Our clients ask us this all the time following a motor vehicle accident in Massachusetts: “The insurance company called and wants a statement, what should I do?” The answer is a function of whose insurance company is calling and why they are calling.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority has announced that as a way of saving money, they want a law that imposes limits on Massachusetts personal injury awards capped at $100,000.00. The proposal, initiated by Governor Patrick, will work its way through the various Massachusetts State House committees.
Read MoreIn an important decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week, it was determined that the insurance companies used unfair settlement schemes against a victim of a Massachusetts auto accident. As a result, the Court determined that is was necessary to double the jury verdict against the insurance companies. Under the law, insurance carriers are required to make prompt and fair settlement offers, or they will be subject to double to treble damages.
Read MoreThere has been longstanding law in Massachusetts that protects victims of drunk drivers who were served alcohol by a Massachusetts homeowner who knew, or should have known, that the driver should not have been allowed out of the home and onto the roads. The law was from the case Worcester Mutual Insurance v. Marnell, which was decided in 1986.
Read MoreIn Hingham, Massachusetts last week, a 41-year-old man with 10 prior license suspensions, was allegedly operating a motor vehicle under influence of alcohol when he crossed over the double yellow line and struck another vehicle, seriously injuring the two people in the other vehicle and himself. Police found open containers of alcohol in the vehicle.
Read MoreMotorcycle fatalities climbed from the late 1990s to 2008, when there were 5,312 deaths. In 2009, that number went down, to 4,462, a 16% decline. This is notwithstanding an increase in usage. While still too high, the significant decline is encouraging.
Read MoreWe have worked hard to educate our clients about Massachusetts uninsured motor vehicle accidents and underinsured Massachusetts motor vehicle accidents. Significantly, we have encouraged our Boston car accident clients to consider purchasing insurance beyond the minimal insurance. We regularly represent victims of serious Massachusetts car accidents and they often suffer a second “injury: — insufficient insurance to cover their losses.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is currently considering an important case under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 93A, Consumer Protection statute. The issue before the SJC is how to calculate 93A damages following a finding, by the trial judge, that a motor vehicle accident insurance company violated the law by failing to make a fair settlement offer. We reported on this case last December, in an article called Massachusetts Personal Injury Victims Win Unfair Claims Settlement Against Insurance Companies.
Read MoreThe no texting law, formally called the Massachusetts Safe Driving Act, went into effect on September 30, 2011. A Boston car accident lawyer ponders whether it is working; from October 1, 2010 to May 30, 2011, there were 733 citations in Massachusetts for texting while driving. This amounts to approximately 3 per day throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In addition, 41 drivers under 18 have received citations for operation of cell phones.
Read MoreAccording to a University of Connecticut study, Massachusetts highways are the safest roads in the United States; Connecticut came in second in the study.
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