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Unfortunately, no one in the blogosphere has addressed the Manhattan Institute’s December 2008 report promoting a loser pays rule. Loser pays, you will recall, forces the losing party of a lawsuit to pay the legal fees of the winner. The Manhattan Institute report advances the traditional argument that society needs to deter frivolous suits. The […]

Sometimes in personal injury law things are not as they appear. This can cut in favor of the party suing or against the party suing. It depends upon the knowledge and aggressiveness of the lawyer. An example comes from statements contained in a police report. At first blush, it may seem very troubling that witness […]

Father Knows Best (and Mother too) In a previous blog, I addressed traumatic brain injury and objective tests which depict them. We have come to hear of CT scans, CTA’s and MRI’s and, most recently, PET and SPECT scans. A recent study undertaken by Boston University Medical School also offers objective evidence, that of a […]

Robert I. Feinberg Those of us who deal with personal injury cases have become familiar with the diagnostic tools available to the medical profession. Two classics are the history the doctor obtains from the patient and the clinical exam. Obviously, however, every bit is important is the diagnostic testing in the formulation of a diagnosis.  […]

For decades, actually until the 1970s, when Massachusetts adopted the rule of Comparative Negligence, a slightly different doctrine was in effect: the rule of contributory negligence which was a complete bar to the plaintiff’s recovery. Thankfully that standard has changed. If a plaintiff is found negligent in an amount of 50% or less, he/she can […]

Many states have considered changing the rules of joint and several liability. Joint and several provides that either defendant is fully liable to the plaintiff for his/her total damages. In Massachusetts, we have a statute, which is Massachusetts General Laws c.231B, which provides that the at fault parties should pay in proportion to their per […]

Every so often Congress and the states legislatures consider tort reform. One of the worst ideas, I submit, is proposing to adopt the English Rule which forces the loser of a law suit to pay the winner’s legal fees. I do not expect to lose cases and, frankly, contingent fee lawyers typically take cases which […]

Let’s take a closer look at the anti-consumer proposal of the Manhattan Institute on the payment of legal fees in civil cases, including personal injury cases. As reported in the Legal Times many years ago, anecdotal evidence from England reflects the harshness of their rule. A widow, suing as a result of her husband’s death […]

Personal injury law in most circumstances is the law determined by a state’s courts and its legislature. A first year torts’ textbook will have very few, if any, United States Supreme Court decisions. Rather, the decisions it includes will be those of the state appellate courts. In the case of Massachusetts, it is the decisions […]

For a couple of decades, Massachusetts personal injury lawyers have had the benefit of taking expert witness depositions by audio-visual means. These videos are then shown to the jury and the scheduling nightmares that are often involved in having experts testify in court are no longer a problem. This key component of the plaintiff’s case […]