Articles Posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents

My wife Debbi gets the shudders every time we drive to Cape Cod and cross the Sagamore Bridge. Why? Because, as is true with many roads in Massachusetts, there is no divider in the center of the four-lane span. Cars and other vehicles are passing each other in the opposite direction at 40 MPH or more – just inches apart from each other. She’s always terrified of a head-on-collision, believing that the lack of a center divider on roads like this makes things very dangerous. She’s right: If just one car next to the center lane suddenly veers to the left or the right, it is going to cause a head-on crash. (This is true of any two-way road with no center divider; but bridges make a head-on collision even more dangerous.)

I point this out because just yesterday, this very type of accident occurred in nearby Jamaica Plain, on the Arborway. The Arborway is a four-lane road leading from the Dedham/West Roxbury area, to the city of Boston. It has no center divider, so cars closest to the center are coming at each other in the opposite direction, within inches of each other. By specific accident type, it was a Massachusetts SUV rollover accident. I don’t like to use this blog to rehash yesterday’s news, but this Boston car accident further points out how danger can lurk around every corner when you drive, and when you least expect it. As a Boston, Massachusetts car accident lawyer, I can’t emphasize enough that one must ALWAYS be extremely attentive when driving.

An SUV on the Arborway suddenly crossed over the center line, flipped over, and then struck a pickup truck carrying two men. The four teenagers in the SUV were all injured, as were the two men in the pickup truck. All six people were taken to local hospitals. People on the scene described the accident, and its aftermath, as “horrific.” At this point, the authorities do not know if distracted driving (texting or phoning), drugs, or alcohol contributed to this Boston, Massachusetts car crash. It occurred at 2:00 PM.

There are a lot of ways to define tragedy. One of them is when a person takes his dog out for a familiar walk in their neighborhood, and is accidentally run down dead by a driver.

That’s what happened yesterday (Labor Day, Sep. 2,) to a man by the name of George E. Power – and to his dog. They were both killed when a 17 year-old driver struck them as they walked along Summer Street in Easton. When Easton Police and Fire Department personnel responded, they found Mr. Power lying unconscious and unresponsive in the front yard near 24 Summer Street in the town. The car appeared to have hit both Mr. Power and his dog on or near the sidewalk, before it hit a tree and came to rest. Rescue personnel did everything possible to resuscitate Mr. Power while en route to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, but he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

The young driver’s name has not been released yet, and no charges have yet been filed as an investigation needs to be conducted by both the Easton Police Department, the State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit, and the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office. The youth’s speed was not reported as of the time this post was written, but something is indicative of the car’s approximate speed: Mr. Power’s shoes were found about 50 feet away from his body. Summer Street in Easton is not a high-speed road. This makes clear something that I’ve stressed many times on this blog, and on my Massachusetts Injury Law website: A car or other vehicle traveling just 20 MPH can kill someone. This is true whether the accident is a Massachusetts car-pedestrian accident, as was the case here, or a vehicle-to-vehicle crash.

It’s summer and the livin’ is easy. I love this time of year – it’s my favorite, bar none. Summer time brings warm, carefree memories of childhood, and slows everyone’s life down a bit for the here and now. In short, I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t feel that it’s probably the best time of year.

Well, almost no one. There is a group of people who don’t think happy, carefree thoughts when summer comes to mind. Care to guess who they might be? Auto and driver safety experts, that’s who. Why? Because many car safety experts view the period of time between Memorial Day and Labor Day to be the “100 Deadliest Days of the Year for Teenage Drivers.” Did you know that every day in the U.S., over 10,000 teenagers turn 16? That means that approximately every day, roughly that number of teen drivers joins the U.S. driving population. That does far more than clog the roads and highways: It fills them with inexperienced drivers who are notorious for irresponsible and distracted driving habits.

