Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog
Remember the fatal accident between a Milford police officer and two teenagers? In this New England car accident, the officer was allegedly traveling more than 90 miles per hour when he slammed his cruiser into the vehicle of two teens — killing them both.
According to the Boston Globe, the accident happened on Route 1 in Orange. Accident reports indicate that the teen was making a left-hand turn when their vehicle was hit by the police cruiser. The emergency lights and/or the siren of the police car were not on at the time of the accident. Logs indicate that he was coming back to Milford from a mutual aid call at that time.
The trial has started in Milford Superior Count. The officer already entered a not guilty plea to 1 count of reckless driving and 2 counts of second-degree manslaughter. Each of the manslaughter charges come with up to 10 years behind bars.
Our Boston car accident lawyers understand how serious, and confusing, accidents with government officials can be. Oftentimes, the investigators of the accident are from the same department as the officer involved in the accident. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that these conditions can produce some seriously bias reports. For this reason, it is critical that you contact an experienced and aggressive personal injury law firm to help you protect your rights. You always want a third party involved, one who isn’t involved with one of the parties in the accident. This can help you to get a clear and balanced investigation.
When a car accident involves a government vehicle or another government employee, you’ll quickly figure out that it’s tough, but not impossible, to sue. There is a policy currently in place, known as governmental or sovereign tort immunity. What this does it is protects government organization and employees from liability for their actions in these accidents. This is even the case when these people were acting on their own terms, and are on their own time.
Because of this, state, federal and even local governments have to offer consent to be sued. This is also known as a waiver of sovereign immunity. This kind of immunity is in place the help to protect tax dollars, because that is what is handed over when these individuals and government agencies lose their cases.
Most state and local government only offer a limited number of wavers for this immunity.
But how is that fair for you?
If you’ve been involved in a car accident with one of these agencies or with one of these officials, it’s important for you to contact and experienced lawyer. This process can be awfully complex. You may only have a specific time limit to file your claims. You’re also going to want help in understanding all of the technical procedures, too. An attorney can also help to make sure that all investigations are fair and balanced, not favoring the government agency. After all, in these cases it is the government who is investigating the government. Who do you think is going to win that one?
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an auto accident, contact Jeffrey S. Glassman for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights. Call (617) 777-7777.
More Blog Entries:
Parking Spaces Making More Spaces for Smaller Vehicles , Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, October 22, 2012
Rollover Car Accident in Plymouth Seriously Injures Driver , Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, October 18, 2012