InjuryBoard Boston

This week's Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly newspaper reported a defendant's verdict in a sad case. The plaintiff had suffered a massive stroke leaving him paralyzed on half of his body and with other terrible deficits. The allegation was that the stroke was caused due to mismanagement of lung surgery following pneumonia. The case was tried by an attorney considered to be a very fine plaintiff's...

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Several days ago, I posted a blog on bad faith denial of claims by insurance companies. I don't usually write blogs on the same topic within several days of each other, but I must comment on the superb reporting on insurance company bad faith, in this month's issue of Trial magazine. Trial is the journal of the American Association for Justice, the plaintiffs' trial lawyers association. The...

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For many years, small car accident cases resulting in modest injury, were the bread and butter of a portion of the Massachusetts plaintiffs' personal injury bar. Some firms had hundreds of these cases, which were prepared in cookie cutter fashion, and settled with adjustors with little or no discovery done, or even before suit was filed. Reputable lawyers handling the small car accident case,...

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There is only one reason to buy insurance - to have the peace of mind of knowing that the financial needs of you or your family will be covered in the event of death, catastrophic injury, or long-term disability or illness. When an insurance company denies payment of a valid claim in bad faith, it is practicing the corporate greed version of "what's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine." You...

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District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff, ruled in favor of the defendant dry cleaning shop owners in the $67 million dollar pants case (media now describe it as the $54 million dollar pants lawsuit, but why quibble). Life gets back to normal for the American civil justice system, but some damage has been done. Opponents of access to justice by ordinary people, and trial lawyer...

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In a previous blog, I wrote about day-in-the-life videos. These are videos that film a severely injured plaintiff and capture vignettes of a typical day, in a 20 - 30 minute movie. If done properly, they can be shown to a jury at trial. Another tool that any lawyer representing a client with catastrophic injuries may consider, is a video settlement brochure. In the video settlement brochure, the...

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China's much-reported industrial rise will have many impacts in this country, many positive, but some troublesome. By now, most of us are aware of the tainted pet food ingredients, originating in China, and responsible for the deaths of a number of pets in this country. Recently, a warning was given to avoid toothpastes made in China. Now, toys made in China are under the gun. The New York Times...

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Once again, a case of sexual abuse of disabled persons by a caretaker, is in the news. Wayne Albert Bleyle, pleaded guilty in San Diego, of molesting brain damaged children at Rady's Children's Hospital, where he had worked as a respiratory therapist. Bleyle had been charged in early 2006, and has been in jail since, on $5 million bail. The prosecutor, Laura Gunn, described the case as 'one of...

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You've probably heard by now, of the sad case of Arielle Newman, the 17 year old track star, who died from using too much muscle cream. You know the products - the wintergreen scented balms with labels and ads claiming to transform the weekend athlete, into Michael Jordan in his prime. Most of these products contain the drug, methyl salicylate. Apparently, the young woman put adhesive pads over...

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A significant settlement in a disturbing case of nursing home neglect, was reported in this week's Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. A generally healthy, active, older women (exact age unspecified in the report), entered the nursing home for rehabilitation after a compression fracture. Darvocet, which the woman was taking for pain, has a known side effect for many people, of constipation. Despite...

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