Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

According to news we received this morning from Washington, D.C., United State Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was issued a traffic ticket by the U.S. Park Police for following too closely when his motor vehicle struck the vehicle in front of him on his way to work. The collision caused a "chain reaction" with four cars and the justice's car being towed from the scene. Most importantly, no one reported personal injuries at the time.

Fortunately, Justice Scalia was back to work almost immediately and was on the bench when court began to hear a gender discrimination case against Walmart, where he claimed to be "whipsawed" by the women's claim. We haven't read the briefs, but perhaps he was whiplashed from the collision he caused?

We do not have any word as to whether Justice Scalia will pay the $70 ticket or if he will appeal it for a Judge Magistrate Hearing at the to the United States District Court in Washington, D.C.

In 2009, 676 people in the United States were killed and 113,000 injured in collisions at red lights, according the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System. While the Massachusetts Legislature debates allowing our communities to decide whether to install cameras at traffic lights in order to catch and deter red light violators, numerous organizations have spoken out in favor of the idea. Foxboro Police Chief Ed O'Leary proposed the idea back in 2006 and was shut down in his community. Southern New England AAA spokesperson Mary Maguire said, "We feel that in urban locations where there are a substantial numbers of infractions, we see evidence that red light cameras can deter red light running." New York, California, Florida and our neighbor, Rhode Island are among the 27 states that allow red light camera laws. That is enough to get us thinking that this is an idea worth considering that our antidotal evidence from representing victims of car accidents and families where there has been a death from motor vehicle collisions shows that many injuries occur because someone was just trying to beat the light.

A 2011 Federal Highway Administration study found that red light cameras "reduced the fatal red light running crash rate by 24 percent and the rate of all types of fatal crashes at signalized intersections by 17 percent." Of course there are constitutional issues. There are overreaching issues. There are police enforcement costs. But what about the deterrence effect of folks knowing, or thinking, that they will be cited by a camera and ticketed by a local police department if they violate the law by traveling in an intersection during a red light?

Historically, Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 186, Section 19, has provided residential tenants with recourse if they sustain injuries on premises caused by the landlord's negligence. The law reads that upon notice, a landlord must "exercise reasonable care to correct the unsafe condition" that she is notified of. The law gives potential victims of injuries from landlords two ways of notice: certified mail from the tenant or notice from the board of health or other code enforcement agency. In a case handed down by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court earlier this month, Bishop v. TES Realty Trust, SJC-10696 (March 1, 2011), the protections are now extended to commercial tenants. This case is of interest because the tenant rented the entire building and the landlord's defense was that they had no responsibility; that "the tenant should be deemed to have 'caused' an unsafe condition by failing to repair it."

In the Bishop case, the plaintiff notified the landlord of a defective roof. After leaks from the roof caused parts of the ceiling to cave in and injure her, she sued the landlord. The trial court ruled that because she was the tenant, she did not have protection under the statute. The Supreme Judicial Court, however, found that "the [tenant's] evidence was sufficient to support a jury finding that the [landlord] defendants committed a breach of their statutory duty to remedy an unsafe condition under [MGL Chapter 186] § 19, and that their breach of duty was a substantial contributing cause of the plaintiff's injuries."

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of Rocket Pogo Stick by Bravo Sports after there were 123 incidents, including 9 with reported child injury. According to the CPSC the frame can break and the pin holding the spring causes lacerations to children. Injuries range from lacerations to a chipped tooth to a displaced tooth. Child injury lawyer Neil Burns, who has represented numerous children injured from dangerous or defective products in Massachusetts, urges parents to return the pogo sticks for a safer product.

The recall includes the aforementioned Rocket Pogo Stick, the Pop Stick Pogo, the Monster Stick Pogo and the Twin Stick Pogo. The cost of these toys ranges from $25 to $40. For further information regarding the Bravo Sports recall, call their toll free number provided on the news release.

From the prospective of a Massachusetts personal injury lawyer, there are numerous things we can do to keep our homes safe. While Spring-cleaning, it's perhaps a good time to check up on those things.

Smoke detectors should be checked and batteries changed. Be sure they are on the highest ceiling on each floor and strategically placed with respect to heat sources and kitchens.

