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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Fewer Car Accidents for Massachusetts Teens

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?

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Primary Seat Belt Law in Massachusetts to Reduce Wrongful Death?

Massachusetts averages 319 motor vehicle collisions every day, with one wrongful death from motor vehicle accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 102 Massachusetts residents are saved each year by seat belts. Thirty three states have “primary seat belt” laws. These laws allow a police officer to pull over a vehicle when the officer sees that occupants are not wearing seat belts. The NHTSA has statistics to show that states with a primary seat belt law have lower fatality rates.

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Biking Safety in Massachusetts

Biking is healthy. Commuting to work and school by bike is better. Or is it? While only a very small percentage of trips taken by Americans are by bicycle, bike riders face a significantly higher risk of injury and even death than occupants of motor vehicles. Biking in Boston has become more common. Bike lanes have been established. Bike rentals are everywhere. Offices and the MBTA offer places to lock your bikes. But is biking safe? Studies differ. For example, in 2010, 800 bicyclists were killed and more than a half a million sought emergency room treatment for injuries from bike accidents. The medical costs and loss of productivity can be over $5 billion.

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Wrongful Death to Pedestrian

As a personal injury attorney in Boston, we see all too many pedestrian accident cases. Pedestrians are struck by motor vehicles and are injured in crosswalks, near crosswalks, in places where crosswalks should be and, of course, elsewhere. The law provides protection, but safe driving, and safe walking, provides even more protections.

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Failure to Wear Seat Belts Results in Death of Six Family Members

On October 18, 2013, in Upper Arlington, Ohio, outside Columbus, a driver ran a red light and then stopped in the middle of the intersection. At the same time, a police cruiser responding to a robbery call was entering the intersection with a siren going and emergency lights flashing. Unfortunately, the driver stopped too late to avoid the collision with the police car. The driver and all five of his passengers were killed. The driver and all five passengers were not wearing seat belts.

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Who is a “Keeper” of a Dog in Dog Bite Cases?

The Massachusetts dog bite law is clear.  An owner of a dog is strictly liable for damages created by the dog.  Whether it is to someone else’s property, or for personal injury.  There are the defenses of trespass and torment.  That is, if you trespass on the owner’s property where the dog is, or torment the dog, and the owner can prove this, it is a defense to strict liability.

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Victim of Slip and Fall against Target Case Fails

Clients often ask:  well I was injured on their property, aren’t they responsible?  Yes.  And no.  Not if they did not do anything negligent.  In other words, was there anything that the property owner did, or failed to do, that caused the fall?  For example, if a store owner knows of a leak, allows it to continue and fails to stop the lead or warn folks of the slippery floor as a result of the lead; clearly the store owner is responsible.  On the other hand, if a customer picks up a bottle, drops it and you immediately slip from the wet floor, there was nothing the storeowner could do to prevent that slip; they did not have the opportunity to warn folks or clean it up.

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