Here in this state, the number of Massachusetts distracted driver accidents is increasing at an alarming rate. As a Route 128 Massachusetts teenage driver car accident lawyer, I see this problem very frequently, and it’s disturbing. Today’s teenagers were not raised in any other environment than the hyper-connected, (often neurotically so) world that we live in. Resultantly, they actually think it’s “normal” and “OK” to drive while tethered to a Smartphone – talking and texting while driving. Blame some of the less-responsible cell phone companies (though no one can really blame AT&T – you’ll see why below); blame families with little teenage discipline, blame society at large. There’s plenty of it to go around.

A common question I get in my injury law practice is, “Who can I sue if I’m injured either as a pedestrian by a Massachusetts taxicab, or as a passenger in a taxicab?” That’s a good question. Answering it, sometimes, isn’t so easy.

That’s because of the arcane, byzantine way that taxicabs are licensed and “regulated” (I put that in quotes for good reason,) in Massachusetts. You see, to own and operate a taxicab business in almost any city or town in Massachusetts, requires a license. That license is called a “medallion,” and medallions are issued by cities and towns, who determine how many are issued. In large cities such as Boston, a relative handful of extremely wealthy individuals own the lion’s share of taxi medallions. These people essentially control the market for taxicabs in most large urban locations, such as Boston, Worcester and Springfield. Most of these individuals are millionaires. Nothing wrong with that – but there is plenty wrong with the way they do business.

And the cab drivers you see behind the wheel of any given cab in any given city? Who are they? They’re not employees of the taxi medallion owner. They’re just “solo operators” – what are legally called independent contractors. They pay a given amount of money to the cab owner (at least $100, and then even more under the table) to get the keys to drive one of the taxi owner’s taxis for a 12-hour shift. They aren’t in any way trained, they don’t work for the cab company owner – and most importantly – they don’t carry any liability insurance. Which means that if you’re injured by one of those taxicabs as a pedestrian on the street, or you’re in a taxicab as a passenger, that driver has no liability insurance to pay for your injuries.

Every parent – and of course, every soccer Mom – knows all too well the chaos and confusion that comes with the territory, when you shuttle your children around in the car. What tunes should you play on the radio? How to handle the fights between siblings? Darn, my toddler is crying — what do I do now? Not to mention just taking care of yourself, be it munching on a cracker or taking a sip of coffee. And, let’s not forget that evil of all evils, talking on the cellphone. Every parent multitasks, even in the car – it just seems to go with the territory when you have kids.

And that’s exactly where it gets dangerous – in the car. As a Boston Massachusetts distracted driving accident lawyer, I’ve seen far too many cases where parents took their eyes off the road – to disastrous consequences. A recent study from the University of Michigan tells the horrifying story. Researchers there polled more than 600 parents about their distracted driving. Here are some of the shocking – and frightening statistics – that should make every parent stand up and take notice (except while in the car, of course.) These problems need to be addressed, faster than you can say, “Baby on Board.”

* Child care: 70% of parents polled said they also handled child care simultaneously when driving with children

This blog post is for all of the parents out there who might be reading this. If your child is at home with you right now, lean over and give him or her a big hug, and thank your lucky stars that he or she is safe.

And if you by chance are reading this because your child has been injured by a car or a bus – read on. You have my empathy and sympathy. I’ve been a Boston pedestrian-car accident lawyer for a long time, and I know firsthand how painful any car accident is for the injured parties – and their families.

Today I’m focusing on children, who need to be protected from Boston pedestrian-car accidents.

How many times has the following happened to you? You’re driving, and talking on your cell phone, (which you shouldn’t be, in the first place.) You drive over a bump and the phone slips out of your hand, into the Netherworld – the black space between the middle console and your driver’s seat. Most people, at this point, take their eyes off the road, and start fishing in the black hole below. In probably 60% of these instances, they cause a car accident because they’re not paying attention and their eyes are off the road.

The same thing could happen to your coins, pens, paper, keys and God know’s what else you might be holding in your hand when you drive. This kind of distracted driving of course, doesn’t even begin to take into account the numerous people who text-message while they are driving. It bewilders me – and should frighten everyone – at the number of people who take their eyes off the roadway, thinking that sending a message is more important than driving safely.

People had better start to think twice about this foolish practice. Because It just might be the very last message you ever send.

