Car Accidents

November 20, 2017

Statutes of Limitations, Damages in a Fatal Boston Car Accident

A car accident often results in serious personal injury. The worst Boston car accidents result in one of more fatalities. These fatal Boston car crashes will obviously be emotionally devastating for friends and family, but they can be financially upending as well. They decedent will no longer be there to work and provide money for his or her family and there will also be all of the costs associated with the burial. These are all types of damages that can be claimed in a car accident wrongful death action filed under the legal theory of negligence.

According to a report from the Mayor’s Office for the City of Boston, as part of the Vision Zero program, the city estimates 25 people are killed annually – and nearly half of them are pedestrians. The name Vision Zero comes from the vision of the program to reduce the number of traffic-related fatalities down to zero.

November 14, 2017

Proving Liability in Car Accidents

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In many Boston car accidents, there is often no question as to fault. These are called clear liability cases by attorneys and insurance company claims adjusters. For example, if a car is stopped at a red light and the driver behind that person is not paying attention and slams into the back of the plaintiff’s car, there is a presumption of liability. Some accidents such as ones that occur in an intersection may require more investigation to learn who had the right of way to enter the intersection. In some cases, it may seem like it was simply an accident that was not either driver’s fault, yet this may not always be a correct assumption and one of the drivers will have a valid personal injury claim.

Under the law in Massachusetts, a tort is defined as civil wrong for which the law provides a remedy. There are essentially two types of tortiuous conduct including negligent conduct and intentional conduct. Continue reading

November 7, 2017

Teen Driving Accidents in Boston involving Rollovers

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While many more teen driving accidents occurred during the roughly 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day ( the 100 Deadliest Days for Teen Drivers), the winter also posses a significant risk for teen drivers who are not accustomed to driving in winter weather conditions. Teens tend to take unnecessary risks with snow and ice and that makes matters worse. The result is often a serious or even deadly rollover accident.

Rollover Crash Characteristics

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) keeps detailed statistics on rollover crashes across the U.S. including the number of fatal rollover crashes. This data is separated into various “characteristics” of rollover crashes. The following are some significant findings from the study: Continue reading

October 24, 2017

Damages for Boston Car Accident Burn Injuries

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Boston traffic accidents that result in burn injuries are among those that result in the highest damage awards. That’s because the injuries sustained are often severe, if not fatal. A car is powered highly flammable gasoline and there are also various other fluids flammable and possibly combustible. Even antifreeze, which is designed to cool the engine will ignite if exposed to a sufficient heat source since it mostly made from alcohol. The car is also filled with upholstery that can burn and melt following a serious Boston car accident.

There are various causes of burns such as electricity, but in car accidents, we are typically dealing with thermal burns. Chemical burns are also possible. According to a study compiled by Richard R. Edlich, PhD, FACS, FACEP, and published by Medscape, more than 2 million people suffer from burn injuries each year in the United States. Continue reading

October 5, 2017

Recovering Damages in Fatal Hit-and-Run Accidents in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In Boston, a troubling number of car accidents involve an at-fault driver flees the scene. Some of these are fatal crashes. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute (IIHSHLDI) keeps statistics by states on the number of fatal crashes by year. According to their findings, in 2015, there were 291 fatal crashes resulting in 306 deaths. The number of traffic fatalities is lower than the number of deaths because some fatal Massachusetts car crashes result in more than a single fatality.

When a driver flees the scene of a crash, it can cause difficulties for those who are trying to obtain compensation for injuries. The good news is there are options (in particular, uninsured motorist coverage). As for the reason these drivers flee, it often comes down to either intoxication and a fear of being charged with serious crimes (such as vehicular homicide) by prosecutors. In other cases, it’s because the fleeing driver did not have a license or the mandated car insurance coverage. Continue reading

September 21, 2017

Liability in Boston Single-Vehicle Crashes

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, firefighters had to cut a woman free from a mangled car in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Authorities have said the vehicle was carrying a 31-year-old mother, her husband, and their eight-month-old daughter at the time of the serious Boston area car crash.

While the exact cause of the accident is still under investigation, initial findings indicate the driver of the vehicle lost control and spun out before entering the woods. When the vehicle entered the woods, it was allegedly traveling at a high rate of speed and crashed into a tree. Continue reading

September 6, 2017

Multiple Injury Car Crashes in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Whenever there is a car crash in Boston, the drivers and occupants should call the police and exchange insurance information. There are various components of a car insurance policy including liability to others for personal property damage (car), liability to others for personal injury, comprehensive coverage, and personal injury protection (PIP) for injury to one’s self.

Liability for injury to others including personal injury and property damage is the most important competent of defendant’s insurance binder when dealing with a Boston car accident lawsuit. When a car insurance policy is sold in the Commonwealth, there is a base amount of liability coverage that must be purchased by the policy holder who is called the insured driver. Continue reading

September 3, 2017

Self Driving Car Accident Liability

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While just a few years ago, self-driving cars seemed more like science fiction than reality, it now appears they will be regular fixtures on the road sooner rather than later. While Google is still devolving its system that uses advanced radar, GPS, an an array of camera’s, the high end electric car company Tesla has managed to get its models on the road already.

The Tesla version is not a true self-driving car like have seen in movies such as”Demolition Man.” In that movie, a person could get in the car, tell the car where they want to go and let the car do the rest. This is what Google is working on, and they have taken some fully automated rides around California, but the company is not where it needs to be yet in terms of safety testing and reliability. Continue reading

August 25, 2017

Boston Area Crashes Involving Municipal Vehicles

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Boston area car accidents often involve only vehicles owned by private citizens, but on occasion, they can involve vehicles owned by a municipal government. If the driver of the government owned vehicle was responsible for the crash, the legal doctrine known as sovereign immunity comes into play. In the Commonwealth, that doctrine is codified in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 258, Section 4, which is the tort claims act.

The tort claims act was designed to protect state and local governments from liability in lawsuits, and to limit the extent of the damages awards in lawsuits that can be filed. This goes back to the time when there was a king of England and he did not want the crown to be sued. Eventually this morphed into what we know today as the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Continue reading

August 13, 2017

Boston “Slow Streets” Program to Prevent Car Accidents

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

It is the responsibility of every motorist to drive in a safe and responsible manner to prevent a foreseeable injury to persons and property. Failure to do so is considered a form of negligence. This act of negligence could be the basis for a Boston car accident lawsuit.

While there is a lot of personal responsibility in preventing serious and fatal car accidents, there is also a lot the city can do to prevent car accidents. This involves making the streets as safe as possible for everyone driving, walking, and riding a bike on the streets of Boston and the surrounding areas. The city can also make sure signage is helpful and appropriate and drivers are properly educated.

Government agencies that fail to correct poor road design, maintenance or dangerous conditions may also be held liable if it contributes to a crash. These cases, however, can be more complicated than a typical negligence lawsuit because one must first overcome hurdles like sovereign immunity, which is waived under the circumstances outlined in M.G.L. Chapter 258, Section 2.