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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.

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USA Falling Behind in Automobile Safety

Some of us who live in the U.S. think of our nation as overly regulated, especially when it comes to safety precautions. Workplace safety should be of paramount concern, however, and OSHA can impose fines and sanctions against companies that fail to meet certain safety standards. There are also strict standards regarding product safety that most people accept as necessary. But when it comes to certain areas of our lives, we seem to balk at what some consider to be unreasonable restraints on our freedoms. One of these concerns automobile safety.

Oxford Car Accident Leads to Death – No Seatbelt

A recent tragic car accident that claimed the life of a 28-year old Oxford, Massachusetts, woman might have been prevented had the young woman been wearing her seatbelt. The accident occurred on December 9, 2017, on Sutton Avenue near Fort Hill Road and Lovett Road. No details were reported on the cause of the accident but police reports indicated the woman was ejected from her vehicle and was found lying on the roadway. The fact she was ejected strongly suggests she was not restrained in her seat at the moment of impact.

New Law on Driving With a Cell Phone in Massachusetts

Texting while driving has caused too many collisions. Since 2010, Massachusetts has outlawed texting while driving. This law, however, did not ban using your cellphone for making calls or scrolling through your email unless you are a driver under the age of 21. In the past few years, lawmakers have introduced legislation banning any hand-held use of cellphones for all drivers but the measures either stalled or died quietly in the House. Governor Baker did not endorse a full ban either, feeling it was unfair to drivers in older vehicles that lacked the technology that permitted hands-free use.

Exotic Animals Attack – Who’s Liable in Massachusetts?

Five years after an unusually tragic incident, the widow of an Illinois man who drowned at a pond located within his condominium complex after being attacked by a swan has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the property management companies that owned and maintained the residential complex. The decedent had had the task of feeding the swans and was in his kayak when a swan unexpectedly attacked him, causing him to fall into the water. Because he was wearing boots and other heavy clothing, he was apparently unable to climb back into the kayak or reach a place of safety before going under the water’s surface.

Wrongful Death Accident on the Cape

Any premature death is a tragedy but a fatality in a car accident can be especially traumatic since it occurs so suddenly and by the fault of another party. A recent fatal car accident in Hyannis that left a family emotionally devastated is one example.

Worcester Pedestrian Injured in Crash

On a recent bright Fall day in Worcester, a 28-year old man was attempting to cross Franklin and Grafton Streets when he was struck by a motorist driving a Toyota Sienna south on Grafton while coming from Washington Square. The only reports available were that the young man was stable but with serious injuries. There was no explanation as to why the motorist failed to see the man who was apparently lawfully crossing the intersection. As it turns out, a Worcester pedestrian accident is unfortunately not uncommon for this central Massachusetts city.

What Happens After You’ve Been Hit by a Car as a Pedestrian?

Pedestrian accidents in Massachusetts can cause serious and debilitating injuries. You have no protection against the force of a 5000-pound passenger vehicle for even the slightest contact can throw you to the pavement and cause broken bones or serious head trauma. Pedestrian accidents are also on the increase nationwide with fatalities up by 11% in 2016 over 2015, the largest single year increase ever recorded. In our state, 23% of fatal traffic accidents involve pedestrians.

Patriots Rolling Despite Car Accident Injury of Linebacker Langi

In mid-October, New England Patriots defensive end and linebacker Harvey Langi and his wife were injured when their vehicle was rear-ended while stopped for a traffic light, in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Langi’s wife suffered broken ribs and fractures to both her hips. Langi reportedly sustained neck, back and head injuries in the collision. Langi was placed on the non-football injury list and his return to the team this season is questionable. He is a non-drafted rookie having played football at the University of Utah before beginning his two-year mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints. He had resumed his college career at BYU before being picked up by the Patriots for the 2017 season. He has only played one game thus far in his NFL career.

Is It Time to Think About Mandatory Seat Belt Laws?

Motorists in Massachusetts know that it is mandatory to wear a seat belt, but most also know that a police officer is not permitted to pull them over for not wearing one unless they commit some other traffic offense such as speeding, making an unsafe lane change or failing to stop at red traffic signal. This means that the mandatory seat belt law is only a secondary offense and our drivers have seized on that to rank 48th in the nation in seat belt use with a state-wide usage rate of 78%. The national average for seat belt usage is around 90%. From 2015 to 2016, car accident fatalities in our state soared by 13%. and some officials have reported that seat belt usage has dropped over this time to as low as 74%.

Injured From a Drone What You Need to Know

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside, here come the drones! Drones are not just for the U.S. military to target foreign terrorists anymore. They are being tested for use by Amazon to deliver packages, by real estate agents to take aerial photos of homes, by search and rescue crews to quickly and more extensively look for lost individuals, for media coverage, and by others to enable them to view otherwise inaccessible areas for safety or other reasons. But these are also the newest toys in town, especially for amateur aviators, and can be purchased by nearly anyone from $50 to thousands of dollars for more sophisticated users. Drones have the ability to fly at altitudes well over 400 feet and can approach speeds of 140 miles per hour.