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It is generally stated that personal injury cases in Massachusetts, really tort cases, have a three year statute of limitations. The problem is that, as with most generalizations, there are exceptions. In suing a public agency, such as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the plaintiff must bring the action within two years. In suing […]

When a lay person testifies to what he or she has observed about an accident involving my client, I am sure to consider the following: the witness’ ability to perceive, tell the truth, remember, and narrate. These are the criteria that I was taught in evidence class thirty years ago and they are relevant today […]

I was reviewing some old files last month when I came across portions of a case that I handled in the 1980s. Actually, the case was begun by another attorney who went on to achieve major success in a field related to law, but not in the practice of law. That attorney started handling this […]

The proposals to reform the contingency fee system have at their heart, it seems to me, a desire to remove the lawyer from the process. The question for clients should become: am I better off hiring a competent, or hopefully excellent, attorney than going it alone? It is not unheard of for an insurance adjuster […]

Well before the digital age, we heard the expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Nowhere is that more appropriate than in the personal injury context. In any kind of medical testimony, the doctor, who in effect is a teacher, should use demonstrative aids to explain his/her testimony. Not only does it make the […]

At the conclusion of a trial in the judge’s charge to the jury, the instruction will often be that the “defendant takes the plaintiff as he finds him”. That is an instruction that plaintiffs want. It is known as the “eggshell rule” meaning that if someone who is more susceptible to a serious injury or […]

In a recent blog I discussed the wide latitude that is given to a cross-examiner on the issue of a witness’ bias. More specifically, the latitude is especially great on the bias of an expert witness and the witness’ compensation. Experts are paid for their time. By virtue of the Rules of Professional Conduct which […]

The nostalgia pull is so strong that in almost every realm people look back and feel times were better. I can get nostalgic as much as anyone but a serious look at the way civil cases were practiced is not one which deserves great nostalgia. Many practitioners will say that attorneys were nicer to one […]

When United States Supreme Court nominees testify before the Senate at their confirmation hearings the press is always talking about ‘the paper trail’. What did the nominee write either as an academic or jurist and what does that tell us about how he/she will rule? It has often been said that a candidate is better […]

Where is the best forum to bring a personal injury action? Federal Court? State Court? In a diversity action- where the plaintiff and defendant are from different states- there is an opportunity to sue in the Federal Court. Bear in mind that there still must be jurisdiction over the defendant. I will discuss this jurisdictional […]