car accident lawyer Boston

July 24, 2019

Joint and Several Liability in Massachusetts Crashes

In the Boston suburb of Brockton, a civil lawsuit over a school bus-teen car accident injury liability and damages is underway, with potentially millions of dollars on the line.

Four high school students piled into a car on their way to school. It was the morning of the junior prom. Nearly a mile from the school, the teen driver allegedly crossed the yellow line and slammed into a school bus. Her three passengers all suffered brain injuries. One was on life support for months, and has been rendered completely unable to care for herself.

The question is not only the amount of damages each teen and their parents suffered, but how much fault each defendant bears. Among the named defendants:

March 5, 2018

Auto Rates Soar, Making Need for Higher UM/UIM Coverage in Massachusetts Imperative

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Auto insurance in Massachusetts is not getting cheaper, so it may not be a great time to tell you to increase your UM/UIM coverage – but it’s important.

Here’s why: Auto insurance premiums have recently hit a national average of $1,427, according to The Washington Post. This is for a few different reasons, including catastrophic weather (which increases the number of crashes). However, as the Post reported, one’s college degree or credit score may actually have more bearing on how much your car insurance costs than your actual driving record, given the complex and often opaque formulas used by auto insurers. What this boils down to is that people who might really need insurance are going to either skimp on coverage, buying only the bare minimum required by law, or they aren’t going to buy any at all and take their chances getting caught.

The Insurance Information Institute reports that from 1992 to 2015, the estimated percentage of uninsured motorists nationally ranged somewhere between 16 percent and 13 percent. Florida had the highest rate of uninsured motorists (27 percent), while Massachusetts had one of the lowest (6.2 percent). Here, state law requires motorists carry a minimum:

$20,000 per individual in bodily injury liability and property damage
$40,000 per crash for bodily injury liability and property damage
$5,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) benefits

July 13, 2016

NHTSA: U.S. Car Accident Deaths Up 8 Percent in 2015

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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

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

March 15, 2016

Reports: Auto Insurers Flout Massachusetts Law

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Car insurance is required for drivers in Massachusetts. Consumers agree to pay premiums and obey state rules in exchange for prompt coverage of losses associated with car accident claims.

Unfortunately, many insurers fail to uphold their end of the deal. They certainly don’t act “like a good neighbor” and they aren’t “on your side” when it comes to your claim.

In fact, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has more than once penalized the auto insurance industry in recent years for running afoul of the law. Investigations have revealed widespread overcharging of customers and in some cases, even dropping good drivers despite the state’s “clean-in-three” rule. Continue reading