Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 152, § 26A (2026)

Suicide

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 26A. Dependents shall not be precluded from recovery under this chapter, nor shall the insurance company be relieved from making payment to the commonwealth under section sixty-five, for death by suicide of the employee, if it be shown by the weight of the evidence that, due to the injury, the employee was of such unsoundness of mind as to make him irresponsible for his act of suicide.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases, 1978–2014 · leading case: Alba v. Raytheon Co., 441 Mass. 836 (Mass. 2004).

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Alba v. Raytheon Co., 441 Mass. 836 (Mass. 2004). “See G. L. c. 152, § 26A. The plaintiff’s contentions in the department proceedings were predicated on allegations that, as a result of Raytheon’s refusal to make requested accommodations and its increasing Alba’s job responsibilities, Alba suffered a work-related injury that led…”

Fitzgibbons's Case, 373 N.E.2d 1174 (Mass. 1978). “said suicide was the result of the employee being of ‘such unsoundness of mind as to make him irresponsible for his act of suicide’ [G. L. c. 152, § 26A].” The self-insurer first argues that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the board’s finding of causal connection between…”

Moss's Case, 889 N.E.2d 43 (Mass. 2008). “See also G. L. c. 152, §§ 26A, 27 (limiting employer’s liability in cases of suicide or employee’s wilful misconduct).”

Walsh v. Tehachapi Unified Sch. Dist., 997 F. Supp. 2d 1071 (E.D. Cal. 2014). “466 , 468 (1915), superseded by statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 152, § 26A (1937). States applying the irresistible impulse test tended to compensate suicides “marked by some violent or eccentric method of self-destruction, while the noncompensable cases usually *1083 present a…”

Dube's Case, 872 N.E.2d 1171 (Mass. App. Ct. 2007). · cites it 2× “On appeal by the insurer from the award of death benefits under § 31, the reviewing *122 board of the Department of Industrial Accidents (board) affirmed, holding that, pursuant to G. L. c. 152, § 26A, the claimant was entitled to recover on account of the employee’s death by…”

McCarthy's Case, 548 N.E.2d 888 (Mass. App. Ct. 1990). · cites it 3× “” G. L. c. 152, § 26A, inserted by St. 1937, c.”

William Kealoha v. Owcp, 713 F.3d 521 (9th Cir. 2013). “466 , 468 (1915), superseded by statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 152, § 26A (1937). States applying the irresistible impulse test tended to compensate suicides “marked by some violent or eccentric method of self-destruction, while the noncompensable cases usually present a story of…”

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