Articles Posted in Car Accidents

While the winter this year started off mild, the last few weeks have more than made up for the slow start. Boston and much of New England has been hit by a series of blizzards and named winter storms, which have left blankets of snow and ice with amounts far exceeding predicted totals.

Just when it seemed like the city finally managed to dig itself out, more snow has hit the area.

It is for this reason City officials are urging people to stay off the roads and let plow drivers and utility crews safely do their work. The more cars on the road, the more dangerous it is to road crews, and the more likely serious automobile accidents will occur.

This is especially true on weekends. During the week, it is easier to convince people to stay of the roads, since many people are glad for any opportunity to stay home from work.

On the weekend, however, people are much less willing to miss out on their planned activities and tend to ignore these warnings. Work crews are featured on the news on a nightly basis with reports of two wheel drive, and even rear wheel drive vehicles crashing and getting stuck that had no business being on the road in the first place.
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This time of year, we often hear about car accidents caused by roads covered with ice and snow. That’s been especially true this winter, as Boston and much of New England has been brutalized by one major winter storm after another.

It is easy to dismiss these accidents as being due to the weather and think you don’t have a car accident negligence case, but that is not always correct.

While sometimes an accident is truly an accident where no fault is involved, many crashes in winter weather are due to an at-fault driver operating in a manner that is not safe for existing conditions.

According to a recent news article from My Fox Boston, more than 20 cars were involved in a major automobile accident on Interstate 95 near Waltham. Authorities say an accident occurred early Sunday, and wreckage caused all southbound traffic to be stopped on the interstate until 8 p.m.
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According to the Boston Herald, Miley Cyrus’s boyfriend, Patrick Schwarzenegger (son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver), was driving in the Los Angeles area when another driver allegedly threw a full bottle of water at him and then fled the scene.

Authorities say Schwarzenegger began to chase the other driver because he was angry when the other driver made a U turn and rammed Schwarzenegger’s car, causing minor damage to his vehicle. The suspect allegedly fled the scene again. Witnesses say Schwarzenegger went to meet Cyrus for lunch at a local restaurant, where he called the police. Police are investigating this incident as an assault with a deadly weapon (motor vehicle).

While many serious car accidents may involve negligence or drunk driving, they are not usually intentional, like the alleged crash described in this article. However, with road rage becoming more common in Boston and across the nation, some crashes are the result of intentional behavior.
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Motor vehicle-related crashes are consistently the No. 1 cause of work-related deaths in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, 36 percent of occupational fatalities reported to the federal agency are associated with motor vehicles.

These kinds of crashes can be particularly challenging from a civil case perspective, and the reason has to do with the exclusive remedy provision of workers’ compensation law. The provision prohibits employees (or their estates) from suing their employer and usually their co-workers for negligence where workers’ compensation insurance is available. Workers’ compensation coverage can be provided for any personal injury or death that arose out of and in the course of one’s employment.

The good thing about workers’ compensation is employees don’t have to prove negligence, and it is designed to serve as a prompt means for workers to be compensated for coverage of medical bills, lost wages and permanent disability. Unfortunately, it is generally not nearly as much as one might receive had they succeeded in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.
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Former Olympic champion-turned-reality television star Bruce Jenner was recently involved in a horrific, fatal crash that left one woman dead and several others – including children – injured.

Authorities are reportedly delving into all possible causes, and Jenner is said to be cooperating with the investigation. Among the avenues explored: Drunk driving (authorities do not suspect that at this time), paparazzi interference (officers say that is unlikely, though they did capture images of the four-vehicle crash as it happened) and texting while driving (an accusation Jenner has denied).

The chain reaction crash occurred shortly after noon on a Saturday in Malibu. Authorities say the driver of a Toyota Prius suddenly stopped and was struck from behind by a Lexus. Jenner, who was driving his Cadillac Escalade, was behind that Lexus and rear-ended the vehicle at an angle (possibly attempting to swerve to avoid collision). However, the impact of that crash pushed the Lexus into oncoming traffic, where it was struck by a Hummer H2. The driver of the Lexus was pronounced dead at the scene. In total, five children and two adults were hospitalized with injuries. Jenner was not among those injured.
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According to recent news report from WHDH, a car was traveling at such a high rate of speed in Arlington, Massachusetts on Route 2 it completely left the road surface, drove up an embankment, left the ground entirely, landed on a guardrail, and crashed on top of another vehicle traveling on the Pleasant Street Bridge.

One Arlington Police officer said he had never seen a crash like this one is his entire 15 year career with the department. An accident reconstruction team was on scene to try to piece together what actually happened, and officers were tracing the assumed path of travel with their flashlights according to witnesses. Another police officer said every aspect of the crash from going airborne to landing on top of a guardrail, and then landing on another car was unbelievable.

The reason this accident was so unbelievable to officers is the car was traveling on a surface road 30 feet below the car on which it eventually landed. The car managed to go up the embankment and fly through the air for long enough to end up on the Pleasant Street Bridge above.
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Since the end of the Washington Nationals’ short post-season run, they have been getting a lot of news coverage this off-season. While much of the news has been related to trades involving big name athletes such as starting pitcher Max Scherzer, there has been much coverage regarding outfielder Jayson Werth and criminal charges against him related to reckless driving.

For those who haven’t been following, Werth was arrested in Virginia for driving his racing edition Porsche at 104mph in an area with a posted speed limit of 55mph.

Werth first elected to take his case to trial in a bench trial, where he was found guilty and sentenced to 10 days in jail. The judge said she was gravely concerned about his negligent and dangerous actions in which someone could have been seriously injured, and that was the reason for sending him to jail despite, this being his first offense.

According to the law in that jurisdiction, a defendant who has been convicted of a misdemeanor at a bench trial (judge instead of a jury) can appeal the trial verdict and request a trial by jury. This is what typically happens in cases involving reckless driving in Virginia. Pursuant to local law, Werth, through counsel, immediately appealed his verdict and sentence, and demanded a trial by jury.
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According to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, a Shrewsbury man died when he was involved in a crash involving his vehicle and a backhoe. The 79-year-old victim was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center, where doctors pronounced him dead from his injuries.

The driver of the backhoe was also treated on the scene by first responders and transported to a local hospital where doctors say his condition is not life threatening. Westborough Police are not yet sure as to the cause of the accident, and an investigation is still ongoing. It has not been established if backhoe driver was in any way negligently responsible for this tragic accident.
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Many car owners choose (or can only afford) to purchase the minimum amount of insurance coverage required by state law. In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the mandatory minimum liability insurance required is $20,000 per personal injury per person, $40,000 per accident and $5,000 for property damage. Car accident attorneys normally express these figures as 20/40/5.

This means if there is an accident, and the at-fault driver has the minimum required insurance, the most the policy will pay any single victim for his or her injuries is $20,000. If there were two victims, the second victim could also be paid up to $20,000. If there are three victims, the third victim will not receive $20,000 because of the $40,000 per accident limit. There will probably be a third of $40,000 paid to each claimant assuming all had injuries of more than $20,000.

The $5,000 limit is the most the company will pay to fix the victim’s car. Obviously, this may be much less than the cost of fixing a car, but many also have comprehensive coverage on their own vehicles.
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