A judge is drawing criticism in Middlesex County Superior Court for placing a personal injury verdict under seal right after the jury rendered it.

Judge Thomas Buck issued the order Nov. 8 after conducting a four-week trial in Silva v. Jacobs, which was brought by a worker who was injured in a construction accident. Counsel for defendant Jacobs Engineering Group sought to have the verdict kept under wraps after it was announced in open court, said Mark Morris, a lawyer for plaintiff Joao Silva, in a letter sent to Buck on Monday.