Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

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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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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Auto insurance companies have a laundry list of ways to limit or circumvent liability for claims in major accidents. One of the most notorious methods is a “step-down provision.”

Applicable in a range of circumstances, the step-down provision holds that, under certain conditions, the insurer will only cover the statutory minimum required by law, as opposed to the liability limit for which the insured actually paid. One type of step-down provision is the family step-down provision. It holds that if one of the injured parties is a family or household member of the at-fault party, the insurance coverage will “step down” to the statutory minimum.

Our Boston car accident lawyers understand that while insurers have successfully asserted this clause in crash cases across the country, a number of state supreme courts and legislators have stepped in to find such clauses contrary to public policy. That means the greater public good is harmed by enforcement of such a provision.

Recently, South Carolina joined the ranks of states standing up to insurers on this issue, with the state supreme court ruling in Williams v. GEICO. The insurance company in this case attempted to stretch the family step-down provision to the at-fault driver’s wife (as a family member), despite the fact that she was also a named insured.
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While we might expect to see gators sunning themselves at roadside on some long strip of highway in the Florida Everglades, such scenes would be highly unexpected here in Massachusetts.

We do, however, have an abundance of “road gators,” as they are often called. Although not a massive reptilian, they bear a striking resemblance to such – and can be far more dangerous. “Road gators” are shreds of debris, usually steel-reinforced truck tires that can stretch anywhere from 8 to 10 feet long and weigh 70 pounds or more. This debris is often found on the highway shoulder, but sometimes found lying squarely in the middle of the road – and can cause a serious accident, particularly when on interstates with speed limits of 70 miles-per-hour.

It’s a particular problem in summer, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Hot pavement contributes to tire wear and tear, and these problems stretch well into September. Often, people swerve to avoid debris, but the chain reaction ends up being worse than if they had actually struck it. The NHTSA reports swerving to avoid roadway debris causes some 25,0009 crashes each year.

Our car accident lawyers in Massachusetts know liability in these cases can be tricky. Unless it occurs directly in front of the injured party or witnesses, it may be next to impossible to identify the truck from which the debris originated.
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