Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

The McDonald's scalding coffee case received lots of media attention a few years ago, but what Massachusetts injury victims should know is that a lot of the "news" was false and misleading. In the movie Hot Coffee, filmmaker Susan Saladoff "investigates the civil justice system" pointing out how "[b]ig business has brewed an insidious concoction of manipulation and lies to protect its interests, and media lapdogs have stirred the cup." Massachusetts jury trials results reflect that trend. In a blog article we posted on June 21, 2010, we pointed out that "half of the counties had zero plaintiff verdicts in 2009." Further, one judge, who calculated some statistics of his own, found that only 16 of 151 personal injury trials resulted in a jury verdict higher than the pre-trial offer.

The case is a wonderful example of the media distorting reality. For example, the victim in the case tried to settle for her medical bills for a serious injury. Further, the coffee machine was set significantly hotter than recommended.

Continue reading "Injury Victims in Massachusetts Should See the Movie "Hot Coffee"" »

Massachusetts banned texting while driving and teenagers using cellphones while driving. However, is it time to consider banning using iPods while walking? The number of deaths among pedestrians in Massachusetts is up from 14 in the first six months of 2009 to 25 in 2010 for that period. The distracted pedestrian is the target of lawmakers in several states, who are considering laws aimed at distracted pedestrians. The reason? An 0.4% increase, nationally, in pedestrian deaths. When a pedestrian is injured by a motor vehicle, was his electronic distraction a factor? You can bet the insurance defense attorney will use that information.

Lawmakers in several states intend to nip the new trend in the bud, because pedestrian deaths were falling for a decade: from 1999 to 2009, they were down 42% in youths (people under 20), 31% in people from 30 to 45, and 29% for seniors. The death rate from those in their 20 and those 45-65 was unchanged during that time period. One lawmaker wants headphones to be limited to one ear. Some lawmakers want the ban only in cities greater than 1 million. One answer is to educate the iPod and texting generation that it is dangerous. The question becomes, where do you draw the line?

Continue reading "Boston Car Accident Lawyer Ponders Distracted Pedestrian Law" »

The news from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is that car accident lawyers and other Massachusetts personal injury lawyers must use a new form for the contingent fee agreement, effective March 15, 2011. The focus of the new format is on full disclosure of out of pocket fees on contingent fees cases. The changes to Massachusetts Rule of Professional Conduct,1.5 was proposed by an SJC advisory committee, with input from the various bar associations.

Sometimes, following a car accident in Massachusetts, the client will become dissatisfied with his or her attorney and wish to change attorneys. This is entirely permissible. If the case is in suit, the Court must approve the withdrawal of counsel. Some of the changes include a clear delineation regarding who will pay for costs and fees in the event an attorney is discharged during the pendency of a case. This, of course, factors in when the lawyer sues the client for his or her fee. The goal seems to make the law more client friendly.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Car Accident Attorney Fee Agreements to Change " »

Massachusetts plaintiffs need to beware that borrowing money during their personal injury lawsuits can be detrimental to their pocketbooks. Victims of Massachusetts personal injury cases need also to know if and when their lawyers borrow monies to pay for experts. The lending to plaintiff industry is generally unregulated and there are reports of interest rates up to 100%! The New York Times
and Center for Public Integrity undertook a study informing that interest rates on these loans generally exceed 15% and that there are approximately $1 billion of outstanding lawsuit loans at the time! This may or may not be high, however, when the lawyer takes out the loan, the issue become whether the lawyer has advised the client of the loan. An outstanding loan on a personal injury lawsuit may have an effect on the pressure to resolve the case; certainly the client should know all of the factors that go into settlement discussions. There are also confidentiality concerns as the lawyers must give the lenders a vast amount of information before money is lent.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Victims of Law Suit Lenders" »

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, for 2009 (the last year with full data), indicates that the number of total motor vehicle deaths in Massachusetts was 334. Of those, 280 people were occupants; 54% of the occupants' deaths were in car accidents, 23% in "light trucks" and 19% were deaths to motorcycle passengers. The highest number by county was 66 in Middlesex County, 42 in Worcester County, 37 in Bristol County, 33 in both Norfolk and Essex County, 25 in Plymouth County, and 21 in Suffolk County.

NHTSA rates for Massachusetts motor vehicle deaths were down 24% in 2009 compared to the previous 15 years. With respect to pedestrian fatality rates, compared to other states, we are ranked 42nd with 48 pedestrian deaths, a 0.73% rate, per 100,000 population.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Death Statistics" »

Massachusetts was awarded $7 million this month to aid in the removal of lead paint from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) The Lawrence lead paint removal program was given $3.1 million with the rest divided between Somerville and Brockton. The HUD lead program is designed to assist in the clean up of homes, train workers in safety methods and to increase public awareness in Massachusetts childhood lead poisoning. Banned since 1978, lead paint remains on the walls of approximately 24 million older homes in the US.

