Best Read Massachusetts Headlines
Headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page with the most time spent reading.
#1 Teen Who Ate Spicy Tortilla Chip Died of High Chile Consumption; Also Had Heart Defect
May 22 2024 // A Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge on social media died from eating a large quantity of chile pepper extract and also had a congenital heart defect, according to autopsy results...
#2 Damages Upheld for Man Whose Ex-Girlfriend Shared Nude Photo Without Permission
Jan 17 2025 // A Massachusetts man who sued his ex-girlfriend over her sharing an unflattering nude photo of him and accessing his personal online accounts without permission has had his $10,280 court award upheld. In December 2023, a...
#3 Ban on Switchblades Violates Second Amendment: Massachusetts High Court
Aug 28 2024 // A 1957 Massachusetts law banning the possession of certain switchblades violates the federal Second Amendment right to bear arms, the highest court in Massachusetts has ruled. The state court found that switchblades...
#4 Massachusetts Voters Allow Uber, Lyft Drivers to Unionize
Nov 7 2024 // Massachusetts voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure that would allow ride-share drivers to unionize, becoming the first U.S. state to allow drivers for app-based companies like Uber and Lyft to do so. With 94% of...
#5 Massachusetts Appeals Court Upholds Restaurants’ COVID-19 Insurance Denial
May 21 2024 // In a ruling against an upscale restaurant chain, a Massachusetts Appeals Court has followed the recipe the state’s high court set forth in 2022 in ruling that the COVID-19 virus does not trigger business interruption...
#6 Massachusetts Probes Robinhood Again, This Time Over March Madness Betting
Mar 27 2025 // REUTERS EXCLUSIVE Massachusetts’ top securities regulator has begun an investigation into trading platform Robinhood’s decision to launch a prediction-markets hub that allows users to bet on the outcomes of a...
#7 RiverStone Acquires Electric Insurance; Plymouth Rock Gets Renewal Rights
Jun 3 2024 // RiverStone International reports it has closed on its acquisition of Electric Insurance Co. and its two subsidiaries, Elm Insurance Co. and Electric Insurance Agency. Electric Insurance is a Beverly,...
#8 ‘Surface Waters’ on Roof Are Not ‘Flood’ Waters, Massachusetts High Court Rules
Jul 23 2024 // The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that rainwater accumulation on roofs of buildings does not constitute “surface waters” within the meaning of “flood” in property insurance policies. The...
#9 Massachusetts High Court Upholds $20 Million Verdict Over Leg Amputation
Jan 7 2025 // The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has upheld a $20 million jury award in a medical malpractice case that found three medical professionals caused a patient to have an above-the-knee amputation of his leg. In 2023, a...
#10 Massachusetts High Court Upholds Workers’ Comp for Utility Worker’s COVID
Apr 16 2025 // An insurer erred in denying workers’ compensation benefits to a utility worker who contracted COVID-19 while on the job, a job the state had deemed as “essential” during the pandemic. The insurer had...
#11 Uber and Lyft Agree to Higher Wages, Work-Accident Insurance in Mass. Settlement
Jul 1 2024 // BOSTON (AP) — Drivers for Uber and Lyft will earn a minimum pay standard of $32.50 per hour and will be eligible for occupational accident insurance paid by the companies for up to $1 million for work-related injuries...
#12 Massachusetts Faces Off Against Uber, Lyft in Trial Over Status of Gig Workers
May 13 2024 // Uber Technologies and Lyft are set to face trial on Monday in a U.S. lawsuit by Massachusetts’ attorney general alleging the ride-share companies misclassified their drivers as independent contractors rather than...
#13 Bankrupt Steward Health to Close Two Massachusetts Hospitals
Jul 29 2024 // Bankrupt hospital owner Steward Health Care will close two locations in Massachusetts after failing to find a buyer for them, the company said Friday. Steward filed for bankruptcy in May, putting all of its 31 hospitals up...
#14 Meta Must Face Massachusetts Social Media Addiction Lawsuit
Oct 21 2024 // Meta Platforms must face a lawsuit by Massachusetts alleging the social media company purposely deployed features on its Instagram platform to addict young users and deceived the public about the dangers it posed to the...
#15 Doctor, One of Top Prescribers of Opioids in Massachusetts, Is Sentenced
May 23 2024 // A Massachusetts orthopedic surgeon who prosecutors say was one of the top prescribers of opioid drugs in the state was sentenced in federal court in Boston for his role in a health care fraud scheme. Dr. Olarewaju James...
#16 Massachusetts Weighs Workers’ Comp Rate Hike to Correct for ‘Excessive’ 2024 Cut
Dec 18 2024 // Massachusetts workers’ compensation insurers have filed for a 7.1% increase in average rates for industrial classes beginning July 1, 2025 — the first rate increase since 2016. Why an increase in 2025? According to...
#17 Bankrupt Steward Health Care Sells Physician Network as Massachusetts Hospital Seized
Aug 19 2024 // Bankrupt hospital operator Steward Health Care received a bankruptcy judge’s approval on Friday to sell its nationwide physician network to a private equity buyer while its stalled efforts to sell Massachusetts...
#18 Diminished Value Not Covered by Standard Auto Policy, Massachusetts High Court Says
Jan 31 2025 // The Massachusetts standard auto policy does not require an insurer to pay inherent diminished value (IDV) to a claimant whose vehicle is damaged by one of its insureds. The Massachusetts Supreme Court in a 6-0 ruling has...
#19 Massachusetts Charges 12 With Running $2.6 Million High-End Car Theft Ring
Dec 17 2024 // Massachusetts law enforcement officials report that 12 individuals identified as stealing 63 high-end vehicles totaling more than $2.6 million have been arraigned. Another individual related to the investigation has an...
#20 Worker Dies After Excavator Is Buried Under Rocks at Massachusetts Quarry
Aug 26 2024 // A worker was killed last Thursday morning after a portion of a rock ledge collapsed onto an excavator with the worker inside, burying it under rocks and boulders at a quarry site in Massachusetts. Firefighters and other...
