Retirement – Accidental disability

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Where a petitioner filed an application to retire for accidental disability based on two incidents involving a male colleague, the denial of her application should be affirmed because (1) one of the incidents preceded the petitioner’s retirement application by more than a decade and (2) the petitioner was not performing any articulable duties of her public-service position at the time of the second incident.

“The petitioner appeals from a decision of the Middlesex County Retirement System (board) denying her application to retire for accidental disability. …

“The petitioner began working for a municipal police department in 2006. …

“The petitioner attended the October 2010 convention along with a male colleague (colleague). At the time, the colleague was a sergeant. He outranked the petitioner, who was still a patrol officer. On the first night of the convention, the petitioner and the colleague had drinks together at a reception. They then ate dinner at a restaurant with other conventiongoers. At the dinner, the colleague bought the petitioner drinks called ‘bomb pops.’ She became intoxicated. The colleague walked with her to her hotel room, speaking of his higher rank and of his personal relationship with the petitioner’s father. The petitioner asked the colleague to leave her alone for the night; but he pressured her into allowing him to stay and to have sex with her. …

“In late 2021, the colleague — the same sergeant who had pressured the petitioner into sexual intercourse — became the new chief of the petitioner’s police department. A swearing-in ceremony open to the public took place during December of that year. Afterward, the colleague hosted a private party at a restaurant. The petitioner was invited to the party along with the rest of the department. She was reluctant to attend. But friends on the force persuaded her that her absence would predispose department officials against her for purposes such as promotions. …

“The petitioner remained at the party for three hours. As the event was winding down, she found herself alone with the colleague. He offered her a drink, specifically proposing a ‘bomb pop’ (the same drink that he had bought for her at the 2010 convention); the colleague then commented on how much he had enjoyed his night with the petitioner, noting his surprise that she had told no one about it. …

“There is no dispute that the petitioner satisfies the statutory elements of incapacity and permanence. The disagreement focuses on causation. The petitioner attributes her condition to the combination of two injurious incidents: the original unwanted sexual intercourse of October 2010, and the colleague’s remarks about that incident in December 2021. …

“Specifically with respect to the October 2010 incident, the petitioner does not necessarily disagree. In order to support an application for accidental disability retirement, the causative injury or hazard is required to have occurred ‘within two years prior to the filing of [the retirement] application.’ … The limited exceptions to this rule are not implicated here. … The October 2010 incident preceded the petitioner’s retirement application by more than a decade.

“The petitioner’s principal theory is that the December 2021 event aggravated her previously manageable symptoms to the point of disability. … This theory faces its own insuperable hurdle, namely the rule that the disabling injury or hazard needs to have occurred while the member was ‘in performance of [her] duties.’ G.L.c. 32, §7(1). The case law has read this rule stringently. …

“The incident that the petitioner suffered in December 2021 is outside the boundaries of the ‘performance of . . . duties’ requirement. She attended the colleague’s post-swearing-in party reluctantly: but she understood that her attendance was not mandatory. Neither the petitioner’s standard job duties nor any instructions from her supervisors required her to be there. … Even more critically, the activities that occurred at the party revolved around dining and socializing. While there, the petitioner was not performing any articulable duties of her public-service position. …

“The events that have disabled the petitioner are not necessarily beyond redress. She apparently is pursuing compensation through separate legal proceedings. The current appeal is limited to the issue of whether the petitioner is entitled to retire for accidental disability under the public retirement statute. On that issue, the petitioner’s case does not satisfy the strict applicable requirements. The board’s decision is therefore affirmed.”

Joni J. v. Middlesex County Retirement System (Lawyers Weekly No. 27-021-26) (9 pages) (Malkiel, Administrative Magistrate) (Division of Administrative Law Appeals) Leigh A. Panettiere for the petitioner; Thomas F. Gibson for the respondent (Docket No. CR-24-0610) (Feb. 20, 2026).

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