Articles Posted in Car Accidents

Winter weather, including snow and ice, is a major cause of Massachusetts car accidents. Each year, Massachusetts gets about four feet of rain and another four feet of snow. On top of that, there are on average 90 days in which the temperature reaches below freezing. As a result, Massachusetts roads can be very hazardous to both drivers and pedestrians during the winter months.

Poor weather conditions can impact road safety in several important ways. Of course, when roads are covered in snow or ice, drivers have a harder time maintaining control of their vehicles. This is especially the case the morning after a heavy storm, when frozen snow or ice has had a chance to melt and then re-freeze as temperatures decrease overnight.

Winter weather can also result in a driver’s inability to evade a hazard that they may otherwise have been able to avoid. For example, just last week there was a 69-car pile-up on a Virginia highway. According to the New York Times, the chain-reaction accident began in the westbound lanes of the highway shortly after 8 a.m. Evidently, the roads were icy and a heavy fog had rolled in that morning.

Recently, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts issued an opinion in an appeal originating from a Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit. The case arose after a man struck and killed another person in a parking lot. The victim’s estate brought a wrongful death lawsuit against the culpable party. The family alleged that the man’s gross negligence caused their loved one’s death.

The defendant was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the victim’s estate. The settlement provided that the plaintiffs would only seek recourse from the defendant’s insurance company and release him as long as he admitted to negligence.

The defendant’s insurance company provided coverage for bodily injury to others up to $20,000 and additional coverage up to $480,000 per person. However, the company reserved the right to refuse to pay the additional coverage if the insured’s intentional act caused the accident. As such, the man’s insurance company sought to intervene in the parties’ lawsuit and settlement in an attempt to provide evidence that the crash was intentional. The insurance company claimed that they should be allowed to intervene because neither the victim’s family or the insured driver had any incentive to offer evidence that the accident was intentional. They argued that the parties would much rather agree to settle based on negligence to easily collect a large portion of the damages from the insurance company. The trial court denied the insurance company’s request resulting in their appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

After a Massachusetts car accident, those injured in the collision are entitled to bring a claim against the at-fault driver. Typically, a claim will accrue when the accident victim suffers injuries as a result of another’s negligence, regardless if the at-fault party is alive by the time the case goes to trial. Importantly, in situations where the at-fault party dies in the accident or before trial, accident victims are permitted to file Massachusetts car accident lawsuits against deceased defendants. However, in these situations, an injury victim may face challenges in establishing liability and collecting damages. Injury victims should have a Massachusetts injury attorney to assist them through these complicated lawsuits.

Typically, after a person dies, their assets and debts go through probate. Probate is a legal process designed to distribute assets and pay off debts to creditors before the decedents’ heirs and beneficiaries receive their intended gifts. When a decedent owes damages to an injury victim, the decedent’s estate is vulnerable to a personal injury lawsuit. In these cases, personal injury victims are possible creditors, and their damages are debts against the estate.

Generally, the burden of proof in negligence and wrongful death lawsuits is the same, regardless of whether the defendant is alive or has passed away. However, there are specific procedural requirements that plaintiffs must follow to preserve their right to recover against an estate. First, the statute of limitations in personal injury lawsuits against an estate is significantly less than when the defendant is alive. Massachusetts General Laws ch. 190, § 3-803(a) requires plaintiffs file their claims against an estate within one year of the incident giving rise to the complaint.

Most drivers obey traffic laws but when they do not, the consequences can be devastating for everyone involved. Anytime a driver runs a red light, innocent motorists and pedestrians moving through the intersection can suffer serious, even deadly injuries. If you’ve been hurt in an accident involving someone disregarding a red light, our Massachusetts auto accident attorneys can help you sue the at-fault party and help you recover the compensation you need to move on with your life. We are committed to holding negligent drivers responsible for the harm that they cause.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) reports that the number traffic deaths related to people running red lights are the highest they have been in 10 years. AAA finds that more than two individuals die each day in red light running accidents, including drivers (35 percent), passengers (46 percent), pedestrians and cyclists (5 percent). Accidents caused by drivers blowing through red lights killed 939 people in 2017, indicating a peak and a nearly 30 percent increase since 2012. The reasons for running red lights range from drivers being distracted and not paying attention to the road, to speeding and deliberately breaking the law. The study also found that while 85 percent of drivers acknowledge that running a red light is dangerous, about one-third of drivers say they flew through a red light within the preceding 30 days when they could have stopped in a safe manner.

Red lights are designed to safely control the flow of traffic and keep drivers safe. All motorists have a legal obligation to obey traffic laws, including following traffic signals so as not to endanger other motorists and pedestrians crossing the street. Sadly, those who run red lights cause and contribute to many intersection and T-bone accidents.

No matter how careful a driver is behind the wheel, the reality is that anyone can get into a car accident at any time. In the unfortunate event that you get into a wreck, you need to reach out to one of our Massachusetts car accident lawyers. We will evaluate the specifics of your case and help you learn more about your options. We fully understand the physical, emotional and financial toll that a car crash can have on a victim and his or her family, which is why we will handle your case with the utmost zealousness and compassion.

Allstate Insurance recently released America’s Safe Drivers Report for 2019 which ranks the country’s 200 metropolitan areas according to how often their residents get into car accidents. Unfortunately, three cities in Massachusetts ranked among the top 15 areas where you will find the worst drivers in the country, along with “risky roads” where the highest number of collisions tend to take place. Route 93 in Boston ranked is third place, Main street in Worcester comes in at fourth place and Interstate 91 in Springfield is ranked in seventh place. Not a single city in Massachusetts made the list which ranked the 15 cities where the roads are populated with the safest motorists in the country. As you may expect, researchers found that areas where drivers get into accidents least frequently happen to be less densely populated.

Just like in every other state, drivers in Massachusetts have a responsibility to drive safely and obey traffic laws. Negligence takes place when a person fails to use reasonable care behind the wheel and, thus, causes an accident and resulting injury. Reasonable care is defined as acting with the degree of caution that a rational person would exercise under the same or similar circumstances. For example, if a person caused an accident because he or she was excessively speeding, that person will likely be deemed negligent and on the hook for the resulting harm.

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Were you injured in an accident caused by a motorist who was using his or her phone behind the wheel? If so, you deserve compensation for your injuries. Our Massachusetts car accident attorneys are well versed in the specifics of personal injury law and can apply our knowledge to your claim. We strongly believe that you should not have to suffer just because another motorist acted with disregard for your safety by using his or her cell phone while driving.

In 2010, Massachusetts banned texting and emailing behind the wheel but did not implement a full ban on hand-held devices used to make phone calls. Since then, lawmakers have tried to pass several laws in an effort to ban drivers from using hand-held devices while driving, with the goal of reducing distracted driving accidents in the state. Last month, the Massachusetts House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted 155-2 to pass Bill H.3793, which bans drivers from using hand-held cellphone and electronic devices while driving. In other words, the bill would prohibit drivers from using any mobile electronic device while driving, unless it was being used in hands-free mode. This means they would be barred from reading texts, viewing images, or watching videos as well.

If you have been injured in a crash caused by a distracted driver, you may be able to recover compensation through a negligence claim. Negligence occurs when a person breaches the standard of care owed to another person, directly causing an accident or some type of harm. The standard of care refers to the level of care and caution that a reasonably prudent driver would have used in the same situation. Since being on one’s phone and driving at the same time is a behavior that is known to be dangerous, it would clearly be considered ‘unreasonable’ to a prudent person. As a result, if a driver caused a crash in this manner, he or she would likely be on the hook for any resulting damages.