When a Cape Cod medical malpractice lawsuit goes to trial, there are usually multiple witnesses who testify in front of the jury. This includes not only the parties to the case but also the expert witnesses who are retained by each side to render an opinion as to the applicable standard of care, whether the…
Continue reading ›Many civil lawsuits are filed each year in the state and federal courts – far too many to be handled efficiently by the court system if a full-blown trial is required in every case. For this and other reasons, settlements are highly encouraged. Under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 176D, § 3(9)(f), an insurance company has…
Continue reading ›The Massachusetts wrongful death statute provides a legal remedy for those whose loved ones have died due to the negligent, willful, wanton, or reckless behavior of a person or business. If a plaintiff is successful in a wrongful death case, he or she may be entitled to damages, such as the funeral and burial expenses…
Continue reading ›Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released an “Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2015,” projecting that some 35,200 motor vehicle accident fatalities occurred nationally last year. The good news is that this number, while tragic, is lower than the 43,510 fatalities that happened 10…
Continue reading ›Just as a negligent driver can be held liable in a court of law for damages resulting from the breach of a legal duty while driving a motor vehicle, so can a medical professional be held liable for a failure to uphold the applicable standard of care due a patient during the diagnosis or treatment…
Continue reading ›All personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits arising from negligence require proof of four essential elements. The defendant must have owed the plaintiff a duty, the defendant must have breached the duty, the plaintiff must have suffered damages, and the damages must have been the proximate result of the breached duty. In some cases, particularly…
Continue reading ›Many states, including Massachusetts, have statutes in place under which a business that sells alcoholic beverages to a person who is obviously intoxicated can be held liable for the resulting damages, including both personal injury and wrongful death. These statutes are often referred to as “dram shop” acts (so named because spirits were once sold…
Continue reading ›Product liability cases can arise in a wide array of situations, including on-the-job accidents. Recently, the Massachusetts Appeals Court was called upon to decide a case in which an allegedly defective product caused the death of a man who was inspecting a roof. Although the court’s opinion did not go into detail regarding whether the…
Continue reading ›Driving an 18-wheeler is no easy task. The size and weight of large commercial trucks, combined with the possibility of shifting loads, make them much more difficult to maneuver than smaller vehicles. When a truck accident occurs, injuries and even deaths are common. Trucking companies should recognize this danger and spend a reasonable amount of…
Continue reading ›Under sovereign immunity, governmental entities may be immune from lawsuits arising from the negligence of their employees. Over the years, the courts carved out several exceptions to the doctrine, and in 1978 the Commonwealth passed the Massachusetts Torts Claims Act, Mass. Gen. Laws c. 258, § 4 (the “Act”), specifying the circumstances in which immunity…
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