William D. Kickham
William D. Kickham
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As a Dedham-Westwood accident lawyer, I’ve been legal counsel for injury victims in countless cases. Many times, these cases can be settled through the process of what is called mediation. Most civil disputes can be mediated, including those that have to do with contracts, leases, small business, employment, and divorce. This post, though, will discuss mediation in the context of personal injury litigation.

First, exactly what is mediation? It is the process by which the opposing parties in a lawsuit or injury claim agree to select a mutually agreeable third party “neutral”, called (appropriately) a mediator, who will study briefs and supporting materials that both sides submit, and attempt to bring the parties to a mutually satisfactory resolution to the dispute or claim involved. Licensed mediators in Massachusetts are attorneys who are required to undergo extensive specialty training and certification before they are allowed to hold themselves out as “mediators.” Most all mediators in Massachusetts belong to a professional specialty organization, such as the American Arbitration Association.

In the process of mediation, you and the defendant (represented 99% of the time by a lawyer for a liability insurance company that insures the defendant) try to work out a solution prior to litigating the matter in court, before a jury or judge. The process involves the mediator meeting first jointly with both parties, then separating them into respective conference rooms, so that he or she can meet privately to discuss each party’s positions in candor. (The parties are separated, after meeting initially together, to prevent arguing and a breakdown in communications, as these discussions can often become tense.) The mediator then “shuttles” back and forth between the parties, attempting to bring each side closer to an acceptable resolution. I remember long ago, when I was 20 years old, the first professional job I ever had was as a complaint mediator in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office – in the Consumer Protection Division. I loved it.

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To help victims of car-truck accidents, we have prepared a FREE Injury and Accident Tip Sheet entitled “The Top 10 Tips If You Suffer A Personal Injury In Massachusetts.” It will outline the right steps you need to take if you have been injured in a car-truck accident in Massachusetts, and are unsure of what steps to take. We know most people will find this article extremely helpful. Click here to download this FREE document.

As with car accident cases or car-pedestrian accident cases, it is standard legal practice in truck-car accident cases that there are no legal fees paid upfront to the law firm that represents you. These types of cases are billed on a contingent-fee basis, which is standard in the legal industry. This means that the law firm representing you is not paid any professional legal fees unless the firm successfully recovers financial damages for you at the end of the case — through a jury verdict following a trial, or through a settlement instead of a trial.

In other words, you have nothing to lose in contacting a qualified law firm if you have been involved in a Massachusetts car-truck accident.

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Sorry I haven’t posted here for a while. I’ve been taking some much-deserved time off at the Cape. So, back to work …

Today’s post is all about car-truck crashes, and the tangled web they leave in their aftermath. It’s safe to say that no one ever wants to be involved in any kind of a motor vehicle accident. But what can even be worse than a car accident, is a Massachusetts truck-car accident. Here is why:

A tractor trailer or “big rig” usually weighs 80,000 pounds or more. The average automobile weighs about 3,000 pounds. Now just imagine both of these motor vehicles crashing into each other on the Massachusetts Turnpike, Route 128 or a major highway traveling at 65 or 70 miles per hour – or even on a back road at 30 MPH. What happens can be horrific. The results can include devastating injuries to the brain and spinal cord, and of course, death. It isn’t pretty. More than 100,000 truck-car accidents occur annually. This should come as no surprise to people who drive on our nation’s highways, as these roads are always filled with big rigs. And these big rigs operate with many disadvantages. Due to their sheer size and weight, they can’t stop very quickly, they can’t turn easily and they usually have large blind spots behind them and to the side.

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In my role as a Massachusetts nursing home abuse lawyer, I see many, many examples of negligence, including in the healthcare field. When I do, I just shake my head, because I sometimes cannot understand what goes on the minds of the people who work in nursing homes. All too often, I can only stand back and say to myself, “What were they thinking?”

All too frequently, nursing home residents – who are elderly, sick, and usually not ambulatory – are left alone, when the entire purpose of putting them in a nursing home in the first place is to protect them and safeguard them from any harm. Leaving them alone to fend for themselves simply defeats the entire purpose of putting them into the nursing home.

A recent case for Massachusetts nursing home abuse illustrates a situation of numerous, terrible errors that resulted in the unfortunate death of an elderly woman who should have never have been left alone. Here’s what reportedly happened, and it is a tragedy.

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In my line of work as a Route 128 car accident lawyer, I see all too often the aftermath of Massachusetts car accidents. So I’m happy to report that starting on Friday and Saturday nights for the balance of this summer, the Massachusetts State Police will add 11 patrols to cruise Route 24 and also Interstate 195 every weekend from 8:00 PM to 4:00 AM. The reason: Those roadways have experienced a recent spike in motor vehicle accidents and even deaths during those hours. The increased patrols are an attempt by law enforcement to counter those injuries and fatalities. The extra patrols will cost about $125,000. Before this new arrangement, only three State Police cars have been on those roads during those times.

It is estimated that more than 100,000 drivers travel on Route 24 every day.

Six people have been killed in Massachusetts motor vehicle fatalities on Route 24 so far this year – that’s compared to just five traffic fatalities on Route 24 in all of 2011. Three of them occurred just this month, in July. Here’s a brief rundown of those fatalities. Angel Pina of Norton was ejected from her truck and killed on July 12 when her truck rolled over after one of its back tires had a blowout. Later, on July 15, Lisa Banat, who was traveling the wrong way on Route 24 – can you imagine that? – struck a pick-up truck head-on. The truck’s driver was also killed when his truck burst into flames. That’s terrifying to think of, never mind to actually witness.

