The Senate in October passed Massachusetts Bar
Association-backed legislation that would increase the maximum
allowable benefit for those workers who suffer scarring and
disfigurement on the job from a flat $15,000 to 22.5 times the
state's average weekly wage. Additionally, this legislation removes
the requirement that the scarring be on the face, neck and hands,
thus benefitting those workers who have scarring and disfigurement
on their legs, arms and torso.
Deborah G. Kohl, chair of the MBA's Workers' Compensation
Section Council, testified in support of the bill before the
Legislature's Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development
earlier this year.
The bill now heads to the House of Representatives.