According to a recent news report from CBS Boston, a driver traveling in the wrong direction on Interstate 495 near Boston was killed in a fatal car wreck. A spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) has said the accident occurred around 2 a.m. and involved a Toyota Corolla being driven by the alleged at-fault driver who was killed and another driver who was traveling in the correct direction.
On thing to keep in mind is that civil and criminal laws may come into to play when trying to prove a negligence case such as a Boston car accident lawsuit. The reason for this is because there are four elements in every negligence case. The elements are as follows: duty, breach, causation, damages.
The first element is that the defendant owed a duty of care towards the plaintiff. In a car accident case, this is imposed by statute. If you choose to drive a car on the roads of the Commonwealth, you have assumed a duty of due care towards anyone else on the roads and sidewalks.
The next element is whether you breached that duty of care. If you were in an accident in which you failed to act as a reasonable and prudent person so as to prevent foreseeable injury to foreseeable persons and places, you breached that duty of duty of care. However, this is something that has to be established at trial. If the defendant breaks a traffic law, that is often called a per se violation of the duty of due care and proof of a breach may be automatic.
However, this does not mean you automatically win the case, as you will also be required to prove causation and damages. Causation is further separated into actual causation and proximate causation. Damages is the amount of money the accident has cost you and will cost you in the foreseeable future.
If you are injured in an accident in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Wrong-Way Driver Killed In Crash On I-495, November 24, 2016, CBS Boston
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Report: Fall River Teen Killed in Car Crash on Way to Prom, June 26, 2016, Boston Car Accident Injury Lawyer Blog