As our readers know, lead can be ingested: by children, who eat the sweet flavored paint chips, and by adults, and especially workers, from breathing the dust particles. Once exposed, children can develop learning disabilities, physical and mental disabilities and reduced hearing. At high levels of contamination, lead will damage the kidneys and nervous system, and can even cause death.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Lead Paint Injuries" »

The Boston personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of Neil Burns studied all 57 Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers public admonitions from 2008-2010, looking for trends. The more severe penalties for Massachusetts lawyers - suspension and disbarment - can only be imposed after review by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. They are reserved for the most serious violations. We will review Massachusetts disbarment and suspension in a subsequent article. The most severe punishment that the BBO can mete out is the admonition. As we'll see, lawyers can rack up an admonition for a frighteningly wide range of behaviors - even sometimes when acting in good faith.

Number of Admonitions by What Massachusetts Lawyers Did Wrong
17 Poor client communications
13 File-sitting/blown deadlines
11 IOLTA/Billing issues
10 Failure to investigate
9 Incompetence
8 Conflict of interest
3 Fraud/lying to client
2 Disclose client confidences
2 Practicing law while on admin. suspension
57 Total admonitions

Please see our website's Legal Malpractice News section to read the full report.

Whether we like the weather or not, winter conditions make for more dangerous and more variable conditions on Massachusetts roads. Unfortunately, motor vehicle accidents can occur more often. We have taken some of the driving safety tips from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Washington State Department of Transportation to give Massachusetts drivers winter driving safety tips.

1. In extreme weather, don't drive!
2. Don't drive when tired or in any way when impaired by any substance;
3. Be sure your engine, fluids and breaks are checked and keep gas in your tank (to avoid water vapor build up);
4. Keep an ice scraper, a shovel, jumper cables, sand, extra clothing and sand in the vehicle;
5. Remove all snow and ice from the vehicle before operating (we already have one case this winter because a young driver failed to defrost her window and injured a student at a bus stop);
6. Drive with headlights (and taillights) on in all wintry and foggy weather for safety;
7. Icy conditions require experience - apply lighter pressure to the brake (and gas) more lightly, note that bridges freeze before roads, don't use cruise control, allow more distance between vehicles; be extra cautious when changing lanes; for drivers of four wheel drive vehicles, remember that they will not stop faster than two wheel drive vehicles;
8. Driving behind a plow can be dangerous, but passing a plow can be even more dangerous;
9. Keep children bucked in and calm, teach them about winter driving safety;
10. Cellphones and other such devices should be avoided due to their distractive nature; they are illegal for teenagers, and texting is illegal for all;

We lied; there is an eleventh tip, but it applied to all seasons and may be responsible for a disproportionate number of motor vehicle and pedestrian collisions

11. Intersections are dangerous; enter cautiously even when you have the right of way;

A new website being launched by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission will be available for Massachusetts consumers. Called saferproducts.gov, the website is geared toward consumers who want safety information quickly - not after the CPSC has undertaken laborious studies. Consumers can publish complaints and manufactures can respond immediately.

This website is the result of a law, passed by Congress in 2008, that requires CPSC to create a consumer product database in its report to Congress. The CPSC stated that the new Safer Products.gov database will "facilitate and increased exchange of information between CPSC, consumers and industry." It is expected to have a 15 day turnaround from the filing of the complaint to the complaint appearing in the saferproducts.gov database.

Continue reading "Consumer Product Safety Website for Massachusetts Consumers" »

The new Massachusetts snow and ice law is working. In a case decided by the Appeals Court this past week, the Court followed the new law regarding negligence for snow and ice injuries. In this case, the plaintiff was injured when she fell outside a condominium complex on snow and or ice. She sued the condominium association but her case was thrown out by the Trial Court Judge because, under the law at the time, there was no proof that the fall was not the result of a natural accumulation of snow and ice. Following that, the Supreme Judicial Court decided Papadopolos v. Target which eliminates any distinction between natural and unnatural accumulations of snow and ice. The standard for landlords now owe lawful visitors reasonable care to protect them from hazards.

Most importantly, the Appeals Court here said that the Papadopolos case should be applied retroactively. Therefore, any injuries that folks have as a result of snow and ice injuries should be reevaluated. If you went to a lawyer before this summer, when Papadopolos was decided, and he or she said the standard was too high, consider finding an injury lawyer now for reevaluation.

See Nazar v. Mayer et al, Massachusetts Appeals Court Number 10-P-51, (December 23, 2010