The process of bringing new medicines and treatment options to patients can be long and tedious. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal agency that governs the procedure by which new drugs and treatments are approved for use on patients, is supposed to protect consumers, but dangerous drugs do still make their way into…
Continue reading ›If you are planning a car trip in the near future, you probably have a “to-do” list that includes checking the oil and tire pressure, filling up the gas tank, and washing the windshield. If you happen to drive a General Motors vehicle, you should add another item to your list: making sure your car…
Continue reading ›We all have them, and most of us rely on them for much more than simply making a call. Cell phones have become a necessity of modern life, and we use them to communicate in many ways. We text. We surf the internet. We check our Facebook account. We read our email. In sum, we…
Continue reading ›We all know that life seems to flow a little more easily when we get along with our neighbors. Unfortunately, that is not always possible. At the Law Office of John C. Manoog, we have handled many cases between neighbors in which the issue was an injury to a child, a dog bite, or a…
Continue reading ›Not all workplace injuries are sudden and immediate. Sometimes, the damage to an employee’s body occurs over time, such as in cases of repetitive motion or prolonged exposure to noise or toxic chemicals. Beryllium is a hazardous chemical that, even through modest workplace exposure, can be harmful. People exposed to beryllium can develop a malady…
Continue reading ›Massachusetts law requires property owners to keep their premises safe. When a business or homeowner breaches this duty and someone is hurt, the injured person can file a premises liability lawsuit seeking money damages. In a successful premises liability case, an injured person may be able to receive compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and…
Continue reading ›The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is the federal agency in charge of protecting the public from unsafe consumer products such as toys, household furnishings, and tools. When the CPSC believes that a particular product poses a hazard, it has the authority to issue a recall. Hazards may be fire, electrical, chemical, and/or mechanical in…
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…
Continue reading ›The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution states in part, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial … and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.” The courts have held that this guarantees the defendant in a criminal trial not only the basic…
Continue reading ›When the Massachusetts Department of Transportation decided to display a new message on its electronic message boards throughout the Boston area a few weeks ago, they hoped to catch the attention of drivers who might otherwise forget an important state law. In a dialect instantly recognizable to Bay State motorists, the department advised drivers to…
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