Car Accidents

January 15, 2016

A Takata Air Bag Recall Overview

Airbags are supposed to make people riding in cars feel safer. However, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issues a major manufacturer of airbags with systems on more than a dozen makes of cars the largest civil fine in agency history, customers may question their feeling of safety. Defectively designed products in cars, or cars themselves, can lead to a serious risk of accidents, and these accidents would the basis for negligence action, should a serious or deadly car accident occur.

As discussed by SafeCar.gov, a NHTSA project, well in excess of 30 million automobiles are being recalled over defective air bags on both the passenger and driver’s side of the vehicle. The problem is very serious, in that, when they deploy, they could do so with enough explosive force to injure or even kill a vehicle occupant. All air bags deploy with some degree of force, as propellant wafers comprised of sodium azide and potassium nitrate are ignited to produce nitrogen gas. The newly created nitrogen case expands to the fill the air bag. While this is technically an explosive chemical reaction, it is a controlled reaction with enough force to quickly inflate the air bag, and it is not supposed to cause any damage. Continue reading

January 12, 2016

Tesla Seatbelt Recalls and other Car Design Safety Issues

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Seal belts have been one of the most important safety features on all cars for decades, but that wasn’t always the case. Following the Second World War, automotive travel was becoming increasingly popular for returning GIs and their families, but the seat belt was considered a novelty at the time. People did not want them on their cars, and they are associated with only being necessary for airplane pilots.

Interestingly, it was Robert McNamara, who was in the United States Army Air Force during WWII, that realized the airplane seat belt could save lives on the road, and, as president of Ford Motor Company, pushed for safety increases in all cars. In addition to the seat belt, he also included a concave steering wheel to prevent driver head injury, better door handles to prevent occupants from being ejected, safety glass, and padded visors in what he would name the Lifeguard package available on Ford models beginning in 1956. Continue reading

January 7, 2016

Icy Weather Wreaking Havoc on Boston Area Roads

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Up until very recently, everyone was wondering if it was ever going to get cold this winter. In the past couple of weeks, it has quickly turned cold, and much of New England has been hit with some pretty bad snowstorms. With the recent snow and icy weather, it has become very dangerous out on the roads, and this has led to a lot of serious car accidents.

According to a recent news feature from the Boston Globe, there have been numerous multivehicle crashes in recent days, including a seven-car wreck in Duxbury. Fire department personnel said they were called to a massive collision that they reported as having 20 vehicles involved. This was a few hours after the seven-car pile up and a few minutes before two cars collided with each other and spun out on the same stretch of icy road. Continue reading

January 6, 2016

“Grateful Doe” Finally Identified After Death in 1995 Car Wreck

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent report from the Boston Globe, a man who was killed in a fatal car accident in 1995 has finally been identified. This man was killed in the car accident around 20 years ago in Virginia, and his body was so badly damaged from the accident that an identification could not be made at that time and he his driver’s license or wallet was never recovered. He did however have two Grateful Dead ticket stubs in his pocket that survived the wreckage, so he was then known as Grateful Doe instead of John Doe like as unidentified victims are normally called.

The victim’s mother lost contact with her son after he left home to follow the Grateful Dead. For those that don’t remember, fans of the band would sometimes spend all of their time traveling from city to city with the band. She said that she never filed a missing persons report for several reasons. First, they did not want to believe he was actually missing or dead. His mother also said that she was not even sure where to file the missing persons report, because he was supposedly traveling all over the country, and it didn’t make sense to the family to file the report in Myrtle Beach, where he was living prior to leaving home. Continue reading

January 6, 2016

Reis v. Luckett: Multi-Car Accidents

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Reis v. Luckett, a case from the Supreme Court of the State of Montana, is an appeal dealing with the legal issue of causation in a car accident lawsuit. Essentially, there are four elements needed to prove negligence in a car accident civil action. The first element is that defendant owed plaintiff a duty of due care. The second element is defendant breached his or her duty of due care. The third element is causation, and the fourth and final element is damages.