Sometimes the worst things happen, when you least expect it. Imagine that you’re out driving safely, minding all the road signs and traffic lights. You’re behind the wheel, observing all safety regulations, your seat belt is on, and you are neither texting while in the driver’s seat nor are you drunk. Everything seems just fine.

Suddenly, without any warning, your car’s sunroof shatters, raining glass onto you and your passengers, in the middle of a busy intersection. What happens next? As a Boston car accident lawyer, I have a good idea — and it does not have a happy ending. Chances are, you will lose control of the vehicle and become involved in a car crash. That means that you could possibly wind up with catastrophic personal injuries, a stay in the hospital, endless doctor appointments, and months and months of physical therapy – if you are lucky enough to live. You may well need the services of a Boston car crash attorney in the process.

Think it couldn’t happen? That this kind of accident is just too strange – too “Twilight Zone?” Think again.

Here’s a breaking news story illustrating how bus accidents are anything but rare: A private (non-MBTA) bus apparently tried to squeeze under an overpass on Soldiers’ Field Road in Brighton, near the intersection with Western Avenue, and didn’t make it: Apparently, the bus was too high, and its roof collided with the overpass.

It’s been reported that a total of 33 people have been injured, with four of those injuries serious enough to require emergency transport to four separate Boston-area hospitals. Hopefully, there aren’t any fatalities involved. 28 other, less seriously injured passengers were being transported by MBTA bus to Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital.

As a Boston Bus Accident Lawyer, I’ve seen more than one bus accident that results from the bus being unable to successfully pass under a bridge or railroad overpass. Common sense would dictate that underpasses should be uniformly at least a minimum number of feet and inches high, and that buses, trucks and other large vehicles uniformly cannot be higher or taller than set maximum number of feet and inches. There are commonly signs posted at the entrance to an underpass that post the maximum clearance height of the underpass, but let’s be real: Does anyone think that the average bus or truck driver knows exactly how tall his vehicle is, to the inch? All it takes is one or two inches to cause a collision that can result in very serious injuries.

As a Quincy, Massachusetts car accident lawyer, I see too many injuries resulting from car accidents. By “car accidents,” I mean all kinds of motor vehicle accidents, including SUV’s and vans. Some are Massachusetts pedestrian-car accidents, some are bicycle-car accidents, and some are car-truck accidents. But regardless of the type, these accidents can be devastating to the injured party, and leave them forever harmed, never quite feeling or being 100% again.

Despite this, it’s my experience that an inordinate number of people think that most car accidents are a scam – an overblown matter that’s just used to score an injury settlement. Let me assure those people: When over ton of steel and glass slam into you, whether you’re a driver or a pedestrian, you are going to be hurt — the only question is how much you’re hurt, not if. And if anyone doubts that, that person needs to either take a class in physics, or talk to someone who has been injured in such an accident. A great deal of these injuries are known medically as “soft tissue injuries,” meaning they don’t consist of broken bones or lacerated tissue. Because they’re soft tissue injuries, they really can’t be viewed on an x-ray or similar imaging studies. Many of these injuries can remain “invisible,” yet cause long-term or even permanent disability.

One accident that’s often poked fun of by skeptics of motor vehicle accident injuries, is the proverbial “whiplash.” However, the fact is that whiplash can lead to very serious, debilitating injuries that can make it impossible for the injured party to function, or to go to work – sometimes permanently. While many people don’t know this, the word “whiplash” is not even a medical term. It describes what is more accurately known as a “cervical acceleration-deceleration” injury, which is medical term that describes a sudden, rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck. There is nothing new about this type of injury – it wasn’t “made up” after the automobile was created, as a means to “cash in” on “bogus car accident claims.” This injury has been around since humankind rode on anything that moved – horses, wagons, trains, cars. It happens because in many vehicle collisions, the driver doesn’t have enough time to react quickly enough to avoid the crash. The violent back-and-forth snapping action of the neck, can produce back, neck, and shoulder injuries that can result in headaches, pain in the arms and legs, and numbness – and far from being “minor,” they can last for years, or even become permanent.