Articles Tagged with Boston personal injury attorney

Most Boston personal injury claims will settle prior to going to trial. Mainly, this is due to the fact the insurance company will assess the possible risk of going to trial and the cost of defending an action at trial and usually offer based upon these calculations. However, if an insurance company does not make a reasonable offer, which provides plaintiff with a full and appropriate financial recovery, it will be necessary to take the case to trial and fight for plaintiff’s rights in open court. If your attorney is going to take a case to trial, it is essential he or she has handled many cases in court before and is well versed in the rules of evidence and trial practice to increase the likelihood of a successful outcome.

The first thing to understand is Massachusetts does not have formally codified rule evidence like most other states, so it is technically improper to refer to a particular rule by number, even though it happens all the time in court. These numbers generally come from the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE), which apply in federal courts as well as state evidence codes, which typically closely resemble the federal rules of evidence. This is not to say Massachusetts does not have any rules of evidence, they just do not come from a code book or the Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Continue reading

With the winter months approaching, many in New England including Massachusetts will head to the slopes for a day or weekend ski trip.  While this can be a lot of fun, it can also result in serious personal injury or even death.  There is no question that skiing has inherent risks, but that should not excuse a ski resort from liability.

One thing that may limit the chances of recovery in a personal injury lawsuit is the waiver of liability most skiers are presented with when they get a lift ticket. The reason we use the term presented with, is because they do not often require skiers to actually sign anything.  Instead, they say when you put the lift ticket on the zipper of your ski parka, you have effectively accepted the terms of the waiver. In many cases, the waivers will include a complete waiver of any liability on behalf of the ski area operators.  This waiver can be very inclusive, and may even go so far as to include a waiver of liability for intentional conduct on behalf of employees. Continue reading

People often hear the term statute of limitations on television shows such as “Law and Order” when dealing with criminal cases, but rarely think of the statute of limitations terms of civil cases.  While this makes for very exciting television, the reality is that in the real world, the opposite is generally true.  Many crimes do not have a statute of limitation meaning that a person could be on the run for decades and still be tried when they return to the proper jurisdiction.

Even if a person does not return, they can often be arraigned when they are not present to toll the statute of limitation sand  stop the clock.  On the one hand, in civil case, the statute of limitations is very much a big deal, and while there are certain exceptions for people who are incapacitate for one or more reasons, the law can be very unforgiving when dealing with statutes of limitations. Continue reading

It’s summertime, and water slides are a popular activity for adults and children alike. They offer a thrill, but they aren’t always safe. When a child injury occurs on a water slide, our attorneys will examine whether a dangerous condition existed on site about which the park or employees should have known (premises liability) or whether there was some defect in the slide or its components about which the manufacturer or distributor should have been aware (product liability).

A recent child injury in California involved a new water slide at a water park in California.  The ride is called “The Wave” and features a half pipe on an 80-degree decline with a three-story drop. Once the water slide reaches the base, the tube sits on a concrete slab.

When the 10-year-old rider, who met the minimum height requirement for the ride, reached the bottom of the ride, instead of sliding along to the tube to the pool at the end, he was launched out of the tube and slammed into the concrete base pad. Continue reading

When people think about lying out in a hammock, they are typically thinking of lying out in some tropical paradise with the hammock stretched between two palm trees.  They are not usually thinking about New York City.  However, as it turns out, there are hammocks in the big city, and one of these hammocks allegedly resulted in a tourist being injured, according to a recent news report from CBS News.

Authorities have said the hammock had been placed on the fifth story of a building in lower Manhattan.  Due to high winds and during a big rainstorm, the hammock, along with its heavy wooden base and suspension system, fell from the building and landed on a tourist walking on the sidewalk below. Continue reading

Riding an all-terrain vehicle, also called an ATV or “four-wheeler” can be a lot of fun, but it can also result in serious personal injury.  There are a lot ways that an injury can occur on an ATV.  In some cases, we are dealing with an inexperienced driver who has rented an ATV or is using one that belongs to a friend. It is also possible that a rider is seriously injured when sitting on the back on an ATV being operated by someone else.

There is no seat belt on most of these vehicles, and it is not hard for a victim to fall and suffer serious injury or event death.  In some cases, we are dealing with an experienced rider who is just going too fast and taking unnecessary risks.   If a passenger is injured in this process who is not related to the operator, he or she might have a valid personal injury claim.  In some cases, the vehicle will even be insured, and in other cases, a homeowner’s insurance policy might cover the victim’s damages for his or her injuries. Continue reading

With the winter weather behind us and warmer days ahead, people will not likely be doing all that much snowmobile riding in the near future.  While it is actually becoming more popular for people to put wheels on the ski blades and race on grass fields, this is still not a common activity for most riders.

Even though the riding season may be over, there were many people who were injured over the past winter while using a snowmobile or riding on one as a passenger, and some of these victims may have a valid personal injury claim.  This may include a case against a negligent operator, a negligent snowmobile rental company, or even the manufacturer for failure to warn of a known danger. In some cases, the device itself may have been defectively designed or manufactured, and this could lead to a products liability case, which is a special kind of personal injury case. Continue reading