Riordan's Case

The employee’s widow (the claimant) made a claim for compensation which was denied by the single member and the reviewing board of the Industrial Accident Board and by the Superior Court. The employee died while at work and the claimant asserts that under G. L. c. 152, § 7A, there is a presumption that the claim comes within the provisions of the chapter. Section 7A was amended by St. 1971, c. 702, to provide that where the employee has been “found dead at his place of employment” it shall be “prima facie evidence” that the claim comes within the chapter, but the amendment does not apply to…