The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) reports more than 20,000 player injuries in college football annually.  Of these, roughly 850 involve catastrophic spinal injuries. This post examines liability for sports-related injuries to college athletes. The precarious nature of athletic scholarships and the insurance costs borne by the NCAA and colleges in the multi-million realm of college athletics will be explored. Additionally reviewed are efforts by college athletes to gain greater health care coverage, including unionizing and seeking employee status. Athletic scholarships ..read more

When a passenger suffers serious personal injury in a two-car collision, the injured passenger is rarely liable for sustaining harm. Therefore, the injured passenger likely seeks compensation for medical costs, lost wages and pain and suffering from the blameworthy drivers. This post examines individuals the victim in an motor vehicle accident (MVA) can hold responsible. If the personal injury attorney can pursue claims of the driver and injured passenger (in the same vehicle) against the at-fault operator of the other vehicle. Read on for that discussion. Potential Defendants An injured passe ..read more

Buying a car can be stressful. And, sometimes, a consumer who buys a “lemon” can find himself at the center of a court case. In a recent appellate case, Gliottone v. Ford Motor Company, the plaintiff brought a claim against Ford under the Massachusetts “Lemon Law.” The issue at the heart of the case dealt with evidence at trial. The question was: Did the plaintiff need to provide expert testimony to prove his claim under the Lemon Law?   Massachusetts Lemon Laws The Massachusetts Lemon Laws protect consumers in a variety of circumstances, whether they buy a new or used car. The law at iss ..read more

A new Massachusetts appellate case, Borella v. Renfro, discusses liability for a hockey accident stemming from a game. The facts of the case involve a freak accident among players at a championship tournament hockey game. One hockey player, the defendant, checked another player, the plaintiff, hard from behind. As a result of the other player’s charge, the seventeen year-old plaintiff lost consciousness. This sent him into the boards and then onto the ice. The defendant’s blade then sliced the plaintiff’s wrist open – both parties alleged this was an accident. The plaintiff suffered serious in ..read more

Serious motor vehicle accidents are always traumatic. They are even more traumatic when a death results—and even more where that death is intentional, due to vehicular manslaughter. In a recent case, Szafarowicz v. Commerce Insurance Company, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court dealt with such a matter. Specifically, the court dealt with an insurance company‘s right to sue for a declaratory judgment. This post discusses this case and examines insurer liability in settlements.   Case Facts The facts leading up to the lawsuit are troubling. In 2013, two men got into an altercation at a ..read more

A recent Massachusetts appellate case discusses injuries a trespassing child suffered, as well as liability imposed on the property owner.   New Case: Calderon v. Royal Park, LLC Case Facts The facts of the case, Calderon v. Royal Park, LLC, are unfortunate and startling. In this case, the defendant owned a multi-building apartment complex in Lawrence. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA”) maintained railroad tracks that abutted this complex. A fence separated the property from the railroad tracks. However, the fence had numerous large holes and gaps in it. Throughout th ..read more

Hazardous waste poses a severe health risk to individuals. It can also have catastrophic health and economic impacts on communities. How hazardous waste is regulated by the Commonwealth and at the federal level is the focus of this post.   Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection  The Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act provides a definition for “hazardous waste”. According to this Act, hazardous waste is a material, in any form, that constitutes a present or potential threat to human health, safety or the environment when imp ..read more

Employees who suffer an injury while acting in the course of their employment receive compensation under the Commonwealth’s Workers Compensation Act. In this article, we will consider whether there is any impact on the employee’s recovery if the work injury is a result of the worker’s conduct. The Commonwealth’s Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) oversees workers compensation benefits. Employees who suffer work-related injuries are eligible for benefits for a specific period. These benefits include medical benefits and a percentage of the employee’s gross average weekly pay. The amount o ..read more

Massachusetts Tort Claims Act (MTCA) As a personal injury lawyer, I have written about the MTCA and its effects on personal injury liability. A new appellate case addressed the MTCA in the context of police shooting. The case centered around an police shootings in Boston. The plaintiff was standing on a city street and conversing with her sister’s boyfriend. The sister and the boyfriend were not getting along. The plaintiff had received a phone call from her upset sister that morning. Concerned, the plaintiff offered to pick her sister up. The plaintiff began talking with the boyfriend outside ..read more

Use of sensor-triggered red-light and speed cameras to enforce traffic laws is gaining a foothold nationwide. Photo enforcement is controversial. Advocates argue cameras foster road safety. Opponents decry due process abuse and dismiss photo enforcement as a municipal revenue grab that endangers drivers. What’s the view of a Boston personal injury lawyer? This post examines the pros and cons of photo enforcement. It also looks at how Massachusetts and other states view the use of speeding and red-light cameras. How These Speed Cameras Work Municipalities generally position photographic automat ..read more