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Jurors in Georgia delivered an $11 million verdict in a car accident lawsuit against Papa John’s to a woman who suffered traumatic brain injuries in a head-on collision with a pizza delivery driver. driver1

According to Courtroom View Network, the eight-figure verdict interestingly did not include damages for future lost wages or future medical expenses. However, compelling expert witness testimony underscored the severity of 51-year-old plaintiff’s injuries, which includes severe memory loss, anxiety, depression, confusion and other long-term ailments. A renowned neurologist who also serves as a professor at Emory University offered key damages testimony, specifically regarding the extent of plaintiffs injuries. She testified that over the course of 25 visits, plaintiff had undergone extensive testing. The doctor asserted that in her two decades of medical practice, she had never seen such a severe mild traumatic brain injury.

The term “mild” might connote that the injury wasn’t dramatic in nature. But the evidence – including the expert witness testimony – proved otherwise.  Continue reading

New car accident numbers are in: It isn’t good. highway1

Two new reports – one from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and another from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – indicate that auto accident deaths spiked last year and even though it’s lower than it has been historically over the last 30 years, it’s still far higher than other developed nations.

It’s true that lower gas prices mean more people are on the roads, taking longer trips and that inevitably leads to a spike in crashes. But there is more going on. Drivers have more sources of distraction than ever. Impaired driving continues to be a major problem. Streets are still not designed to protect the safety of vulnerable road users like pedestrians and bicyclists.  Continue reading

There was a time when nothing would stop rental car companies from renting vehicles that had been recalled without first repairing them. In fact, rental car staffers didn’t even have to disclose to customers that the car had been recalled or that it wasn’t yet fixed. That time was over as of June 1, 2016.drivein

Now, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015 is now formally in effect, which means rental car companies are prohibited by law from renting out recalled vehicles. Previously, the law only barred selling someone a car with unfixed recalls, but there was no law against renting such a vehicle to the unsuspecting public.

Of course, there are a few exceptions. For example, if the company has fewer than 35 vehicles, it’s exempt. But the good news is most rental car companies have fleets that are much larger than that. Continue reading

According to a recent news feature from CBS Local Boston, five people, including a Massachusetts State Police (MSP) trooper, were injured in a multi-vehicle car accident on Interstate 93 in Boston.  Authorities say the crash occurred around three in the morning near a Boston exit.

caraccident3Witnesses say the trooper was at the scene of what turned out be the serious car accident conducting an investigation of another crash that had already happened.  The trooper had his cruiser parked next to the two-car accident, and his emergency lights on his Ford SUV were activated. Continue reading

Boston car accident lawsuits can sometimes involve family members or friends suing one another or the estates of those who did not survive. We know this sometimes sounds kind of terrible. After all, no one wants to sue their loved one. But the goal in these cases is usually not to collect damages from that individual, but rather from the auto insurance or other coverage those individuals might hold. cars2

Let’s face it: If you’re in a serious crash, the bills are going to add up quickly. It’s compounded by the fact that the victim often can’t work during recovery. In some cases, recovery can take months or even years, and victims can be left with lifelong ailments and disabilities. It could also be a matter of helping a decedent’s family regain financial footing after a sudden loss.

But insurance companies are not eager to pay damages, either to their own insureds or to third parties. They are looking to reduce costs wherever they can. Although insurers can’t be named as defendants in car accident lawsuits (liability of the insured first has to be established), there are sometimes disputes against insurance companies that can arise within the context of an accident lawsuit. Let’s take for example Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Estate of CheeContinue reading

A woman in Salem (Oregon, that is) was awarded $800,000 in damages against the city after a public workers employee reportedly crashed into the side of her vehicle in April 2013. The city worker was reportedly working on electrical boxes along a bustling street. Intending to make a U-turn, he positioned his vehicle under the traffic light and, while repositioning his vehicle, plaintiff made a left turn onto the road. caroncurve

The two drivers dispute what happened next. Plaintiff alleges she was in the left lane and was starting to pass the truck when the driver suddenly initiated his U-turn and hit her passenger-side door. Defendant worker said not so, he started to turn when no vehicles were near and was a quarter of the way through his turn when plaintiff tried to pass him.

Either way, the U-turn was illegal so defendant was cited and ultimately, he was found guilty of that. However, that citation wasn’t admissible evidence in civil court. Plaintiff then sued the city for vicarious liability for the worker’s negligence and now, a jury has decided the worker was 90 percent to blame for the crash.  Continue reading

According to a recent news article from WPRI, a teen in Fall River was killed in a car accident while driving to her prom.  The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is investigating the cause of the fatal Fall River car accident, along with local police.

promAuthorities say the accident only involved one car and happened around 6 p.m. as she was driving to her prom.  She was driving with a male passenger who was going with her to the prom.  She was 18-years-old at the time of her death. Continue reading

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According to a recent news item, a 4-year-old boy suffered an injury known as “internal decapitation” after involvement in a car accident. Amazingly, he survived due to smart thinking from a rescue worker.  The victim was in a car being driven by his mother when the road became covered in ice from a large hailstorm.  The mother was driving her child home from a birthday party thrown for the child when she lost control of her vehicle due to the ice on the road and slid into another car traveling in the opposite direction.

Internal decapitation, also know as clinical decapitation, occurs when a person’s skull separates from his or her spinal column. Unlike in the typical image of what we picture when we hear the term “decapitation,” the victim’s head does not actually separate from the rest of the body.  While a victim can survive an internal decapitation, he or she can easily die as a result of the injury, and this is especially more likely with young victims. Continue reading

According to recent news article from the Boston Herald, one woman died and others were injured in serious motor vehicle accident involving a wheelchair transport vehicle and a Nissan SUV.  The accident occurred Whitman, Massachusetts near Plymouth.

caraccident6According to witnesses, the accident occurred a few minutes before four in the afternoon.  They said the impact of the car accident was so loud and jarring that it seemed to shake neighborhood houses. As they rushed out of their homes after hearing the horrific crash, they saw that the that Nissan had crashed into the wheelchair transport van with such force that the car was demolished, and it was obvious that people were hurt. Continue reading

Just across Boston’s Mystic River on the other side of the Tobin Bridge, residents of Chelsea, Massachusetts say a 25-year-old man was hit by a car around 10 p.m. last weekend, and then saw that car allegedly speed away as the man was left bleeding on the pavement, according to a recent news feature from CBS Local Boston.

caraccident3One witness said he saw the man lying next to the car that allegedly hit him and immediately called 911.  However, at this point, the driver of the car was seen leaving the scene of the accident as the man lay there dying.  Another witness said the victim flipped into the air when he was hit by the car and came crashing down to the street.  Continue reading

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