Articles Tagged with car accident lawyer

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From Memorial Day to Labor Day, there is a significantly increased risk of auto accidents in Boston and throughout the United States. CNN reported on the elevated collision risk, which has grown worse in recent years. The dangers of summer driving accidents are so substantial, this period of time has actually been given a name: The 100 deadliest days of summer. There are numerous reasons why crashes are so prevalent in summer, ranging from high-risk holidays such as Fourth of July to more people traveling on road trips to teens being out of school and thus driving more often. summer injury

Motorists should be aware of the risk – especially teen drivers. Drivers need to try to avoid contributing to the problem, and to make sure they make smart choices while out on the roads so they reduce the chances of being injured or killed in a collision.

Unfortunately, even when drivers do everything right, reckless and negligent operators still cause collisions. If an accident occurs and you believe another driver was to blame for it, you can obtain compensation for losses by proving the other driver’s negligence caused your crash. A Boston car accident lawyer can provide help in making your damage claim. Continue reading

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The doctrine of respondeat superior (Latin for “let the master answer”) holds that an employer can be vicariously liable for the actions of an employee who is acting in the course and scope of employment.motorcycle

That sounds fairly simple, but there is actually a lot to unpack in that statement. For example, vicarious liability means the company can be liable even if it didn’t directly do anything wrong. There is also the distinction between, say, an independent contractor, and an actual employee. Questions might also be raised about whether a worker was acting in the course and scope of employment, even if he or she wasn’t technically on-the-clock.

This brings us to a recent case out of California, considered by the California Court of Appeals for the Second Appellate District, Division Five. The car accident injury lawsuit involved a motorcyclist who was struck by a man driving a taxi. The taxi driver turned left into the path of the man on the motorcycle, who was ejected from his bike. The motorcyclist suffered serious injuries as a result and filed a lawsuit against not just the driver, but the the company whose insignia and branding was emblazoned on the vehicle.  Continue reading

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It is possible to pursue a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding and a personal injury lawsuit simultaneously. But it has to be approached with caution. After all, we don’t choose to be a victim of negligence, and sometimes, it doesn’t happen at the most opportune financial point in our lives. It is to your advantage in this situation to hire an injury lawyer with full understanding of the complexity of both bankruptcy and injury law, and the ways in which these proceedings – one in state court and one in the federal system – can impact one another. piggybank

In a recent case before the Virginia Supreme Court, a plaintiff was ultimately denied the opportunity to pursue her injury lawsuit because she improperly failed to exempt her negligence claim in her bankruptcy filing.

According to court records, plaintiff was involved in a motor vehicle accident in February 2012. Soon thereafter, she saw her primary care physician and complained of back and neck pain radiating into her head, causing her to suffer a severe headache. An MRI indicated she was suffering from disc protrusion. Doctors treated her with steroid injections, and she was also assigned to physical therapy and sessions with a chiropractor. These treatments weren’t effective, however, and she ultimately underwent surgery.  Continue reading

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Massachusetts courts do recognize that when a driver suffers a sudden medical emergency immediately prior to a car accident, he or she cannot be found liable for the crash. Applicability of the sudden medical emergency doctrine continues to be weighed by courts in the Commonwealth, as the defense always raises questions as to whether the medical emergency was foreseeable (i.e., was it sudden seizure or someone who knew they had epilepsy? etc.), and also whether strict liability may apply anyway.bus driver

Some states have considered sudden medical emergency to be an absolute defense against liability in a traffic accident (see the Ohio Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Roman v. Estate of Gobbo).

Recently, the Utah Supreme Court considered this issue, finding that strict liability can still be imposed on a driver who suffers sudden incapacity. The case involves a motor coach driver who suffered a sudden and unforeseeable loss of consciousness.  Continue reading

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Many people drive as part of their daily work routine. Some do so specifically to further the business of their employer. In cases where an at-fault driver was acting in the course and scope of employment, the employer may be found vicariously liable for its employee’s negligence – even if the employer wasn’t in any way directly negligent (i.e., negligent hiring, negligent supervision, failure to properly maintain vehicle, etc.). van

However, when someone has permission to use a company-owned vehicle both for work and personal reasons, questions of liability can get complicated.

This was the matter at hand in a recent case weighed by a California appellate court, where the question was whether the at-fault driver’s personal insurer should be liable to pay a $500,000 arbitration award for a crash that happened while the driver was operating a company vehicle, but not in the course and scope of employment.  Continue reading

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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

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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

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According to a recent news feature from Mass Live, a single-car crash occurred this past Thursday during the rush hour in Milford, Massachusetts and resulted in the death of the 39-year-old driver.

caraccident3Massachusetts State Police (MSP) troopers and other first responders were called to the scene following the deadly car accident on Interstate 495.   Authorities are not yet sure why the accident occurred, but witnesses say the car was traveling south when the driver appeared to lose control of the vehicle.  The vehicle then drove off the roadway and into the median dividing the two directions of traffic.  Continue reading

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Boston is the worst.crosswalk1

That is, if you’re driving. Or on a bicycle. Or walking somewhere.

As Boston car accident attorneys, we could have told you that based on our decades of experience. But we’re not the only ones who know. In 2015, Allstate ranked 200 major U.S. cities for the best and worst drivers in the country. Boston ranked dead last. 200th. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise either that Worcester, MA ranked 199th, Springfield ranked 196th.

So given what we know about the poor driving habits in Boston and beyond, what can we do about it? Continue reading

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According to a recent report from the Boston Globe, Ray Flynn, former mayor of Boston, was just involved in a car accident while driving home from the gym.  He reportedly crashed his car into his neighbor’s South Boston home, which now has a large hole in the brick basement wall.

p-use-ya-blinka-sign-300x184Authorities say the 76-year-old man was returning home from a late morning workout at the Boston Athletic Club and was attempting to parallel park his car on the street in front of his neighbor’s home.  At this point, Flynn allegedly “lost his bearings” and also lost consciousness.  Flynn said that when he woke up a few minutes later, he realized that his car had crashed into his neighbor’s home.  Continue reading

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