Can someone injured by the negligence of a motorcycle driver sue the seller of the motorcycle for his injuries?  This was the question recently addressed by the Massachusetts Appeals Court in a decision that came down this month.

According to the decision, Red Streak (company), Beverly Fox and Dobay owned a motorcycle.  They intended to transferred title, or sell the motorcycle, to Ms. Rice.  Jayne Rice, the new owner, allowed Mr. Foster to use her motorcycle.  Foster negligently crashed the motorcycle into Timothy O’Leary, who was also operating a motorcycle.  At the time of the collision, the Rice motorcycle was unregistered and uninsured. Read more

A car accident in Canton last week resulted in a wrongful death and illustrates several safety lessons for us all.   According to police reports, two teenagers were driving home on a rainy night through a busy street in Canton.  The passenger was texting on his phone – not illegal, or even wrong, but not helpful to a young driver trying to navigate the dark streets with lots of traffic.  The driver, 19, had a concerning driving history. Read more

Last year there were over 1,500 motor vehicle collisions resulting in personal injury involving 16-17 year old drivers; there were a dozen wrongful deaths from those motor vehicle accidents.  While teen age drivers are three times more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle accident in Massachusetts than older drivers, the gap is narrowing since the 2007 law requiring increased training for Massachusetts drivers.  What is the true cause of reduced accidents? Read more