Fire extinguishers need to be easily accessible and checked to be sure they are full. Reading the directions on a regular basis to recall how they operate can save time in an emergency situation.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Safety Tips for Spring Cleaners" »

From the prospective of a Boston child injury lawyer, there are numerous things we can do to keep our homes safe for children. This year, during Spring-cleaning, we urge our clients to review anything and everything that can keep their children safe at home. One way to undertake the safety check, especially if you can engage older kids, is to travel around the home the way the kids do - look at each room, each hot water faucet, each toy, and each stairway, from their perspective.

With young children, plan for the next several stages. A baby that cannot crawl soon will! Plan for her getting into EVERYTHING she can toddle into. Have all draws and cabinets childproofed. Perhaps leave one here and there open able with safe items (plastic ware, etc.) so the child can explore and have the feeling of adventure with gown up tools.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Child Safety Tips for Spring" »

In a study of truck accidents involving fatalities, a multiplicity of statistics show interesting data. We reviewed the Federal Trucks involved in Fatal Accidents data complied by the Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute Fatal Accidents database. We intend here merely to highlight some of the data.

Average annual crash involvement rate for all trucks was 3.54. Dump trucks had the highest rate of 5.96, garbage trucks' rate was 5.12, tractor trailerst rate was 3.63, straight trucks were at 2.9. But dump trucks accumulate 80% of their miles on short trips of less than 50 miles while semitrailers traveled 84% of the time on long trips.

Half of work truck fatal crashes occurred on state or county roads, while 13% occurred on local streets. Semitrailers had the highest percentage of fatalities on interstate highways, 61%; conversely, they had the lowest percentage of fatal crashes on local streets.
Intersections statistics: work trucks were most likely to be involved at an intersection, at the rate of 30.6%, while semitrailers were least likely, at 21.8%.

Continue reading "Work Related Trucks and Fatality Accident Data" »

According to data compiled by the National Transportation Safety Board, Massachusetts does not fare well in achieving the minimal requirements to reduce drunk driving and prevent Massachusetts driving accidents. The NTSB found that 70% of all alcohol related fatalities were the result of "hard core drinking drivers"--drivers who are repeat offenders. Thus, the NTSB has recommendations for the states to follow, to reduce deaths on the nations highways as a result of alcohol. Massachusetts motor vehicle accidents could be reduced if it complied with all of the recommendations, according to the federal regulators.

The NTSB proposes a model program for the "hard core drinking drivers," which includes:

1. Statewide sobriety checkpoints
2. Sanctions of separating drivers from their vehicles following a drinking incident
3. Statewide programs to enforce license suspension
4. Legislation that requires zero tolerance for alcohol following a conviction
5. Legislation that defines an "aggravated" offense as having a blood alcohol content as 0.15% or higher
6. Alternatives to jail
7. Restricted plea bargaining to a non-alcohol related offense
8. Eliminating completion of a "program" as erasing the offense
9. Establish administrative license revocation programs
10. A 10 year record retention program
11. States to establish "individualized sanction" programs for hard-core offenders.

Massachusetts has adopted only four (4) of the above recommendations! The recommendations that have been followed in Massachusetts to date are 1, 6, 9 and 10.

A Massachusetts judge awarded double damages under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 93A, in favor of our client who was a victim of legal malpractice. In this case, our client was a double victim. He injured his neck in a Massachusetts motor vehicle accident in 2004 for which another party was at fault, however, after filing a lawsuit, his attorney failed to follow the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure and his case was dismissed in 2009. Our office served Attorney David Driscoll with a 93A Demand letter on March 20, 2010. The attorney failed to respond, in violation of the law, and we had to file suit.

Following a hearing before Judge Cornetta on February 22, 2011, our client was awarded damages and those damages were doubled under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 93A because the attorney violated the statute in failing to make a reasonable settlement offer. Further, the Court awarded our client's medical bills to be paid by the offending attorney, his attorney fees to be paid, his out of pocket court costs, and interest at the rate of 1% per month from the time the lawsuit was filed, in June, 2010. Judgment against Attorney David Driscoll was entered on February 25, 2011.