Massachusetts Personal Injury Blog

Are Massachusetts Landlords Required To Remove Snow and Ice?

This is a common question Massachusetts tenants have when the winter rolls around in New England.  Here is a good answer to the question provided by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office:

"A landlord is required to keep all doorways clear of snow so that tenants can come and go, but is not required to shovel the walk or plow the driveway or parking lot. Check your lease for any terms that cover snow removal to find out if your landlord agreed to remove snow from any of these other areas. For more information on your rights as a tenant in Massachusetts, please contact the Consumer Hotline and ask for our brochure."

Of course, the above answer only skims the surface regarding Massachusetts landlords and their obligations to remove snow and ice in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts PIP (Personal Injury Protection) Information

Your PIP (Personal Injury Protection) benefits are paid through your Massachusetts auto insurance carrier.  Sometimes, however, your carrier may not pay the benefits until there is a medical record review or an IME (Independent Medical Examination) conducted.  This can upset many Massachusetts personal injury victims because after all, your PIP should be paid because that is the coverage you have paid for.  But, embedded within your insurance agreement are obligations you have such as submitting to an IME before your medical bills will be paid through PIP.

Therefore, if your Massachusetts auto insurance company does not immediately pay your PIP benefits, don't worry, because they are not obligated to pay such benefits until you have attended an IME.

One more caveat: Bring someone with you to the IME so you have a witness there that can vouch for what was said and what was not said during the IME.   

Interesting Boston ERISA and Insurance Litigation Blog

Boston attorney Stephen D. Rosenberg has a wonderfully informative blog which can be found here which I just discovered.  The blog has a wealth of information concerning ERISA and insurance litigation.  Check it out.

Tips For Negotiating Your Massachusetts Personal Injury Claim

As most of you may know, the "opening offer" by an insurance adjuster is just that; it is an "opening offer."  You must keep in mind that all insurance adjusters are delegated a certain amount of "authority" for each claim they handle.  Therefore, never accept an "opening offer." 

The adjuster assigned to your claim will contact you to attempt to resolve the claim once your "demand letter" has been reviewed.  Do not lower your demand until the adjuster has made you an offer.  You and the adjuster will go back and forth negotiating.  If you feel the adjuster is being unreasonable, request to speak to his/her supervisor.  That is perfectly acceptable and the adjuster will not be offended with the request.

Always be respectful towards the adjuster, no matter how contentious the negotiations become.

Good luck negotiating your Massachusetts bodily injury claim! 

How Much Will a Massachusetts Jury Award Me For My Injury?

That is a question that simply cannot be answered.  Massachusetts juries are unpredictable.  In fact,  in recent years they have been VERY reluctant to award Massachusetts injury victims compensation for their injuries.  Therefore, bringing your personal injury case before a jury in Massachusetts is a risky move.  But, that does not mean that you will lose at trial.  It just means that juries in Massachusetts in recent years have been largely unwilling to award compensation to injury victims.   You must remember that personal injury law is not a science; it is an art.

"A Civil Action" - A Wonderful Film About Personal Injury Law

I recently saw the 1998 film "A Civil Action" which I thought was amazing.  The movie is based loosely on Massachusetts personal injury attorney Jan Schlichtman's fight against a factory (and its lawyers) in Woburn, Massachusetts which allegedly dumped chemicals into a river in Woburn.  Children in the town became sick and eventually died after drinking the contaminated water.  Attorney Schlichtman is played expertly by John Travolta.  The film is inspirational and evocative.  Check it out.

What is Legal Malpractice in Massachusetts?

Lawyers make mistakes.  When lawyers make mistakes and their clients are somehow harmed by the mistake, then there may be a remedy for the aggrieved client against the lawyer.  Here is a good explanation of what legal malpractice is, provided by the website of Massachusetts legal malpractice attorney Charles P. Kazarian:

"Legal malpractice is a serious matter involving the breach of a duty owed by a lawyer to a client resulting in demonstrable damage to the client. Lawyers are obliged to conduct themselves with the skill, care and diligence of an ordinary, qualified practitioner in the practice area of a client's case. In other words, if it causes you harm, below-average performance by your lawyer is generally considered malpractice.

"The mere fact that you lost your case or lost an asset / legal right is not by itself evidence of malpractice. You still have to show that your lawyer violated the duty of care described above and that the violation resulted in a loss. An ordinary, average performance by your lawyer is also not malpractice. The fact that an excellent lawyer would have done a better job does not necessarily mean that your lawyer's ordinary performance is malpractice, even if you lost."

A common legal malpractice claim involves a blown statute of limitations case against an attorney.  In this situation, the former client is suing his/her attorney f0r failing to file the client's personal injury lawsuit within the required statutory time. 

Slips and Falls On Ice and Snow

It is not easy to have success with a snow and ice, slip and fall claim in Massachusetts.  The reason is that you have to show there was an "unnatural accumulation" of snow and ice that caused your accident.  There are three ways under Massachusetts law to show an "unnatural accumulation" of snow and ice.   They are:

1)  That the premises owner somehow moved the snow and/or ice to a different location of the property and therefore created an "unnatural accumulation";

2)  That the premises owner had a gutter or canopy or other man-made device on the property which somehow affected or altered the flow and creation of snow and/or ice on the property, or;

3)  That a constant stream of people walked over and onto the snow and/or ice converting it from a natural accumulation into an "unnatural accumulation."

If you or your personal injury lawyer can somehow satisfy one of these elements, then your Massachusetts snow and ice, slip and fall case may have a leg to stand on.  Please note, also, that these elements do not apply in the landlord/tenant context.  It is generally easier to win a slip and fall on snow and/or ice case in Massachusetts when you are bringing the claim against a landlord for failure to clear snow and ice from the subject property.

What If I Was At Fault For My Massachusetts Personal Injury Accident?

Don't worry.  As long as your negligence does not exceed the negligence of the person(s) or entity that caused your injuries, you can still bring a negligence claim.  The negligence of each party involved in the accident is expressed in percentages.  Thus, even if you were 40% at fault for the accident, you can still bring a claim for your personal injuries.  But, that means that a settlement or verdict amount will be reduced by 40% (or whatever the percentage may be) for your own negligence.

This scenario is often found in Massachusetts slip and fall claims because it is difficult for a slip and fall claimant to recover without conceding partial fault for the accident.

Massachusetts Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Information

I came across the wonderfully informative website by the medical malpractice firm of McCullough, Campbell & Lane LLP.  The site offers great information about Massachusetts medical malpractice and Massachusetts personal injury law.  Check it out.