Judge apologizes to injured worker

         On Oct. 11, 2006, two members of the Alliance for Injured Workers traveled to Boston and spoke against the reappointment of Judge Bridget Murphy, who has served as a judge in the Department of Industrial Accidents for 12 years.

Nancy Foley, director of the Alliance for Injured Workers, told the Governor’s Council that she had a “vivid and painful memory” of appearing before Judge Murphy as a claimant in 1999 in Springfield.

“Judge Murphy told me that she likes to encourage people in my situation to do a little bit more with our lives,” Ms. Foley told the council.

Ms. Foley described her professional and academic background and extensive volunteer work prior to having to stop working due to a repetitive strain injury. “I felt I had already done a great deal with my life,” she said. “When I entered Judge Murphy's courtroom, I was terrified about what was happening to my body. I had no reason to feel ashamed of the fact that I was not working. I had continued to work for years in pain before I finally had to go out of work. I was stunned that anyone would view me as someone who needed to be encouraged or motivated to do more with my life.”

Ms. Foley went on to express her concern about the attitude the judge appeared to be expressing toward injured workers in general. “I have had the opportunity to help hundreds of individuals navigate the workers compensation system, including some who are left permanently disabled. These individuals are not lesser human beings because they are unable to return to regular, full-time employment. In fact, it takes a great deal of courage to face life with chronic pain and disabilities, and to struggle to perform everyday tasks of living that people who are not disabled take for granted.”

            Ms. Foley explained that she had accompanied another injured worker to the DIA several years ago and heard the worker’s lawyer advise her, “Your judge is Bridget Murphy, and unless you are 150 years old, she thinks that you can work.”

Patricia Walsh, a member of the advisory board of the Alliance for Injured Workers, also addressed the Governor’s Council. One of the main functions of the council, which meets each Wednesday at the Statehouse, is to confirm or reject the Governor’s nominees for judicial appointments. 

Ms. Walsh told the councilors that she was with Ms. Foley at her hearing in 1999. Breaking down into tears, Ms. Walsh stated that in her opinion, the tone, demeanor and statements of the judge came across as demeaning.

            Judge Murphy responded by apologizing to Ms. Foley, saying that she was sorry if her comments were interpreted as demeaning. Judge Murphy said she could not remember the incident, but that she was sure that her comments were meant as encouragement. “I am sure that what I meant was you need to get beyond this and move on,” she said. The judge, who said she had no memory of the incident, added that her words were probably intended as encouragement to “think about what you can do, not what you can’t do.”

In her statement to the council, Ms. Foley stressed that she was not testifying because she was unhappy about a decision that Judge Murphy made in her case. In fact, Judge Murphy never ruled on her case because it was settled the day of the hearing.

After the hearing, Ms. Foley said that she did not consider the judge’s apology to be sincere. The explanation the judge gave showed that she still did not understand that some injured workers are incapable of working. “At times, disabled people really do have to focus on what they can’t do,” Ms. Foley said. “They can’t cure their physical problems through positive thinking.”

Furthermore, Ms. Foley noted that the judge said that encouraging her to consider another occupation would be consistent with the diagnosis of repetitive strain injury. “Too many people minimize the severity of this type of injury,” Ms. Foley said. “Had I left a repetitive job in the early stages, then certainly I might have been able to make a smooth transition to another occupation. But, like many people, I kept working in pain until I was left with a permanent, chronic pain condition. Ironically, it is those of us who try the hardest to keep working that end up the most severely injured.”

            In addition to the testimony of Ms. Walsh and Ms. Foley, two injured workers from Western Massachusetts wrote letters to the council expressing concern about the attitude of Judge Murphy toward injured workers.

Nevertheless, a week after the hearing, the Governor’s Council confirmed the reappointment of Judge Murphy to another six years as a judge.

            “I guess most people in the state have come to expect the Governor’s Council to be a rubber stamp,” Ms. Foley said.