Author Archives: Robert I. Feinberg
Is an Employer Liable for the Act of an Employee Which Causes an Accident?
Is an Employer Liable for the Act of an Employee Which Causes an Accident? If you are driving along the road and another auto that is driven by an employee of a company causes an accident, what is your recourse? In the above scenario, you will want to know a few things immediately: Was the […]
What is the Effect of a Release in a Personal Injury Settlement?
When a defendant settles a case, the plaintiff’s attorney is presented with a release. It is a document that ends the case against the settling defendant. It “releases” and “holds harmless” the opposing party from liability for a particular claim or set of claims being brought against it. In Massachusetts, as in most states, releases […]
What Does the Law and Sports Have in Common?
If you are a sports fan, you often find that various rulings on the field are actually quite legalistic. For a Boston sports fan this came to mind twice in the last several months. The first was during the World Series. The play that ended Game 3 was controversial and involved the umpire calling obstruction […]
What is the Law in Massachusetts Concerning a Snow and Ice Accident?
Let It Snow, But Don’t Forget to Salt… People across the country are experiencing excessive amounts of snow and very cold temperatures. That weather has certainly come to the Northeast. Not surprisingly, I have fielded more than a few calls from people who have fallen. Some have experienced very serious injuries. In the past, I […]
What is the Legal Standard for an Accident on Property?
In accidents on premises, the doctrine as put forth in Oliveri v. MBTA, 363 Mass. 165 (1973) has controlled. It has meant that slip and fall cases involving a foreign substance, whether in a supermarket or otherwise, typically require facts to come within at least one of three categories in order to demonstrate defendant’s lack […]
What are the Numbers of Civil Cases Filed in Massachusetts?
At the end of Fiscal Year 2002, there was 37,700 total civil cases pending in the Superior Court of Massachusetts. In 2012, there were 26,631 pending. This difference of 11,069 cases represents roughly a 29.4% decline in the number of cases pending at the Superior Court in that 10-year period. There are possibly several explanations […]
Can I Change Lawyers in a Personal Injury Case?
The Rules of Professional Responsibility require that a contingent fee agreement “be in writing and signed in duplicate by both the lawyer and the client…” S.J.C. Rule 3:07, Rule 1.5(c). The rule sets out the cases in which a contingent fee is permissible—there must be a res, Latin for a thing or object, and in […]
What is Involved in Impaneling a Jury?
During the jury empanelment stage of both civil and criminal trials, there are inevitably some prospective jurors who raise their hands when asked whether service would impose an extreme and unusual hardship. Generally, those jurors are excused. Other prospective juror may feel that there is a reason that they cannot be impartial and, in that […]
How Has the Legal Profession Changed?
When I started practicing law in the 1980s, it is hard for me to fathom that many of the already practicing lawyers were just beginning to interact with women lawyers. Actually, that should not be a major surprise since some law schools didn’t accept women until the 1950s (Harvard) and others had so few women […]
Is 93A Useful in an Accident Case?
Plaintiff lawyers often lament how the Supreme Judicial Court has authored opinions that restrict the rights of plaintiff litigants. But, in truth, there have been many instances where the court has been sensitive to the rights of victims. One such case is Rhodes v. AIG Domestic Claims Inc. 461 Mass. 486 (2012) which gave liberal […]