Bertocchi's Case

Approximately four weeks before he died, Louis V. Bertocchi accepted an offer to settle his workers’ compensation case. The Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) ruled that the settlement was unenforceable, essentially because it had not been reduced to writing and approved by the DIA reviewing board. The administrator of Bertocchi’s estate appeals from a decision of the single justice of this court affirming the DIA’s ruling. We conclude that there was no error and, therefore, affirm the decision of the single justice.

Background. The facts, in summary and as established by stipulation,…