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the most heavily litigated elements in a negligence case involving a car accident is the causation element. It should be noted that legal causation is broken down into actual and proximate causation. Continue reading

January 5, 2016

New England Driver Crashes into Secret Service Vehicle in Deadly Car Accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from the Boston Herald, the United States Secret Service advance team for presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton was in New England making sure everything was safe for Ms. Clinton’s upcoming visit to the area when they were involved in a deadly car accident.

Authorities said a man without a driver’s license and with what has been described as an extensive criminal history allegedly tried to pass another vehicle in an illegal manner. He was driving on a dangerous stretch of Route 16 at the time, and they were in the middle of a heavy snowstorm. While trying to pass the vehicle, he allegedly crashed head on into car traveling in the opposite direction. That other vehicle involved in the collision was the Secret Service vehicle being operated by the Clinton advance team. An advance team is responsible for coming to area before their person they are protecting and securing the area. In some cases this involves checking the backgrounds of everyone who lives or owns a business along the planned route, and, in some high profile visits, it means removing all mailboxes and welding all manhole covers closed to prevent an attack. Continue reading

January 3, 2016

Massachusetts Woman Died When Car Crashed into Home in Wilmington

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

So far, there have not been many cold days this fall going into what is officially Winter. With this odd weather pattern and temperatures being higher than normal, we tend to get a lot of foggy morning weather. We are also getting rain instead of snow.

There is no question it is more dangerous to drive in dense fog, but that does not mean that any time an accident occurs, the at-fault driver can avoid liability to plaintiff for his or her injuries because it was difficult to drive with such poor visibility. In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the law imposes a duty on every driver to operate his or her motor vehicle in a reasonable and prudent manner so as to prevent foreseeable injury to foreseeable persons and places. Continue reading

January 2, 2016

Serra v. Estate of Broughton: UM/UIM Coverage in Car Accident Cases

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In Serra v. Estate of Broughton, a case from the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, plaintiff was from Spain and was in the United States as a foreign exchange student. She was riding in her friend’s car when they were involved in a serious car accident. The other vehicle in the accident was a motorcycle being operated by a man who was killed in the accident.

Following the accident, she filed a claim for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. This is also known as UM/UIM coverage. Under the law, owner of a vehicle is required to have liability insurance. This is car insurance designed to pay for for personal injury and property damage to others. This will not for pay damage to your own car. This type of insurance is known as collision coverage. It is not required by law, but if you owe money on your car, the bank will probably require to you have collision as well to cover the cost of their collateral. Continue reading

January 1, 2016

Actor James Woods in Serious Car Accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from the Post Independent, actor James Woods was just involved in a serious car accident, and then took to Twitter to describe the entire ordeal. Woods says he was driving through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado when an ice storm started. According to his tweets, there was a driver traveling faster than 75 mph on the slick road, causing him to lose control of his car and spin out.

At this point, Woods had to swerve to avoid the spinning car, and, when took evasive action, his car hit the retaining wall on the right side of the roadway. This caused his own car to spin, and then he was traveling backwards at around 69 mph. At this point, both cars collided with five other cars on the roadway, turning this into a seven-car accident. The area in which the accident occurred is known for being particularly dangerous, and people often call it a treacherous stretch of road. Continue reading

January 1, 2016

Boston Motorists Can Become Better Drivers in 2016

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The vast majority of motorists believe themselves to be good drivers. In fact, CNN reported on motorists interviewed by Allstate who touted their own driving abilities and indicated they had good skills behind the wheel. Although motorists were confident in their own abilities, they were less confident about the skills of others. In fact, the majority of motorists who were surveyed said most others were bad drivers.

While you may believe yourself to be a good driver, the reality is most motorists have dangerous habits- even those who said they were safe behind the wheel.

As the new year approaches, it may be time to make a change and curb the behaviors which are putting you at risk due to unsafe driving. When you make your resolutions this year, you should strongly consider resolving to become a better driver in 2016.