Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

In a recent case in which a victim of a horrific motor vehicle collision in Medway sued the negligent truck driver that rear ended her, the Appeals Court found that the insurance companies have an obligation to make a reasonable settlement offer no matter what the demand. This case reassures victims of motor vehicle accidents and other personal injuries that insurance companies must make reasonable offers of settlement.

We won't get into the injuries or damages for this article; however, they were extensive, including paralysis. The truck driver's insurance company offered their full policy of $2 million, however, there was an excess umbrella policy administrated by AIG insurance. Notwithstanding having all of the medical records, and a high evaluation for the case, AIG decided to make a strategic low offer of settlement. Wherefore the case went to a jury which came back with a verdict of over $9 million, plus costs and interest of about $2 million. With appeals pending, AIG finally made a reasonable offer and the main case settled against the truck driver for the victim and her family. However, the plaintiffs did not settle their case against AIG for failing to effectuate a reasonable settlement in a timely fashion, under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 93A and 176D. That case went to the Appeals Court.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Personal Injury Victims Win Unfair Claims Settlement Against Insurance Companies" »

Traditionally, victims of legal malpractice cannot get money damages for emotional distress. You are entitled to the damages you would have received had your lawyer not been negligent, the extent of the damages you can receive; the "reasonable and foreseeable losses" of the underlying case. See Fishman v. Brooks 396 Mass 643 (1986). That is, notwithstanding the stress you undergo after you find out your lawyer was negligent; you do not have any extra damages. There are, of course, possible exceptions to this rule. If the result of the malpractice was incarceration, false imprisonment, or being confined to a mental hospital as a result of the legal malpractice, there can be money damages against an attorney for emotional distress. For the full case, see Wagenmann v. Adams 829 F. 2d 196 (1987), in an extremely well written, and, frankly, entertaining decision, by Judge Selya, of the First Circuit.

In Massachusetts, to prove intentional infliction of emotional distress, we must show three things:

Continue reading "Massachusetts Victims of Legal Malpractice Get Emotional Distress Damages" »

As motor vehicle accident lawyers, we try to focus our blogs on safety and consumer information as much as we can. So, when a University of Massachusetts physics professor wins a traffic safety award, we want to bring it to the attention of our clients. Dr. Marguerite Zarrillo, a surface transportation engineering professor at U Mass Dartmouth, has undertaken research on distracted driving.

Dr. Zarrillo's research is to develop computer models to study traffic flow, including toll booth queuing, for which she has published numerous papers and undertaken research for the Center for Advanced Transportation Systems. Her recent research involves a driving simulation program that studies drivers who are also attempting to perform other tasks such as cell phone while driving reading, or eating while driving. We are pleased that the Massachusetts public education system has acknowledged such critical work in the field of motor vehicle safety.

Personal injury lawyers note that a change in the MBTA law will harm victims of accidents on the T, including bus accidents in Massachusetts. In an attempt to help the fiscally troubled MBTA, the Massachusetts Legislature amended the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act to bring the T within the scope of the Act. Among the many ramifications this has, it allows the T to escape interest on judgments; the Commonwealth, its agencies, cities and towns of Massachusetts do not have to pay interest on judgments.

In a case that came down from a Superior Court judge, the Court found that the law cannot be applied retroactively, against an injured party. In July 2005, the plaintiff in the case at issue was injured. He sued the MBTA and the bus driver involved in a collision. There was a trial in September 2009. The jury came back in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $661,784. The Court imposed interest and costs, as it usually does, and added them to the verdict.

Continue reading "Claims Against MBTA Are Now Within Massachusetts Tort Claims Act " »

The Law Office of Neil Burns wishes our clients and friends a happy and safe holiday season. With motor vehicle injuries and deaths down, we remind folks that staying safe while driving in Massachusetts is critical. Drive and cross defensively, especially in intersections; when you have a green light or a crosswalk be sure to look before you enter; your permission to enter does not stop a negligent driver. Be careful about leaving things in your vehicle when parked. Brown University Police point out that where you park and what you leave in your vehicle could help too. Holiday safety of course includes extra care around flammable Christmas trees and their associated lights. For children's presents, Massachusetts Eye and Ear reminds you to avoid toys that shoot, fly or have sharp edges and suggest looking for the ASTM label; also, they remind us to give protective eyewear when giving sporting gifts.

The US Fire Administration, a division of FEMA, has numerous helpful suggestions, including how to treat, light and dispose of your tree. The Electrical Safety Foundation International has a whole holiday safety newsletter. Of course, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a terrific website which has pointers for holiday safety including obvious but critical hints including regular hand washing, keeping warm and managing winter (holiday) stress.

With the numbers out on Massachusetts driving fatalities published by the US Transportation Department, we note that there were 334 total fatalities in Massachusetts in 2009, 30 lower than 2008. There was an 8.2% decline between 2008 and 2009 in alcohol impaired driving fatalities. There were still too many deaths on Massachusetts highways and on US highways: 33,808 in 2009, down 9.7% from 2008, when there were 37,423 deaths on highways.

The DOT statistics also show that there were 2,217,000 people injured in 2009, down 5.5% from 2,346,000 in 2008. The largest decrease was in the large truck injury statistics, which declined 26%. The second largest decline was in the motor vehicle striking pedestrian category, which declined 14%. The smallest decline was in light truck accidents causing injury, which declined only 1.2%.

Continue reading "National Driving Statistics Shows Massachusetts Fatalities Declining" »

Boston bike accident attorney Neil Burns reports that a helpful study has been undertaken by the Boston Cyclists' Union regarding the locus of bike accidents in and around Boston. Their interactive bike map of Boston boasts of being the "best source of online information available on bike crashes" in Boston. I'll bet they are correct. The map includes Cambridge bike accidents and Brookline bike accidents and, of course, offers satellite and hybrid views. The most alarming finding, to a motor vehicle accident attorney was that only 34% of those bikers picked up by ambulances were wearing helmets.

Using ambulance records from May 2010 to October 2010, they pieced together a large amount of information including categorizing types of accidents, helmet use, type of accident and bike and motor vehicle speeds. They have some preliminary findings, although the data is insufficient to be a scientific survey. Nevertheless, they found that crashes seem "to correlate more with topography and population density than perceived 'bikeyness' of the neighborhood." Their efforts should be commended.

Continue reading "Boston Bike Accidents Warning Map Published" »

Boston personal injury attorney Neil Burns was cited in the National Lawyers Guild's monthly newsletter this December for his work on the Board of the Lawyer Referral Service. The referral service, a project of the NLG, has a mission of referring low and moderate income clients to attorneys in Boston and throughout Massachusetts. Attorney Burns' office regularly accepts Massachusetts bankruptcy clients and Boston personal injury clients through the Lawyer Referral Service

The article, written by LRS Coordinator Sara DeConde, stated that Neil's "driving interest in this project remains in his ability to help lower-income people" after "15 years involvement with the LRS." Neil pointed out that initially the Coordinator was a part time position; in the first 10 months of this year the LRS has referred 3,113 clients to attorneys. In all times, and especially when the economy is weak, access to justice is critical; access to a lawyer who is an expert in the field of need is even more essential.

Neil also notes that two of the recent coordinators for the project have received legal services scholarships to law school.