Murphy v. Commissioner of the Department of Industrial Accidents

General Laws c. 152, § 11 A, as appearing in St. 1991, c. 398, § 30, provides that an employee who seeks to challenge an administrative judge’s denial of workers’ compensation benefits must pay a fee if the case involves a medical issue and if the employee wishes to proceed with the assistance of counsel.2 The statute imposes no such fee on pro se claimants. In her action for declaratory and injunctive relief, the plaintiff, Jean Murphy, challenges the constitutionality of the fee provisions of § 11 A. We hold that the challenged portions of § 11A violate the equal protection clause of the…