Burns | Jain - Page 28 of 80 - Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

Personal Injury Law Firm Burns & Jain Injury Blog

We have been practicing law in Boston and throughout Massachusetts since 1985. I have represented clients in District Courts, Superior Courts, the Appeals Court, Housing Court, Probate Courts, Federal Bankruptcy Court and the Federal District Court.

Call Us 617-227-7423

New Distracted Driving Bill Passes in Massachusetts

A new distracted driving bill called An Act Preventing Distracted Driving that was passed in May 2019 will, if passed by the Senate and signed by the Governor, take effect soon. The bill now bans all cell phone use except for one finger touch or swipe while driving. The use of cell phones has become a major factor in causing traffic accidents and fatalities over the past 10-15 years to such a degree that it rivals drunk and drugged driving.

Truck Accidents and Wrongful Death Suits

Truck accidents are often synonymous with wrongful death claims because of the severity of the injuries and damage these vehicles can cause in a collision. Tractor-trailers and other large commercial vehicles can weigh 80,000 pounds or more with loads compared to the 5,000 pounds of the average passenger vehicles. In a collision with one of these massive vehicles, drivers and passengers in ordinary cars are at a serious disadvantage. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that 73% of those killed in truck accidents are the drivers and passengers of the smaller vehicle.

Ejected From A Vehicle – What You Need to Know

In early May of this year, a roll-over accident on I-495 in Milford, Massachusetts, resulted in the driver and a female passenger sustaining serious injuries. Both were rushed to Milford Regional Medical. A second passenger was treated for minor injuries and released. The rollover caused the seriously injured passenger to be ejected from the car but it was unclear if she or any of the passengers were wearing seat belts. There were no other vehicles involved, and police reports did not indicate how or why the driver lost control or if alcohol or drugs were involved.

Is it Legal Malpractice To Fail To File An Appeal On Time?

In a case that came down from the Massachusetts Appeals Court this week (July 31, 2019), it was held that “garden variety oversight” by defense counsel was not grounds to allow additional time to file an appeal. In the case, Edward R. Pierce v. Hansen Engineering and Machinery, 18—1355, Massachusetts Appeals Court (2019), the plaintiff, Mr. Pierce was injured on the job. He alleged that the he was maneuvering a pallet jack from a truck onto a loading dock, with 800 pounds of freight on it, over a dock plate (which lies between a truck and the loading dock) and that the dock plate was defective causing him to fall, necessitating hip surgery and that he is unable to return to work.

Springfield Cracks Down on Dirt Bikes – What You Need to Know

Dirtbikes are recreational vehicles for trail riding or on private roads. Most are not street legal, meaning they are not registered and have not met certain standards for safe riding on public roadways. Despite their illegality, riders in Springfield, Massachusetts, and in other communities have taken to the city streets and are creating havoc with motorists and pedestrians. Springfield’s mayor apparently had had enough of these incidents between motorists and dirtbike rider.

10 Most Dangerous Intersections Around Boston

Every large urban area has certain intersections that are notorious for car crashes or are hazardous to pedestrians and bicyclists. These are due to faulty road design, inadequate road maintenance, poor planning for increased traffic and pedestrians, lack of traffic calming measures, crazy configurations that have befuddled highway road designers, or an omission of signage or road markings that only causes confusion. Boston is not alone in having a number of dangerous roadways and intersections where large numbers of accidents occur for these and other reasons. If you were injured as a motorist, passenger, or pedestrian by the negligent driving or conduct of another person, call a car accident lawyer at Burns and Jain.

Cars are Safe – But Pedestrians Are Still at Risk in Massachusetts

The newest reports on pedestrian accidents from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association are a little misleading at first glance. Because of increased safety measures, such as traffic calming, installation of bike lanes, placing flashing lights on crosswalks, constructing safety islands, and decreasing speeds in urban areas, 23 states have reported a decline in pedestrian accidents and fatalities since 2017. There were 6 states that had double-digit declines and 3 had consecutive years of decreased pedestrian incidents. Our sister state, New Hampshire, is apparently the safest state for pedestrians having reported just a single fatality in 2018 representing an astounding 80% drop in pedestrian fatalities.

UMass Pedestrian Accident – Do You Need a Lawyer If You Are Injured?

In April of this year, a grad student at UMass-Amherst was killed by a motorist while apparently in a crosswalk at North Pleasant Street near the Crestview Apartments. It occurred around 10:40 p.m. The motorist did stop at the scene and was cooperative with police. No citations were issued at the time and police did not indicate how the accident occurred or if any one party, or both, were at fault in some way. No witnesses to the accident were identified. Police did say that accident reconstruction experts were being used to determine how the accident occurred.

Pedestrian Struck in Shoplifting Getaway

A police officer in Braintree suffered non-life-threatening injuries recently when he tried to thwart an attempted getaway by shoplifters at the South Shore Plaza. Two teenagers had tried to flee in a car being driven by another teen but were blocked by the officer in the parking lot who was on foot. The driver struck the officer with his car but collided head-on with another vehicle when he attempted to evade a pursuing police cruiser. The driver was taken into custody and charged with various offenses including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Beach Umbrella Injuries in Massachusetts

Summer in Massachusetts is time for relaxing on one of our numerous beaches. The weather is fabulous, the water is perfect and there are so many beach choices – from the Cape, to Nantucket, to Nantasket, to Cranes Beach. We’ve got bayside and full ocean beaches. But with summer fun comes summer risks. We cover these risks in our blogs from time to time.