Automobile Accidents

• Cell Phone Driving Fatalities

  Ken Margolin | August 07, 2007 4:10 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  If the sight of the driver to your right on the interstate, chatting away on his cell phone gets you angry, you've got a right to be. Various studies have shown that driving while talking on a cell phone can be as dangerous as driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit. Estimates of the number of U.S. traffic fatalities caused by cell phone talking while driving are generally in the...

• A Victory Against Trucking Fatalities

  Ken Margolin | July 25, 2007 12:45 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  The federal Appeals Court of the D.C. Circuit, struck down new rules of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, that would have allowed big rig truckers to drive many more consecutive hours. The case was brought by Public Citizen, a public safety advocacy group, and other groups formed to protect the public against tired truckers. The Appeals Court held that the federal agency had not...

• Liquor Liability for Serving Drinks to Minors

  Ken Margolin | January 11, 2007 9:30 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts just ruled that commercial establishments that serve drinks to underage persons (under 21 in Massachusetts) have a higher level of liability than when they serve to legal age, intoxicated patrons. The case, decided on January 9, 2007, is Nunez v. Carrabba' Italian Grille, Inc. The plaintiff, a 19 year old, spent a night drinking heavily at Carrabba's...

• Winter Driving Accidents

  Ken Margolin | February 14, 2007 1:15 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  While the northeast of the country experiences nasty winter weather, from 2 feet of snow to frozen precipitation, it's a good time to remember the added responsibility on anyone who drives in the winter. Most serious highway accidents in winter conditions are the direct result of driver negligence. The most frequent cause of fatal car crashes in winter is the same as other times of year - speed;...

• Drunk Driving Accidents

  Ken Margolin | November 13, 2006 10:30 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  The federal Center for Disease Control estimates that alcohol is involved in car crashes that kill someone in the United States every 13 minutes. That equals more than 15,000 deaths per year due to drunk driving accidents. The government has made a number of recommendations to reduce alcohol-related deaths and injuries on the roadway.It pressured states - with the threat of losing federal money...

• Teen Cell Phone Ban

  Ken Margolin | September 14, 2007 3:35 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  California has banned cell phone use by drivers ages 16 & 17. The ban will include text messaging. Older drivers will be allowed to use hands free phones, but the ban for the teenagers will be total. While the legislation is positive and regrettably, too rare, it is insufficient. A number of studies have shown that even during conversations on hands free cell phones, drivers' reactions times...

• Bad Faith Denial of Insurance Claims

  Ken Margolin | June 26, 2007 6:15 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  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...

• Pedestrian Accidents

  Ken Margolin | April 05, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  A few years ago, the National Safety Council ran a television ad showing a deadly car crash, with the superimposed message, "he was right - dead right." I don't know if the ad stopped any accidents, but its message was undeniably true - when on the roads, drivers have to put safety over pride. Sometimes, the best course is to give the right of way to the car, that by rights, shouldn't have it....

• Disastrous Distractions

  Ken Margolin | May 07, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Driving while chowing down a donut, alternating the snack with a cup of hot coffee, is a time-honored example of dangerous, distracted driving. Even though driving safety researchers preached that drinking a beverage while driving, could lead to car crashes due to distraction, human nature dictated that eating and drinking while driving, was never going to stop. The ante was raised with the...

• Private Investigators for Real Plaintiffs

  Ken Margolin | February 27, 2007 9:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  You've seen them on television - those private investigators who can solve any crime or get the true story on any disaster while the authorities fiddle around without a clue. If you are old enough to remember "The Rockford Files," then you know how creative television private eyes can be. The work of real-life private investigators is more boring, generally consisting of tenacity, a good...