Motor Vehicle Accidents
Personal Injury Attorneys Foxboro, MA
We represent drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists involved in accidents of all kinds, including motorcycles, and accidents caused by vehicles that are insured, uninsured or stolen, as well as so-called "hit and run" accidents. To win our clients fair compensation we have employed the services of reconstruction specialists, medical experts and others we find helpful to our mission. Not all accidents result in fractures, dismemberment or death. In fact, over 90% of motor vehicle accidents result in so-called "soft tissue" injuries, such as sprained and strained necks, backs, shoulders and knees. We know these injuries are just as painful as a fracture and usually take a lot longer to recover from. We take the time to learn how these injuries affect our clients and then demand our clients be compensated fully and fairly for all they have gone through.
Case Summaries
Mediation wins compensation after Motorcyclist's death
Motorcycle riders are often unfairly blamed for accidents when the true culprits are those drivers who, because of conditioning or ignorance, fail to "see" the motorcyclists with whom they share the roads. Our client's son, a corrections officer, was riding his motorcycle to work when he was killed after colliding with a truck, which was traveling in the opposite direction, made a sudden left turn. The driver of the truck claimed that our client was riding at such a high rate of speed, that he didn't know what happened and didn't see the motorcycle until after the accident. Our reconstruction of the accident showed otherwise. We were able to demonstrate that the strike mark on the truck's hood was caused by our client's helmet, meaning that the driver had to have seen what happened, and the motorcycle's headlight was operating at the time, even in daylight. Further, we took a deposition in which we discovered that the driver had talked to a family member after the accident, describing it in detail. The case settled favorably at mediation without it ever going to court for a trial.Jury finds for pedestrian struck by car
Our client, a hard-working college student and athlete, had spent an evening with friends at a bar. After saying goodbye, and knowing the dangers of drinking and driving, he opted to walk back to his college dormitory. On his way home he crossed the road to get a sandwich at a coffee shop and was hit by a car, suffering severe injuries. Ironically, the car was driven by another student who had been drinking at the same bar. This was a difficult case for two reasons. Our client's blood-alcohol level was high, and the defendants argued that he had stepped suddenly into the road before being hit. We successfully challenged the accuracy of the blood-alcohol test by pointing out that the painkillers administered to our client were in an alcohol-based solution, which would distort the blood-alcohol level measurement. After inspecting the vehicle, we discovered that our client was hit by the right front bumper of the vehicle. If he had been crossing from the driver's right to left, this would have been consistent with him stepping suddenly into the road, but if, as we maintained, he was crossing from the driver's left to right, walking in the direction of the coffee shop, it meant that he would have been fully three-quarters across a well-lighted roadway when he was hit. We took his x-rays to his orthopedic surgeon, who testified that the fracture to our client's right leg broke in towards the other leg indicating he had been struck on the outside of the leg. This supported our contention that at the moment of impact our client was in fact walking toward the coffee shop and was almost completely across the road. The case was brought to a successful conclusion and our client received a substantial verdict from the jury that allowed him to recover and resume his studies.
Rear-ended Driver Compensated After We Prove Hidden Damage To Vehicle
Our client was at a stop sign waiting for traffic to pass in order to make a turn. The driver of an approaching van ahead of him was not paying attention and thought our client was moving. He stepped on the gas and hit the rear of our client's car, causing it to lurch several feet forward. Our client's head snapped back and forth due to the force of the unexpected collision. When the police responded they reported there was no damage to either vehicle and issued no citation, treating it as a routine motor vehicle accident. As the police reported, there was no visible damage to the rubber rear bumper on our client's car. In the weeks which followed our client developed disabling neck pain. When conservative treatment with medication and physical therapy failed to resolve it, we referred him to a specialist. After conducting a sophisticated form of MRI, the specialist found the cause: a tear in the disc between the vertebrae of his neck. Our client eventually underwent surgery to remove the ruptured disc and have the vertebrae in his neck fused.
The van's insurance company refused to settle the case claiming the accident couldn't have caused the neck injury as there was no damage to our client's vehicle. Anticipating the insurance company would take this stance, we filed suit and scheduled a deposition of the mechanic who had worked on our client's car in the past. We held the deposition right in the mechanics garage and had the car put up on a lift during the deposition. The mechanic testified the car had never been in an accident before. He then pointed out for the official record the damage to the rear bumper assembly and connecting shock absorbers which was hidden beneath the rubber bumper cover. The absorbers on both sides had marks cut into the metal where they had been pushed in from the force of the rear end collision. The medical specialist agreed this was the cause of our client's neck injury and the insurance company changed its position and settled the case for a substantial amount which fully compensated our client for all of his losses and pain and suffering.
