Car Accidents

January 19, 2018

Releases of Liability Waivers in Personal Injury Settlements

If a plaintiff accepts any money from an insurance company following an accident which was not their fault, an insurance company may offer money in exchange for signing a general release and waiver of further liability in connection with the accident. Victims of an accident involving personal injury should not sign such a document or accept any money until first speaking with an experienced personal injury attorney to see if signing this document is really in their best injury, and in most case, signing the document is not.

If a person in involved a serious car accident in Boston, at-fault driver’s car insurance company will typically have a claims adjuster contact plaintiff, (or plaintiff’s family in cases where plaintiff is incapacitated) within 48-hours after the accident. These claims adjusters will generally act friendly, as if they are just trying to help. It is essential to understand they work for the insurer, not you. This means they do not necessarily have the injured party’s best interest in mind. They are tasked with settling cases for as little money as possible so their employers can make more money.

December 20, 2017

Compensation for Personal Injuries Caused by Assault and Battery

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The term “accident” gets thrown around a lot when describing injuries no one intentionally set out to cause. However, the reality is most personal injury cases are the direct result of a failure by someone else to use reasonable care when they had a duty to do so. This is referred to as “negligence,” and it’s grounds to obtain compensation if you’re injured.

Negligence however, is not the only tort. A “tort” is the legal term for anything a defendant does to a plaintiff that results in some loss or damages for which plaintiff can seek “remedy” from defendant “tortfeasor,” or person who committed the tort. In addition to negligence and negligence-based torts, there is also an entirely different type of tortious conduct known as intentional torts.

Because we know that negligence essentially involves acting in an unreasonably careless manner so as to harm a plaintiff, intentional torts do not involve carelessness, but rather conduct characterized as intentional harm to plaintiff. So if you’re injured in a robbery or some other type of assault, you can sue your attacker for that too. (You can also, in some cases, sue the property owner where the crime occurred for negligent security, though that will be a negligence-based tort.)

July 8, 2017

Mechanics of a Boston Personal Injury Claim

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

We have all heard of personal injury claims and seen commercials for personal injury law firms. But other than just hearing the term personal injury, and knowing that you are trying to get compensated by the person who caused your injury, not all that much else is often understood by the average personal injury victim.

The Initial Consult in Boston Personal Injury Cases

During the initial consultation, the attorney will hear your story about what happened to you and how you were injured. He or she will likely ask about what medical treatment you are receiving and find out as much information as possible. This is a private and confidential meeting and there should be no cost to you. If any personal injury lawyer wants to charge you for an initial consultation, this might be cause for concern. Continue reading

November 5, 2016

Hollaway v. Direct Gen. Ins. Co. of Miss., Inc.: Personal Injury Cases

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Hollaway v. Direct Gen. Ins. Co. of Miss., Inc., a case from the Supreme Court of Kentucky, involved a car accident in the parking lot of an apartment complex where the vehicles were both traveling at very low speeds. There were differing accounts of what actually happened in this car accident.

One party testified that he was driving a friend’s car with that friend in the passenger seat at the time. At this point, both occupants of the car noticed another vehicle backing out of a parking space about 25 feet from them. They further testified that they stopped their vehicle to allow the other party to continue to back his vehicle out of his spot. However, they then claimed the other driver turned towards them as he was backing out and did not stop driving until the rear of that vehicle crashed smashed into the front of their vehicle. The driver claimed there was no way to get out of the way of the other car as it was reversing towards them. Continue reading

October 5, 2016

Report: College Football Bus Crash – Four Dead, 42 Injured

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Traveling by bus is generally pretty safe. Millions of people do it without issue each year, and we know on the whole it’s safer than being in a car. Still, bus crashes do still happen and when they do, they tend to be catastrophic. That’s what reportedly happened recently in North Carolina.

According to NBC, a bus carrying a college football team crashed on a highway there. As of this writing, as least four are dead and 42 others are injured. The bus driver is one of those who were killed in this fatal bus accident, as was the 10-year-old son of one of the coaches.

This bus was transporting the football team from Clinton College in Rock Hill, South Carolina to University of God’s Chosen in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Authorities have said that while the bus was traveling at normal speeds, the driver lost control, and it veered into the median of the divided highway and crashed. Continue reading

September 18, 2016

Carter v. Reese: Good Samaritan Laws

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In Carter v. Reese, a truck driver was pulling this semi tractor-trailer into a loading dock at a contractor’s location. He was supposed to drop off his empty trailer and pick up a new trailer. He had attached the new trailer to his truck and was then trying to jump onto the loading dock so he could close the door on the trailer. He could not do this until he pulled the truck way from the loading dock, as the door was open and the trailer was flush to the distribution center.

When he was trying to get on the loading dock to close the trailer door, he slipped and his leg fell between the trailer and the loading dock. He was not in any pain, according to his testimony, but he was trapped between the truck and the loading dock, and he began to bang on the trailer and yell for help. It took about ten minutes for someone to hear him. Continue reading

July 9, 2016

Snapchat Named Defendant in Personal Injury Lawsuit

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There is no question that it is dangerous to drive a car while using your smart phone. Whether you are sending a text, reading a text, checking your email, or doing any number of other things on your phone, you are statistically much more likely to be involved in a car accident that is your fault than if you are not using your smart phone while driving. For this reason, many car accidents claims are filed against the drivers of these accidents.

However, according to a recent news feature from Inside Counsel, a trade publication for attorneys that work as in-house counsel for large corporations, victims of distracted driving car accidents are now filing lawsuits against the makers of specific apps that are alleged to be more dangerous and more likely to be the result of a distracting driving accident. Continue reading

May 23, 2016

Teen Killed in Stump Grinder Accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Tree work is among the most dangerous occupations in the United States. Those involved in the business are constantly climbing trees (arborists), using bucket lifts, working with dangerous power tools and engaging in many other activities that can result in a serious personal injury. However, some of their activities are not only dangerous to workers, but can be dangerous to those around the job site as well, such as homeowners and their children.

Among the most dangerous jobs is trimming trees and taking them down entirely. When trimming a tree, a worker will use a wood chipper that be extremely dangerous. Another piece of equipment that can result in serious personal injury is a stump grinder. When someone cuts down a dead or unwanted tree, they can only cut so close to the ground with a chainsaw. This means that the stump will still be there. This is a problem for many reasons. Continue reading

May 20, 2016

8 Dead, 44 Injured in Major Bus Accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from FOX, at least eight people are dead and another 44 people suffered varying degrees of personal injury when a tour bus on a casino trip was involved in a rollover accident.

Authorities say the bus operator was driving at highway speeds on Interstate 83 in Texas when he lost control of his commercial motor vehicle. After losing control, the bus veered off course and then violently rolled over. The driver was among the survivors of this horrific traffic accident. Continue reading

May 13, 2016

Boston Duck Boat Collision Results in One Death

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Anyone who been to Boston and spent time seeing the city has probably seen the Duck Boats giving tours around the streets and in the Charles River. The Duck Boats are salvaged United States Army amphibious assault craft developed for use in World War II. The boats were official called DUKWs, but were commonly referred to as “Ducks” or “Duck Boats.”

These boats are designed so they can drive on the street like a troop transport truck, and then the driver can get out and lock the hubs, similar to how an old Jeep would get into four wheel drive. Once the hubs are locked, the vehicle could drive into the water and a propeller would drive the boat forward. The United States military ordered thousands of them for service during the war. Continue reading