In Christensen v. Alaska Sales & Service, Inc., plaintiff and her husband purchased a new car from a dealership. Four years later, the couple was driving when she hit two moose.
Pictures taken by plaintiff show damage to the front of the vehicle on the driver’s side. When police arrived, plaintiff said she felt nauseous and could not remember anything about the accident. She had a red mark on her forehead.
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The rights of victims who were passengers in single vehicle car accidents are often misunderstood. Car insurance companies, whose only goal is to pay out as little in personal injury claims as possible, can exploit that misunderstanding.
Mass Live is reporting that a 29-year-old man from Northampton, Massachusetts was recently killed in a one-car crash. Authorities stated that the driver lost control is his Toyota Camry on Route 9 and hit a utility pole.
When the passenger side of the car hit the utility pole, the car became twisted around the pole. The passenger was killed and the driver sustained serious but non life-threatening injuries as result of the car accident. First responders had to use equipment to cut the victims out of the mangled car.
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At the end of each workday in Boston, many residents go to South Station or Back Bay Station to catch an MBTA commuter rail train home. Seeing those purple diesel locomotives is such a normal sight that we often don’t realize that a standard locomotive and six passenger cars typically weighs over a million pounds and takes over a mile to completely stop.
According to one recent report from WCVB 5 News Boston, a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Commuter Line train crashed into a 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander at a railroad crossing in Acton.
Passengers on the train reported feeling a jolt and seeing the lights flicker on and off as the train was slowing down to a stop. When first responders arrived, they found a crushed car that was upside down and essentially cut in half. Miraculously, the driver, a 63-year-old woman, was still alive and able to talk.
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According to a recent article from the Boston Globe, a bicyclist was killed after being hit by a dump truck. Authorities report the victim was riding his bike in the westbound lane of a crowded street when he attempted to make a left turn.
During the left turn, the victim crossed over into the opposing lane of traffic and collided with the dump truck. After hitting the truck, he lost control of the bicycle and hit a utility pole.
The victim was taken to a local trauma center, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries. It appears that the truck driver was operating within the posted speed limit. An accident reconstruction specialist is taking part in the police investigation, but the police, as of this point, do not intend to press charges against the truck driver.
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According to a recent news article from WCSH6 News a woman was killed in a three-car accident in Maine. Authorities have stated that they responded to the multi-vehicle car accident that occurred in the early afternoon hours. In addition to the fatality, two other people were injured in the car accident and were taken to separate local hospitals, where their condition was being reported as stable.
Police has not yet said what caused the accident, but they have said that traffic will be reopened once a vehicle accident investigation has been completed. As our Boston attorneys who regularly represent victims of multi-vehicle accidents understand, the accident scene is often a chaotic place. There are injured people in need of assistance, police, firefighters, EMTs, and tow trucks on the scene. There is likely a line of traffic being backed up, and rubbernecking in the opposite lane because people slow down to see the devastating effects of the car crash.
Despite all of this chaos, there are certain steps you can take that will ultimately help your attorney fight for your right to fair and appropriate financial settlement. One of the most important things is to not move the your vehicle until instructed to do so by police. It is very important that the police are called, so they can document the accident, make a vehicle crash report, and help those involved in exchanging insurance information.
While it is necessary for the police to be there, do not assume the police will get the contact information of any witnesses to the accident. It is very important to try and get the names and addresses of any witnesses. These witnesses will be extremely important when it comes to settlement negotiations or a trial, and it will be very difficult to locate these people if they leave the scene without giving their pertinent information.
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According to a recent news article in the Boston Globe, the captain of the Winchester High School football team was killed in a single-vehicle car crash. Authorities are reporting that he was driving alone in his car in a suburb north of Boston in the early morning hours when he suddenly left the road and crashed into a tree.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation as friends, family, and classmates mourn the tragic loss of the 17-year-old victim.
As our Boston car accident attorneys know too well, these tragedies forever change lives. While insurance companies are often quick to blame these types of accidents on distracted driving or simply an unfortunate turn of events, an accident reconstruction expert may be able to determine if the victims or their families have a valid negligence claim.
During pretrial phase of a car accident lawsuit in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, plaintiff’s attorney will be able to serve various discovery requests on defendants. This process is known by attorneys as propounding discovery. These requests can require a car manufacturer to turn over all information pertaining to defects in a particular vehicle, including test data, recall notices, internal service bulletins shared with dealerships, and company memoranda related to defects in the car.
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Our Boston attorneys who represent clients injured by defective vehicles understand the importance of using an expert witness.
In White v. Mazda Motors of America, Inc., a case from the Supreme Court of Connecticut, plaintiff’s car caught on fire a month after he purchased it. According to court records, plaintiff was driving home after working the night shift. He had owned the car for the past month and had driven to and from work each day during that month, putting a total of 2800 miles on the car.
While driving home, he began to smell gasoline coming from the car. He pulled over and got out of the car. Everything else seemed normal, and the gauges and dashboard lights were reading as normal. When he inspected the engine, he saw a bright flash, and the car burst into flames. Plaintiff fell backwards in reaction to the explosion, and, while he luckily was not burned, he did injure his knee when he fell to the ground.
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Witnesses say that a Mini Cooper was driving at speeds of around 90mph and appeared to be racing with another vehicle. The driver is said to have lost control, and the car hit a tree. The car split in half and exploded when it hit the tree.
Both the driver and front seat passenger were thrown from the vehicle during the crash. They were rushed to a local hospital. The driver was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, and the female front seat passenger is listed in critical condition.
Witnesses say that when the truck hit the barrier, the trailer swung around and blocked all northbound lanes of the interstate, causing traffic to come to a standstill. Another truck driver did not stop in time and crashed his truck into five cars stopped at the scene, and then crashed into another tractor trailer.
After the impact from the second truck, three additional vehicles were struck in the chaotic crash scene, and the semi truck that had hit them burst into flames. The driver of the truck that failed to stop for the accident was killed in the fire. At this point, two other vehicles caught fire, but the occupants of those vehicles were able to escape. Several people involved were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injures.
According to a recent article from the Chicago Tribune, a driver crashed his car into a local 7-Eleven convenience store and then fled the scene. Witnesses are reporting that the driver went into to the convenience store to get a carton of milk.
When he arrived at the store, he allegedly crashed his car through the wall until it was completely inside the business. The driver then ran away on foot leaving his car inside the convenience store. When police arrived at the scene, they found a 2004 Acura in the middle of the store with the engine still running.
Police searched the area for someone matching defendant’s description. Police later found the man, arrested him and took him into custody. Defendant told police that he went to the store to get a carton of milk, and, when he hit the brake to stop, the pedal stuck and would not depress. Unable to stop, he ran into the store.
Defendant was placed under arrest for driving without a license, leaving the scene of an accident (hit-and-run), and failing to give his information to the storeowner before leaving the scene. Defendant was taken to the county jail where he was to be held until his arraignment.
Our Boston motor vehicle injury attorneys can explain that while this is a strange accident, hit-and-run accidents happen all the time. Many times, the driver who caused an accident is never found. If the driver is found, it may be very difficult to convict the driver of the hit-and-run because of the fact that someone must identify him or her as the person driving the car. It may not be enough to prove that defendant owned the vehicle at the time of the accident.
In many of these cases, the victim of the car accident that was caused by a hit-and-run driver, must file a claim with their own insurance company, making a UM or UIM claim. UM is an abbreviation for uninsured motorist coverage and UIM is short for underinsured motorist.
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Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog
