Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

In a case handed down by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Court took employers off the hook for the responsibility of their employees while off site. Essentially, the Court said that in the "comings and goings" of an employee, the employer is not responsible. We see many such cases: there is insufficient motor vehicle insurance, so the injured party needs to file a claim against third parties. The case involved a pedestrian injured by a driver who had been drinking with his boss prior to driving home. The driver was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.

In this case, Lev verses Beverly Enterprises, the employee, Ahern, and his boss were having drinks, discussing work. After having approximately two drinks, Ahern left the bar to drive home. Unfortunately, Ahern's motor vehicle struck Mr. Lev as he was crossing a street - suffering two broken legs and other serious injuries. The plaintiff, Lev, alleged that Ahern was acting within the scope of his employment because it was essentially a work meeting, notwithstanding the fact that it was "off campus" and that, therefore, the company was responsible for Ahern's negligent driving. Unfortunately for Ahern, the trial judge, Merita Hopkins, sided with the employer and the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed stating that the drive from the bar home was "not an essential part of the employer's mission."

Boston automobile drivers face many tough road conditions while driving in Massachusetts. If your car is damaged in an automobile accident because of someone else's negligence, first try to work things out with your automobile insurance company. But if you cannot get the relief you seek or feel you are entitled to, then you may consider bringing your property damage (or car accident damage) claim before the Massachusetts small claims court.

The Boston Law Office of Neil Burns wants you to know that a dispute regarding damage to your car is sometimes best handled in Massachusetts small claims court. But, if you are injured in a car accident, you should seek advice from an attorney because your personal injury claim will most likely not be able to be filed in a Massachusetts small claims court.

T

Continue reading "Massachusetts Small Claims Court For Property Damage" »

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 pending legislation includes more than just banning texting while driving. Massachusetts legislators sought to how best limit distracted driving, generally, and thus said they would also bar the youngest drivers, those under age 18, from talking on the phone while driving and would require the oldest drivers, those 75 and above, to have vision tests and to renew their license in person, rather than online.

The legislation, known as the Safe Driving Act, would make Massachusetts the 29th state to ban texting for all drivers and the 29th state to ban all phone use for drivers under 18, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. The texting ban would also cover e-mailing, Internet searching, and other non-calling activity on a phone, laptop, or handheld electronic device by anyone operating a motor vehicle. It would apply to drivers not only while they are driving but also while waiting at traffic lights and stop signs. Texting -- and talking for those under 18 -- would still be allowed by a driver in an emergency or when the car is pulled over and parked.

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" »

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.

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. ..."

In Massachusetts, and played out at Boston Medical Center where such injuries are treated, the rate of motorcycle-related deaths and injuries among 55- to 64-year-olds has surged fourfold from 1998 through 2007, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, located in Boston -- the largest increase among all age groups. The second-largest jump was among the 45- to 54-year-old segment, which saw a more than 50 percent increase. The Law Office Neil Burns helps those injured in motorcycle accidents recover from the devastating economic loss that often accompanies serious personal and motorcycle injury.

A study was recently conducted by staff at the University of Rochester, and while the study didn't delve into the reasons for increased risks to older riders, one of the study's authors noted that the higher stakes are likely due to the body's overall reduced resources for withstanding injuries as we age, from thinning bones to less resilient tissue. Older riders are also likely to carry more medical baggage -- such as cardiac problems and diabetes -- and to be taking medications, such as blood thinners, that can complicate injuries.

Those conclusions jibe with what Dr. Jonathan Olshaker routinely sees at Boston Medical Center, where he is chief of emergency medicine. Particularly common, Olshaker said, are head traumas -- injuries that Gestring and his colleagues also found were more prevalent among older riders.

"The blood vessels over the surface of the brain, as you get older, they stretch more, and these vessels are what cause most of the brain injury because they are more susceptible to tearing under the force of injury,'' Olshaker said.

One factor older and younger riders may have in common is helmet use. Helmet laws vary from state to state -- Massachusetts requires them, but New Hampshire does not. Some riders say they eschew the gear because helmets block their peripheral vision.

Massachusetts drivers and Boston area residents are involved in numerous car accidents every year. Unfortunately, some people are injured through no fault of their own. Many Boston area residents are injured in rear-end car accidents, and some people suffer brain injuries in these car accidents. The attorneys at the Boston office of the Law Office of Neil Burns have helped clients recover after they have been involved in a rear-end car accident and have suffered an injury, including traumatic brain injury.

Recently, a Boston area law firm reported the settlement of traumatic brain injury claim. The driver was stopped at a light when he was rear-ended by the defendant. The force of the collision caused the driver's vehicle to rear-end the car in front of him. The driver alleged that, during the accident, his head hit the headrest forcefully. After the accident, the driver claimed that he was dazed and had neck pain and a headache. The driver continued to treat for his head injuries. All testing, including MRI's and EMG's were negative, meaning there was no objective test that showed an injury.

Eventually, the injured driver of the car went to a neuropsychologist, and a psychiatrist. Thus, while the his treating physicians opined that his medical conditions were permanent and causally related to the motor vehicle accident, the insurance companies expert testified that the driver's injury was minor because he did not suffer a direct blow to the head, he did not suffer a loss of consciousness, and diagnostic testing was negative. He also said that the injured driver's condition resolved within a few weeks after the collision. The insurance company also argued the driver suffered no lost wages because he suffered no lost time from work. The Boston law firm reported that the case was resolved at mediation, following discovery, and immediately prior to trial.

If you are injured in a rear-end car accident or any othe type of accident or collision, contact the Law Office of Neil Burns for an evaluation of your claim, and for someone who will fight for you.

Located in Boston, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced that MBTA bus drivers are actually safer than many motorists. But Boston injury attorney Thiadora Pina notes that "even though MBTA bus drivers are being more cautious, accidents still happen and people are still get injured."

According to the press release, the MBTA averaged 1.3 bus accidents for every hundred thousand miles last year, which represents a drop of more than 25% from 2007.

Although the MBTA has had several bus and subway accidents over the past year, most of the bus accidents (an estimated 83%) could not have been prevented by the bus driver. Those statistics found that an auto driver is four times more likely to make an error that results in a traffic accident with a bus than the MBTA bus driver is. The MBTA's accident rate is the equivalent of a car driver going an average of six years between accidents - while managing 40-to-60-foot-long vehicles, constantly pulling into and out of stops, operating on congested streets, and taking care of customers inside the bus.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Accident Rates" »

Massachusetts drivers share in the good news that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on October 9, 2009: the number of traffic deaths on U.S. roads reached a record low in the first half of 2009! The numbers are down approximately 7% for the first half of the year. A report on estimated 2009 traffic fatalities can also be viewed.

The Fatality Analysis Reporting System keeps statistics of highway fatalities each year. In 2008, the numbers were the lowest in over 10 years.

Continue reading "Motor Vehicle Deaths Down in US " »