## Facts

- Israel N. Berthiaume worked as a ground man assisting crane operations.
- He testified that a coil of wire weighing over 100 pounds slipped while being raised and struck him on the head, rendering him unconscious.
- He stated he immediately reported the incident to the employer’s personnel director and was sent to the employer’s physician, who treated a cut on the back of his head.
- After the incident, Berthiaume experienced headaches, dizziness, and blackouts, stopped working for a period, briefly returned, and then left work due to ongoing symptoms.
- He sought medical care over the following years, including outpatient hospital visits in early 1947.
- In 1947, a neurological surgeon (Dr. Carmody) hospitalized and operated on Berthiaume and diagnosed traumatic encephalopathy with associated cortical atrophy.
- Berthiaume filed a workers’ compensation claim in 1948, alleging a crane-related head injury occurring “on or about” June 1941.
- The single member of the Industrial Accident Board found only a chest and ankle injury in 1941, no causal connection to the later brain condition, and insurer prejudice from lack of notice and delay; the claim was dismissed.
- The reviewing board credited Berthiaume’s account of a head injury, found the incident occurred in July 1942, found medical causation and total incapacity, and found the insurer was not prejudiced by notice defects or delay.
- The Superior Court entered a decree dismissing the claim, and Berthiaume appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether defects or delay in notice and in filing the claim barred compensation where the reviewing board found the insurer was not prejudiced.
2. Whether the reviewing board’s finding that a workplace head injury caused traumatic encephalopathy and total incapacity was supported by evidence.
3. Whether the Superior Court could dismiss the claim despite reviewing board findings supported by evidence.

## Decision

- The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the Superior Court decree dismissing the claim.
- The court directed entry of a decree consistent with the reviewing board’s decision awarding compensation for total incapacity.
- The court held that the reviewing board’s findings on the occurrence and date of the head injury, causal connection, and lack of insurer prejudice were supported by evidence and therefore conclusive.

## Legal Principles

- In Massachusetts workers’ compensation proceedings, the reviewing board is the factfinder; its findings are final if supported by evidence, and courts may not reweigh conflicting testimony.
- Failure to give timely notice or delay in pursuing a claim does not bar recovery if the factfinder determines the insurer was not prejudiced in investigating or defending the claim.
- Medical causation and incapacity may be found based on competent medical opinion credited by the reviewing board, together with evidence of post-accident symptoms.
- An inaccurate or approximate accident date in the claim does not defeat recovery where the factfinder determines the actual date and the insurer is not prejudiced.

## Conclusion

The court reinstated the compensation award because the reviewing board’s supported findings established a compensable head injury, medical causation, and no insurer prejudice from notice defects or delay, leaving no basis for the Superior Court to dismiss the claim.


Berthiaume’s Case, 328 Mass. 186, 102 N.E.2d 412 (1951)