Plymouth County Retirement Board v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Board

The defendant Donald E. Newman appeals from a Superior Court judgment vacating a decision of the Contributory Retirement Appeal Board (CRAB) that awarded him accidental disability retirement benefits, G. L. c. 32, § 7(1). Newman had sought benefits because of major depression, engendered by his work in the winter of 1995-1996. December, *1151995, was a particularly snowy month in West Bridgewater (town), and employees of the highway department, of which Newman was the superintendent, had to expend extra horns to keep the town’s streets open and sanded. Conflicts arose between Newman and…