the highest court in Massachusetts has ruled.The state court found that switchblades qualify...

#12 Residents Frustrated as $600K in Shore Protection Washes Away at Beach

Mar 15 2024 // A Massachusetts beach community is scrambling after a weekend storm washed away $600,000 in sand that was trucked in to protect homes, roads and other infrastructure.The project, which brought 14,000 tons (12,701 metric...

#13 Massachusetts Top Court Debates Challenges to Gig Worker Ballot Measures

May 7 2024 // Massachusetts’s highest court on Monday weighed whether ballot proposals that would redefine the relationship between app-based companies like Uber Technologies and Lyft and their drivers should be allowed to go...

#14 Massachusetts Voters Allow Uber, Lyft Drivers to Unionize

Nov 7 2024 // Massachusetts voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure that would allow ride-share drivers to unionize, becoming the first U.S. state to allow drivers for app-based companies like Uber and Lyft to do so.With 94% of...

#15 Massachusetts Farmers Get $20 Million in State Disaster Relief After Rough Year

Dec 15 2023 // It was a rough year for many Massachusetts farmers who experienced a deep February freeze, a late May frost event, and catastrophic flooding in July.To help them recover from the damage, the Healey-Driscoll Administration...

#16 Massachusetts Appeals Court Upholds Restaurants’ COVID-19 Insurance Denial

May 21 2024 // In a ruling against an upscale restaurant chain, a Massachusetts Appeals Court has followed the recipe the state’s high court set forth in 2022 in ruling that the COVID-19 virus does not trigger business interruption...

#17 Top East Insurance Journal Stories of 2023

Dec 29 2023 // Insurance Journal East readers showed keen interest in news about insurance agents’ responsibilities in 2023 including court cases involving an agent’s homeowner client with an unlisted dog; Harvard...

#18 Member of Major Catalytic Converter Theft Crew Sentenced to More Than Three Years

Mar 20 2024 // A Springfield, Massachusetts man was sentenced last week in federal court in Boston for his role in a regional organized theft crew that stole catalytic converters from nearly 500 vehicles, robbed jewelry stores and stole...

#19 RiverStone Acquires Electric Insurance; Plymouth Rock Gets Renewal Rights

Jun 3 2024 // RiverStone International reports it has closed on its acquisition of Electric Insurance Co. and its two subsidiaries, Elm Insurance Co. and Electric Insurance Agency.Electric Insurance is a Beverly, Massachusetts-domiciled...

#20 ‘Surface Waters’ on Roof Are Not ‘Flood’ Waters, Massachusetts High Court Rules

Jul 23 2024 // The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that rainwater accumulation on roofs of buildings does not constitute “surface waters” within the meaning of “flood” in property insurance policies.The...