Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

The Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston is abuzz with pending legislation set to be finalized shortly. The attorneys at the Boston Law Office of Neil Burns recently brought you an article concerning efforts to pass legislation banning texting while driving. As attorneys representing those injured in car accidents and other personal injuries, we know firsthand the importance of safe driving practices: distracted driving leads to many Boston residents being involved in car accidents, and suffering pedestrian and bicycle injuries.

The new law, called the Safe Driving Act, will ban texting while driving for all drivers in Massachusetts. This includes while operating the vehicle at red lights and in stop and go traffic. In addition, it bans drivers under 18 from using the cell phone altogether. Further, it requires all drivers older than 75 to have vision tests. It will make Massachusetts the 29th state to ban texting while driving.

Of course, it does not prevent someone in an emergency situation to pull over and use the cell phone.

Massachusetts courts are facing devastating budget cuts, with Boston courts trying to do more with less, notes Suffolk County Clerk-Magistrate Michael Donovan. The Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) assembled a task force to examine the day-to-day effects of recent court budget cuts. The Boston personal injury attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns are mindful of the important role courts play in adjudicating car accident and personal injury cases.

As Clerk-Magistrate Donovan noted, Boston area courts see their case load continue to go up, with "the only thing that's declined is the resources we need to serve the public." The statics as reported by the Massachusetts Bar Association are grim. Overall, the Massachusetts trial courts have lost 9.7 percent of its staff between July 1, 2007 and May 10, 2010, due to a hard hiring freeze. This equates to a whopping 740 staff position that are currently vacant and remained unfilled due to budget constraints.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Courts Facing Budget Crisis" »

Massachusetts and Boston's surrounding suburbs are a difficult place for medical malpractice claims. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly recently reviewed every medical malpractice case tried in Massachusetts Superior Court's in 2009. The end result showed how difficult it is to win your case against a Boston or Massachusetts area hospital or doctor. The experienced personal injury attorneys at the Boston Law Office of Neil Burns know first-hand how difficult it is to win at trial. "The survey done by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly simply demonstrates what we know firsthand," says Boston personal injury attorney Neil Burns.

Among the 10 counties in Massachusetts, Barnstable had the highest plaintiff verdicts at 25%. Half of the counties had zero plaintiff verdicts in 2009. Judge Patrick F. Brady, who sits in Norfolk County, reports that of the 151 personal injury trials he presided over, from 1993 to date, only 16 have resulted in plaintiff verdicts higher than the pre-trial offer. In Plymouth County, the number was only 3 out of 49 trials.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Medical Malpractice Trials" »

We warn our clients to secure Uninsurance and Underinsurance coverage for their motor vehicles all the time. This is because in my 25 years representing victims of motor vehicle accidents, one of the biggest problems we face is clients with significant injuries and insufficient insurance. A new bill, aimed at illegal immigrants requires the Registry of Motor Vehicles to secure the license number of the person registering the vehicle.

Again, the point of the law is to stop illegal immigrants from registering a car. Regardless of the intent, our fear as personal injury attorneys, reading the statistics that both sides publish, is that there are too many people out there without any effective insurance. If they are driving a car without a license, they are more likely to be uninsured.

Thus, whatever your position on illegal immigrants, review your insurance coverage as soon as possible to purchase sufficient uninsurance and underinsurance coverage.

Located in Boston, the Massachusetts Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) was created to help Massachusetts State and local law enforcement agencies enhance their investigative response to offenders who use the Internet, online communication systems, or other computer technology to exploit children. Protecting children includes monitoring their time on the internet. The Boston attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns represent children injured, and children hurt in accidents and childhood-type accidents and injuries, and we bring this message to help keep Boston and Massachusetts area children safe.

A survey by Cox Communication found that an overwhelming majority of teenagers believed that what they posted online would have an impact on their reputation. Nevertheless, they continue to engage in risky and inappropriate behavior on the internet. They use fake names, friend people they don't know, and take greater risks that appropriate. Even more alarming is the increased rate of bullying and sexual texting, also known as sexting.

Boston Municipal Court's Appellate Division recently decided an important case clarifying a Massachusetts insurer's use of the Personal Injury Protection Application in relation to extending Personal Injury Protection benefits. Boston personal injury and car accident attorney Thiadora A. Pina, of the Law Office of Neil Burns, notes this case lends direction to a long standing issue regarding payment of PIP benefits. "Massachusetts insurers have long held to the notion that you must return their individual form in order to be eligible for PIP benefits," notes Attorney Pina. "Finally, we know the issue remains prejudice to the insurer, not what particular form is filed."

The facts of the case recently decided concerned a 2005 motor vehicle accident. The injured party was a passenger in a motor vehicle insured by defendant Pilgrim Insurance Company. The policy was considered a "standard Massachusetts automobile policy" which included PIP, or personal injury protection insurance. This insurance, known as no-fault, provides up to $8,000 for medical bills and a percentage of lost wages.

Continue reading "PIP Benefits Do Not Hinge On Application Alone" »

Lynn City Council's office maybe following in Boston's footsteps as the Massachusetts city considers an ordinance requiring all pit bulls in Lynn be muzzled while they're out in the street on a leash. "Dog bite injuries can be very serious," notes Boston attorney Neil Burns of the Law Office of Neil Burns, "cities should take steps they feel are appropriate in order to protect people from dog bite injuries and attacks."

