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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PIP Application Not Filed–Chiropractors Now Paid

Massachusetts’ Boston Municipal Court’s Appellate Division recently decided a case that is a win for Massachusetts chiropractors. In the case of Advanced Spine Centers, Inc. v. Pilgrim Insurance Company, the Court decided that when an insurance company suffers no prejudice and receives all the information sought in a “PIP package” sent to an insured/patient, the insurance company cannot deny chiropractic payment based on the fact that it did not receive the returned “PIP package.” The Boston personal injury attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns can review your individual case of non-payment for the insured’s failure to return a PIP application.

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Not Enough Insurance Money to Pay for Your Injury

If you are injured in Massachusetts, in a car accident or while walking in and around Boston, for example, you should know that Massachusetts car insurance policies have a provision whereby you can collect money for your car accident injury or pedestrian injury from your own insurance company if the at-fault driver does not have enough of their own insurance to pay you for your injury. Of course, caution the attorneys at the Boston Law Office of Neil Burns, you must elect to carry this type of coverage in the first place.

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Massachusetts Drivers Warned That Perception of Alcohol Recovery Does Not Match Science

We often represent victims of collisions which are the result of drunk driving. In a recent study undertaken by Dr. Peter J. Snyder at Lifespan, an organization associated with Brown University Medical School in Rhode Island, it was shown that young drivers often “feel” that they are recovering or recovered from intoxication, however, objective test results show that that “feeling” is a “poor indicator of sobriety and the ability to operate a motor vehicle.”

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Massachusetts Parents Should Warn Teenagers About Hearing Loss

Boston personal injury attorney Neil Burns reports that significant results from research at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital show that the percentage of teenagers, 12-19, with hearing loss has increased. The study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (AMA) found that 14.9% of teenagers in 1998-1994 had some form of hearing loss while there were 19.5% in the recent study, from 2005-2006.

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Insurance Company’s Offer of Settlement

You live in Boston. You were injured in an accident in Massachusetts. You sought medical treatment, maybe at Massachusetts General Hospital or Boston Medical Center, for example, and got yourself better. Now it is time to settle your personal injury case with the insurance company. But what is a reasonable offer of settlement given your injuries and your case? First, talk with your Boston personal injury attorney, they are in the best position to advise you regarding your particular claim. The Boston attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns routinely offer such advice to their clients.

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New Massachusetts Law to Protect Children from Cigarette Lighters

The tobacco and associated industries tried yet another gimmick to entice children to smoke: novelty lighters. These lighters, which look like toys, have been involved in various fires, according to Massachusetts Department of Fire Services. The lighters can resemble toy cars, Magic Markers, or even a seemingly harmless rubber ducky. Thankfully, on August 9, 2010, Massachusetts became the 14th state to ban novelty lighters. As a Boston child injury lawyer, I’m glad to see that with this new law, children will have a much lesser risk of suffering burn injuries.

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PIP Auto Claim against Commerce Insurance Allowed to go Forward in Boston

In a case handed down by the Boston Municipal Trial Court the plaintiff, Juarbe, bought automobile insurance from Commerce. Following a motor vehicle accident in which Juarbe was hurt, medical attention was needed and medical bills were generated. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance, which Jerube had, and which is, by law and by contract, supposed to insure such medical services, was denied to Jerube by Commerce. This has happened many times with our personal injury clients who are victims of motor vehicle accidents.

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Massachusetts Personal Injury Trial Expert’s Testimony Limited

In a recent case in Fall River, Massachusetts, Trial Judge Welch held that the victim of personal injury could not exclude the defendant’s civil engineer expert testimony as to the methodology to determine the speed of the vehicles involved in a collision. The appellate court held that Judge Welch’s decision to allow the testimony was “within the discretion of the trial judge and will be reversed only where it constitutes an abuse of discretion or error of law.” This is notwithstanding the fact that the methodology was questionable, the defense “expert” had not viewed the vehicles, and his training was in civil engineering and had only taken a class in accident reconstruction. Further, the court found that even though the “treatise” with the critical equations was not put into evidence at trial.

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Safe Swimming in Boston

According to the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services, drowning is a major cause of death for children. The Boston personal injury attorneys at the Law Office of Neil Burns want Boston residents to practice and develop safe habits for enjoying swimming and other water activities during the summer months.

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