Articles Posted in Car Accidents

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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According to a recent news article from Boston Herald, an 83-year-old man who was the victim of a serious car crash, was in an ambulance being rushed to the hospital when the vehicle was stopped by protesters who had chained themselves to 12,000 pound barrels of concrete.

Police say first responders had to cut the victim out the car and put in him in an ambulance so he could be transported to Boston Medical Center for immediate care in the emergency room. Boston emergency dispatchers were forced to detour the ambulance to another trauma center in Brockton.

The hospital to which they were headed is a Level One trauma center in Boston, which was in a position to provide the best and fastest access to trauma surgeons. Unfortunately, EMS workers realized the delay in getting to the hospital could significantly reduce his chances of obtaining timely treatment for his serious injuries, and decided to reroute to the further hospital.
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Ex Parte Robert Bosch, LLC. is a car accident lawsuit appealed to the Supreme Court of Alabama. In Bosch, plaintiff and her husband were passengers in a compact sport utility vehicle. Husband’s stepson was driving the car. While their vehicle was waiting to make a left turn, they were struck from behind by another car.

After being struck from behind, the force of the collision pushed their car into the intersection, where another vehicle struck them head-on. Husband was sitting in the front passenger seat. He was severely injured in the car crash and died from his injuries a few days later. During the crash, the front passenger airbag failed to deploy during both the rear and front-end impacts.

Additionally, the front passenger seatbelt “pretensioner” did not activate. As you may be aware, and can further discuss with a car accident lawyer, a pretension is the mechanism by which a seatbelt will lock if pulled quickly or with a greater degree of force than normal operation.
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In Lunsford v. Mills, a case from the Supreme Court of North Carolina, defendant was driving a tractor-trailer owned by his employer. While driving, he lost control of the truck while going around a curve. After losing control, the truck hit a concrete barrier in the median (Jersey barrier) and flipped over. Plaintiff, a volunteer firefighter, responded to the accident scene and found defendant injured and diesel fuel leaking from his truck.
Plaintiff attempted to get defendant out of harm’s way by lifting him over the concrete barrier, so he could safely assess any injuries. While plaintiff was standing in the highway, second defendant was driving westbound on the interstate.
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A parent having to bury a child is one of the most tragic things imaginable. Unfortunately, these things happen on a regular basis, and national safety statistics tell us that car accidents are among the leading causes of teen deaths across the United States.

One such fatal car accident involving a teenage victim occurred in Rockland, Massachusetts, which is around 20 miles south of Boston. According to a recent news article from CBS Boston, victim was killed in a fatal three-car accident.

Authorities say they are still investigating the cause of the fatal crash that killed the 17-year-old high school student. The accident occurred just before 3 a.m.

Witness describe how victim’s sport utility vehicle collided with two other cars. It is believed at least two of the cars involved in the fatal car accident may have been racing. After colliding with the two other cars, victim’s car flipped over and came to rest in an upside-down position. The victim was a member of the high school varsity wrestling team and was well liked by his entire community. His classmates came to scene in tears to mourn the loss of their friend.

As noted, the cause of the accident is still under investigation, and police will use a Massachusetts State Police accident reconstruction team to determine if, in fact, the parties were involved in a street race at the time of the accident.
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According to a recent news article from WWLP, three people suffered injury after being involved in a five-car accident in Springfield. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident but believe a wheelchair-accessible van ran into a sedan that was making a left turn. The sedan was pushed into a third car, while the van kept going after the initial collision and hit a forth car. This car crashed into a fifth car after being hit by the van.

A passenger in the sedan was badly injured and suffered serious cuts on his face. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to cut one passenger from the wreckage, before the passenger was rushed to the hospital, along with one other victim.
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Warger v. Shauers , an appeal heard before United States Supreme Court, involved plaintiff who was riding his motorcycle on a highway when a truck defendant was driving hit plaintiff from behind. Plaintiff claimed he was stopped at the time of the motor vehicle crash, while defendant claimed plaintiff unexpectedly pulled out in from of him, causing the crash.

What is not in dispute is the auto accident resulted serious personal injury, and plaintiff was eventually required to have his left leg amputated. Plaintiff originally sued defendant for negligence in federal court. During jury selection, both parties had an opportunity for lengthy voir dire of prospective jurors.
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Annocki v. Peterson Enters., LLC., a case from the California Court of Appeal, involved victim who was killed in a motorcycle accident. Victim was riding his motorcycle along Pacific Coast Highway when he collided with a car exiting a restaurant parking lot.

The center of the roadway on which victim was traveling was lined with temporary traffic dividers and had a speed limit of 55 mph. Plaintiffs (victim’s parents) argue at-fault driver was confused when exiting restaurant parking lot and tried to make a left turn instead of a right turn. Plaintiffs further alleged restaurant owner was negligent for failing to adequately staff the parking lot. On the night of the fatal traffic accident, there was only one employee working in the parking lot and no employee was there to assist customers leaving the parking lot in entering the roadway. Plaintiffs specifically asserted restaurant owner chose to save the eight dollars per hour it would have cost to have a second parking lot attendant over their customer’s safety.
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