Lynn is not the only city dealing with the problem. There are reports this week of a Hyde Park pit bull attacking a 12 year old, a Boston pit bull attack, a Quincy bit bull attack resulting in a broken leg, and an Andover bit bull attack. As everyone knows, pit bulls can be wonderful pets. However, they are disproportionally responsible for vicious attacks. This is because they can be trained to harm and have powerful jaw and a disposition to not let up. Unfortunately, local ordinances are not necessarily the answer.

Continue reading "Lynn Following Boston to Reduce Dog Bite Injuries" »

Located in Boston, Lawyers Weekly of Massachusetts recently reviewed civil verdicts rendered in Superior Courts in Boston and throughout Massachusetts. The review showed that the deck is heavily stacked against tort plaintiffs, particularly those who go to trial in Norfolk County and other Boston suburban communities. The Boston attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns recommend that those clients considering taking their personal injury, car accident or other injury case to trial listen to the advice of their attorney. A lot of factors must be weighed before taking a case to trial, and the rate of success is certainly one large factor to consider.

The Massachusetts newspaper for lawyers, Lawyers Weekly, recently determined that of the civil jury trial verdicts in Norfolk Superior Court in 2009, only five of the 35 personal injury verdicts in 2009 favored plaintiffs. The county's 14 percent success rate was 22 percentage points lower than Essex County jury verdicts, which had the highest rate of plaintiffs' verdicts, and 12 points behind the statewide average of 26 percent.

The only region in Massachusetts with a lower success rate than Norfolk County was the Cape and Islands, which saw eight of its nine tort trials decided in favor of defendants.

Continue reading "Trying the Negligence Case in Massachusetts" »

Memorial Day in Massachusetts is known by Boston residents as the unofficial start of summer. Soon, Massachusetts children will be out of school for summer vacation, with Boston Public Schools letting out on June 24, 2010. And with summer and children outside, the risk of serious injuries increases greatly. The Boston attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns reminds all Boston area residents that childhood injuries increase during the summer months. We note the following information in an effort to keep our children safe and free from personal injury.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues reports which include injuries to children http://www.neilburnslaw.com/lawyer-attorney-1438190.html reports. From 2000 to 2006 the CDCP found 92 million emergency room visits for children, leading to 12,000 child deaths per year. The study shows that boys have a higher accident rate than girls and children with attention issues are more injury prone. However, more telling was that injuries would cluster in families - following the injury of one child, a sibling would be at significantly higher risk for injury for a three-month period. The physicians who undertook the study considered a contributing cause to be "post-traumatic arousal," which is related to post traumatic stress disorder.

Continue reading "Keeping Massachusetts Children and Siblings Safe" »

The Massachusetts Appeals Court, sitting in Boston, recently reversed a Trial Court Order granting pre-award interest to the prevailing party of an arbitration. The case began as a negligence action in Boston's Suffolk Superior Court, and negligence cases include the personal injury and car accident cases handled by the Boston attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns. Thus, the attorney's at the Boston Law Office of Neil Burns informs its clients of this decision because it may directly impact their individual case.

The Appeal Court noted that because the interest component was not authorized by the arbitrator it had to be stricken from the judgment and could not be awarded. The Court stated that "the parties entered an agreement for binding arbitration. That agreement was silent with respect to pre-award interest should the defendant be found liable in arbitration, which it was. At argument before us, counsel for both parties agreed that the plaintiff orally asked the arbitrator to award pre-award interest should the defendant be found liable. The arbitrator's award did not provide for, or address the question of, such interest."

Notwithstanding, the lower court judge confirmed the arbitrators award and included pre-award interest. But relying on precedent, the Appeal Court stated that 'in the absence of an explicit agreement to the contrary, pre-award damage claims, including interest,' . . . must be considered 'to have been submitted to arbitration.'" But since the arbitration award was silent as to interest, the Court noted "that the arbitrator must at the least state that conclusion in the award before the plaintiff can seek prejudgment interest in a court. ... A silent award will not suffice. ..."

Massachusetts Legislation written in Boston is attempting to make seat belt violations a primary offense. Most recently, Massachusetts state Senator Patricia Jehlen, D-Somerville, reintroduced the measure this year. But the bill has yet to advance beyond the Joint Public Safety Committee. The Boston attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns want Boston and Massachusetts residents to practice safe driving methods, and avoid serious personal injury and auto accident injuries.

The law in Massachusetts today requires that drivers, passengers and children wear seat belts. As many students of this law know, a police officer cannot pull you over simply for failure to wear seat belts. (The exception to this is if they do a traffic stop of EVERYONE, in that case, then can pull you over and fine you for failure to wear a seat belt.) Surveys of other states show that when police have the right to pull people over simply for seat belt violations, the rate of use goes up 10-12%.

Continue reading "Should Massachusetts Have Tougher Seat Belt Laws?" »

Memorial Day in Boston marks the unofficial start of summer, and unfortunately, potential boating injuries and personal injuries from outdoor activities. The Massachusetts Environmental Police (MEP), housed as the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs' Office of Law Enforcement, is the primary agency responsible for enforcing Massachusetts' fish and game and boating and recreational vehicle laws. The Boston attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns brings you the following reminders regarding boating safety since Boston and its surrounding Massachusetts suburbs have such wonderful areas for boating.

The Environmental Affairs department urges the use of lifejackets, know known as personal flotation devices, taking classes in boating safety, not using boats when under the influence of alcohol, and checking all equipment on boats before operation. PFDs are required for each person on the vessel and all children under 12 must wear the PFD. Of course, operating a motorboat under the influence of alcohol is illegal.