Posts tagged Motor Vehicle Accidents

• The Atlanta Bus Tragedy

  Ken Margolin | March 05, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Automobile Accidents
  

  A tragedy in Atlanta, Georgia, killed six members of the baseball team of Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio, and injured dozens of others. The Bluffton baseball team was traveling in a charter bus on highway I-75 in Atlanta, Georgia, on the way to games during the team's spring break. It appears that the bus took a left lane exit at full speed, the driver possibly thinking that he was in a...

• Private Investigators for Real Plaintiffs

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

  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...

• Injuries to Disabled People

  Ken Margolin | February 26, 2007 11:20 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  It may be tempting to think that the value of a serious injury case due to negligence, to a person already burdened with significant disabilities, has to be substantially discounted. Unfortunately, I've dealt with some insurance adjusters who take just such an attitude. They are seriously mistaken. Juries throughout the country, including my own state of Massachusetts, have recognized the value...

• Winter Driving Accidents

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

  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;...

• Reducing Traffic Fatalities

  Ken Margolin | January 30, 2007 4:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Automobile Accidents
  

  A widely cited USA Today analysis of 2006 statistics shows that traffic fatalities were down significantly in sixteen states. Obviously that's good news. The causes of reduced fatalities raise some interesting cost-benefit questions. Some measures - public relations campaigns to reduce aggressive driving - are not controversial. Other means to reduce car accidents force the public to think about...

• Power Window Injuries to Children

  Ken Margolin | January 26, 2007 3:30 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Defective & Dangerous Products
  

  Ford Motor Company recently settled a tragic case involving death of a 21 month old girl who was strangled by a rear-seat power window that she inadvertently activated. It turns out that the on-off switch could be activated with very little pressure, that the window rose quickly, and that there was no mechanism to stop the window if it encountered pressure. There was a wrinkle in the case, as is...

• Blame it on the Trial Lawyers

  Ken Margolin | January 26, 2007 11:15 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Head & Brain Injuries
  

  I was thinking the other day about the gripes of the anti-justice forces who would reserve the courts for corporations and the wealthy and who enhance political careers by bashing trial lawyers. If they long for an America of 100 years ago, they have a good reason for their animosity. Want your segregated schools back? Sorry. Brown v. Board of Education took care of that, using trial lawyer...

• Large Truck Crashes

  Ken Margolin | January 25, 2007 3:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Tractor-Trailer Accidents
  

  Last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA") reported to Congress, the results of a 3-year study into the causes of large truck crashes. Large trucks were defined for the study, as any truck weighing 5 tons or more. The study was the most comprehensive yet conducted, involving a thorough review of nearly 1,000 crashes in 17 states. The purpose of the study was to gain an...

• Spinal Cord Injury

  Ken Margolin | January 22, 2007 1:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  An estimated 250,000-450,000 Americans are living with spinal cord injury . The primary causes are motor vehicle accidents (nearly 50%), falls, violence (especially gunshot wounds) and sports activities. The majority of victims are males under the age of 30 (some studies indicate that the age range has risen in recent years). Spinal cord injuries are either complete or incomplete and their...

• Significant Plaintiff Recoveries Continue in 2006

  Ken Margolin | January 17, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Head & Brain Injuries
  

  This week's Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly contained a summary of significant plaintiffs' verdicts and settlements in Massachusetts in 2006. Fifteen jury verdicts equaling or exceeding $1 million were reported, as well as 88 seven figure settlements. A survey of these positive results gives an idea of the current thinking of juries and insurance claims personnel. I will start with the verdicts...