Fairbairn v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Board

Gregory Fairbaim (employee), a diesel power plant operator at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), appeals from the denial of his application for accidental disability retirement. On January 7, 1993, while performing the duties of his job, a wooden staircase collapsed beneath him, causing him to fall six feet. He twisted his right knee when he landed on a cement foundation. The employee, who was thirty-six years old at the time of the accident, had a *354twenty-year history of problems with both knees, including multiple surgeries. Nevertheless, he had worked at his job at the MWRA…