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Just imagine this scenario. You’re driving your Ford Maverick, or your Ford Escape, and you need to slam on the brakes. Only you hit the brakes and you find that your gas pedal is sticking, so instead of slowing down you speed up, and the next thing you know, you’re the victim of a serious car accident.

As a Westwood accident lawyer, I’ve seen this happen far too often. Concerning Ford Motor Company vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received 68 complaints about the Ford’s sticky gas pedals on its Escapes and Mavericks, which have caused 13 crashes, nine injuries and one death.

That’s why Ford is right now recalling almost 485,000 Escapes and Mavericks – vehicles from the 2001 to 2004 years that are powered by 3-liter V-6 engines. It’s the third recall in two weeks for the Escape, which is the top-selling Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in the United States. Just one week ago, Ford recalled 11,500 of its 2013 models, because it found that the fuel lines can possibly crack and leak gasoline, which in turn can cause fires. And just a few days before that, Ford recalled 10,000 2013 Escapes so it could fix the carpet padding that could interfere with braking. This is an example of “defective products.”

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As I reported in my previous post on this subject, amusement park injuries are much more common than most people might think. If you or someone you love has been injured in a Massachusetts amusement-park accident, you may be entitled to financial damages for your injuries. Following below are some typical forms of liability that may serve as the legal basis for damages following several types of injuries that are common to amusement parks:

Product Liability and Defective Products – This refers to whether or not there was a defect in the manufacturing or design of the ride.

Premises Liability – Broken stairs, lack of lighting, gaps in pavement, and parking lot conditions all have to do with premises liability, which is also known as property liability. Slip and fall injuries come under this category.

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It’s summer, 2012. And with it comes marketing for more and more amusement park rides, such as the new ride that debuted at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Mass.: The roller coaster “Goliath.” Guests sit beneath the track with their feet dangling as they ascend a tower. Once at the top of the tower, riders drop nearly 20 stories in a vertical free-fall that reaches speeds of 65 miles per hour. Then riders go head-over-heels on the outside of a 102-foot-tall vertical loop, followed by a 110-foot-tall butterfly turn that rockets them up another tower. www.sixflags.com/newengland/index.aspx. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Except when you take into account the accidents that can happen. Too often, the public attends amusement and theme parks to have a good time, and they don’t consider the kinds of injuries that can occur on these rides. As a Massachusetts amusement-ride injury lawyer, I know all too well the types of personal injuries that can occur. Read on, below. I’ll get to injury statistics about amusement park rides further down in this blog post.

Theme-park injuries and amusement-park injuries can frequently be life-threatening. The personal injuries someone can sustain include whiplash, broken bones, heart attacks, traumatic brain injury, and neck and back injuries. In adition to permanent-construction theme parks like Six Flags and Disney World, there are also many traveling carnivals throughout Massachusetts each summer. Visiting a local carnival that has stopped in your town? Although kids love them, (I certainly remember that I loved them,) I know from professional experience that many of them run electrical wiring on the ground, where almost anyone, especially kids and older people, can trip over them, or walk in the wrong place and suffer an electrical shock. And people should always worry about equipment that is routinely getting taken down – and put back up — as carnivals are basically traveling road shows. Equipment that is so temporary doesn’t really inspire confidence. Worse, this equipment is assembled and reassembled by the least-skilled of workers.

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This post is for all women out there who get mammograms – as a Boston injury lawyer, I can’t stress enough that you always need to get second, if not third opinions, to keep yourself safe. Otherwise, you may become a victim of negligence and medical malpractice.

Here’s a case that proves my point. A 46-year-old woman underwent mammograms in February 2006 and later, in February 2007, which were ordered by her primary care physician. Both of the mammograms were reported as normal, although the woman complained of nipple retraction. What’s notable here is what didn’t happen – there were no breast examinations performed in addition to the mammograms. Unbelievable to most people, but true.

Finally, in May 2008, the woman underwent yet another bilateral mammogram. This time it was reported as abnormal. Her right breast was biopsied, with ultrasound revealing that she had invasive ductal carcinoma. The woman underwent a right breast mastectomy in July 2008. She also had to withstand post-operative chemotherapy and further surgical procedures to eradicate her cancer.

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Most people wouldn’t associate propane gas with a high risk of serious personal injury. Aren’t they used, in fact, to heat many homes? Don’t people use propane tanks all the time to cook on their outdoor gas grills? Since that’s the case, the risk of injury in using them can’t be that high, right?

If you were to take that attitude, you’d be quite incorrect in doing so. Propane gas can be extremely volatile. Stored under pressure in steel tanks, the gas can be ignited with a simple spark. If that happens, that harmless-looking tank, whether a smaller one used for gas grills or a larger one used to heat a house, can become, literally, a bomb.

This was the case about two years ago, when propane tank at a house construction site in Norfolk, Massachusetts suddenly exploded, killing a man by the name of William Nichols. Nichols, who was 46 years old at the time he was killed in this Massachusetts construction site accident, was working on the heating and air conditioning system in a duplex that was under construction. Following the explosion, Nichols was trapped under the rubble for over an hour and a half before firefighters could reach and extricate him. Mr. Nichols died of his injuries later that night at a hospital. Facts like this impact the value of a tragic case like this, as it factors into what is called “conscious pain and suffering.”

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