Boston slip and fall lawyer

October 6, 2017

Jury Selection in Personal Injury Cases in Boston

Jury selection can be very crucial element in Boston slip-and-fall accident litigation. The best injury attorneys know the extensive research that goes into this process, and how to be most effective to maximize the potential for success in trial.

In 2016, a jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant in a slip-and-fall case in Boston. This case involved a 59-year-old marketing consultant who was walking on a side walk on Somerset Street in Boston. She was walking next to a shopping center when she slipped on ice and fell. She alleged that the fall resulted in serious injuries to her lower back as well as her left ankle. She sued the defendant store owner, landowner and related entities.

In many jurisdictions, there is a distinction between the reason plaintiff was on the property in terms of the duty of care owed to plaintiff, if any, and this can greatly effect whether the plaintiff has a valid personal injury claim. These distinctions don’t exist in Boston.

September 8, 2017

Slip and Fall Cases in Hospital Settings

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

If you have ever been treated at a hospital, you may have had to be escorted to the exit of the hospital in a wheelchair following your discharge even though you were perfectly capable of walking. The reason they do this is because they do not want to be liable if you trip and fall your way out.

There have been many incidents over the years where someone was walking down a hospital corridor and slipped and fell. In some cases, these patients were seriously injured in the fall accident. Continue reading

August 20, 2017

Boston Slip and Fall Accidents in Winter Months

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

As summer comes to a close and the weather turns colder, Boston tends to get a lot of ice and snow on the sidewalks and in front of businesses. This means we can expect to see a lot of slip and fall accidents. In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the law operates somewhat differently than many other states and there have been some fairly recent case decisions from the Supreme Judicial Court that affect liability. The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), is our state supreme court.

One major case in the Commonwealth is Papadopoulos v. Target Corporation 457 Mass. 368. In Papadopoulos, a case involving negligence for slip and fall accidents involving snow and ice removal, the court addressed whether there must be a natural or unnatural accumulation of snow and ice. Prior to this case, there was such a distinction, but the court abolished this distinction with respect to slip and fall premises liability in snow and ice cases. Continue reading

April 2, 2017

Slip-and-Fall Injury Suffered by Child Litigated Years Later

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

One recent appeal from the Mississippi Supreme Court involved a slip-and-fall accident that was anything but your typical personal injury case. In this case, the plaintiff had slipped and fell in a store owned by the defendant, but that accident occurred in 1989. He was three years old at the time of his accident.

He filed the lawsuit against the defendant many years later when he reached the age of majority. In his lawsuit, he alleged that he was seriously injured because the store had negligently allowed the floor to become slick, and he slipped on this floor. He said that, as he developed, it became apparent that he had suffered various injuries as a result of this fall that caused him to have a significant traumatic brain injury. Continue reading

December 29, 2016

Report: Jury Finds for Plaintiff in Snow Slip-and-Fall Case

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Winter in Boston and across the New England is notoriously hazardous – not just for those in cars, but for those on foot as well. Wet snow is trampled into building entryways and sidewalks are slick with ice. While a slip-and-fall injury can certainly happen at any time of the year, it is in the winter when we often see an increase to the presence of ice and snow on the sidewalks and roads of the commonwealth.

Some of these slip-and-fall cases in Boston can result in serious injury, and, in some cases, it is the fault of an adjacent business owner or company responsible for keeping a parking lot maintained that should be held liable for any damages caused. Continue reading

June 27, 2016

Alcala v. Marriott Int’l, Inc,. – Icy Sidewalk Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit To Be Retried

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The Iowa Supreme Court has set for retrial the case of Alcala v. Marriott Int’l, Inc., a slip-and-fall case that involves a hotel business guest who was injured after a fall on an ice-slicked walkway on the property.

Boston residents are well familiar with the phenomenon of ice and snow during the brutal winter months. Of course, it’s not something many want to spend time thinking about at the start of summer, but it’s worth keeping abreast of legal developments on this front because it does affect many in Massachusetts for a good six months out of the year.

In Massachusetts, the 2010 ruling of Papadopoulos v. Target Corp. upended the previous slip-and-fall standard when it came to snow and ice, which was that there was no liability for naturally-accumulated ice and snow, but there was for unnaturally-accumulated ice and snow. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court held that a property owner owed a duty to lawful visitors in both cases to protect them from hazards arising from snow and ice. Whether a property owner’s action is “reasonable” will depend on a myriad of factors, including likelihood of injury, probable seriousness of such injuries and how great a burden it is to reduce or avoid that risk altogether. Continue reading

April 9, 2016

Slip-and-Fall at Outdoor Garden Sales Center Causes Brain Injury

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A woman in Nevada is seeking recovery for brain injury she suffered in July 2013 after a slip-and-fall at a home improvement store while she was shopping for palm trees for her garden. She alleges the outdoor area was covered with water, and presented an unreasonable risk of injury to business invitees on the property.

Defendant store, meanwhile, contends plaintiff was contributorily negligent and that she actually fell on top of a four-foot orange “caution” cone that was placed near the accumulated water to warn customers of the risk. Plaintiff has countered this was not sufficient as there was no “Wet Floor” sign and defendant knew this was not enough to warn customers, considering there had been 33 similar falls at other stores across the country – including two previous slip-and-fall accidents at this very same location.

The 38-year-old mother of three said as a result of her slip-and-fall, she suffered a fractured skull and brain injury that resulted in a permanent loss of smell and taste. Continue reading