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A tragic accident in Sturbridge, Massachusetts a few month ago where a 67-year old man was killed while walking on Main Street underscores the increasing risks that pedestrians appear to be facing. In 2018, there were 6,227 pedestrians killed on our nation’s roadways, which was 250 more than in 2017. Since 2008, the percentage of pedestrians killed has risen by 41% according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association. Read more
Insurance fraud in Massachusetts and elsewhere comes in many forms. We often think of staged accidents where individuals scheme to cause an accident and then claim it was a hit-and-run. Some schemers collaborate with others to stage a rear-end or other type of accident and then feign injuries, or they deliberately stop their vehicles quickly so as to be rear-ended by an innocent trailing driver. In some of these ruses, there are attorneys, body shops, and medical providers who work in tandem. Even if the accident is real in some cases, the injuries, treatment, wage loss, and medical expenses are contrived.
Most Massachusetts drivers today cannot possibly contemplate what travel in the Boston area and throughout the Northeast was like before the Massachusetts turnpike was built or even imagine a time when it didn’t exist. Before 1957, however, travel to other towns and cities throughout our state and from New York to Maine was on mostly narrow, one- and two-lane roadways that wound their way through farmlands, small towns and along the coast taking many hours for motorists to get to their destinations.
Massachusetts Route 24 is a 40-mile stretch of highway running north-south beginning at Fall River and extending to Randolph. To motorists familiar with Route 24, it has become infamous for the overwhelming number of crashes and fatalities with some motorists calling it the “death highway” or the” highway from hell.” From 2016 to 2019, there were 1,417 crashes in Bristol County with about eight fatalities. In 2016, there were 590 crashes between Randolph and Berkely with 286 reported injuries and two fatalities. Overall, in the past 5-years, there were 3,000 collisions with the roadway between Fall River and Taunton appearing to be the deadliest stretch.
Have you ever considered the possibility of a Massachusetts car accident where in an instant, your life and those of your loved ones are altered forever? Will all of your medical bills be paid? Can you return to work? What will happen to your home, car, and other bills if you and/or your spouse is incapacitated and unable to work?
Massachusetts motorists will have to contend with a new ban on driving and cellphone use this year. Although texting and driving has been banned for all drivers regardless of age since 2010, only motorists under the age of 18 were barred from using a hand-held device to call, talk, or review email messages and perhaps watch a video. The use of hand-held devices has been cited as a factor in causing numerous deaths and serious injuries. Governor Baker and safety advocates are confident the new law will be instrumental in reducing traffic accidents and fatalities.
A near-tragic car accident in Quincy, Massachusetts a few months ago involving three vehicles highlighted the need for an experienced car accident lawyer to get you the compensation you deserve. The accident occurred on Willard Street around 8:15 p.m., which according to residents is a dangerous stretch of roadway with a high volume of traffic.
For motorists, pedestrians, and city officials, it is no secret that the majority of car accidents and those involving pedestrians happen during the summer months. Cape Code and the surrounding communities depend largely on tourism, and these popular sites are inundated each year. However, Massachusetts city officials need to be cognizant that the highest number of accidents occur during these and other times of the year and should take steps to reduce the incidence of accidents and injuries during these periods.
The update regarding Massachusetts laws on seatbelt usage is that there is no update. As it has stood since 1994 in most respects, all motorists and passengers must wear seat belts, however, law enforcement has no right to pull you over for your failure to buckle up. To be detained by a traffic officer and be cited for not wearing a seatbelt, and to cite you for any of your passengers failure to be restrained, you must have violated some other traffic law. This is known as secondary enforcement. If you are stopped for speeding or running a red light or for any other traffic code offense and the officer sees you are not belted, the fine is only $25. You pay an additional $25 for each passenger who is not wearing a seat belt.
Receiving news that your child has been involved in an accident is a parent’s worst nightmare. The parents of four middle school aged children did get such news in a hit-and-run car accident that occurred in Stoneham, Massachusetts a few months ago. Fortunately, none of the children were seriously injured.