Category Archives: Personal Injury
EGGSHELL OR THIN-SKULLED PLAINTIFF
Law students in their first year of torts are sure to hear of the curious terms, thin-skulled plaintiff or eggshell plaintiff. Essentially what it means is that if a plaintiff has a particular weakness or susceptibility and is hurt, the defendant, “must take the plaintiff as he/she finds him/her”. Thus if the injured party suffers more as a result of their weakness or susceptibility, the defendant, the party that is sued, bears the full cost of that injury. That little expression of “taking the plaintiff as you find him/her” means essentially that the eggshell plaintiff or thin-skulled plaintiff is entitled to the full measure of their damages even though they had a particular susceptibility. I never found the expression of “taking the plaintiff as you find him/her” to be all that clear; nonetheless, there is no mistaking the concept.
29,000 CIVIL CASES AND COUNTING…OR MAYBE NOT COUNTING BUT INSTEAD STAYING THE SAME
On the website of the Massachusetts Courts is a wealth of information. The statistics that I looked at recently were those that pertain to the number of cases that are active in the courts. Since my practice is primarily focused in the Superior Courts where the assessed value of cases is $25,000 or more and since I do only civil cases, I looked at those numbers very carefully.
What to Expect: The Age of Civil Cases in Massachusetts
In this blog, Robert Feinberg discusses the how long the 29,000 civil cases have been active in the Superior Courts across Massachusetts and he provides an optimistic view (at least compared to prior eras) of how long you should expect your case to take. This is the second blog that will concern the statistics of the Massachusetts court system and particularly in the Superior Court, where the bulk of my practice consists. Civil cases are brought in the Superior Court where the value is likely to exceed $25,000.
Alternative Dispute Resolution – Mediation
A very noticeable change in the handling of personal injury cases over the last three decades has been the willingness of both sides to engage in alternative dispute resolution. Even the Pre-Trial Order of the Massachusetts Superior Court asks about the parties’ willingness or amenability to alternative forms of dispute resolution. Generally that means mediation or arbitration. I have blogged primarily about mediations and I will blog a little about arbitrations over the course of the next few weeks. But let’s turn our attention once again to mediation. In this blog, I will focus on what you will hear from the mediator at the outset.
The Client as the Primary Source
As a personal injury attorney, it is obviously necessary for me to have a complete and accurate understanding of my client’s injuries. How have the injuries affected my client? What exactly has he/she gone through in terms of pain and suffering? What is the true measure of loss of earning capacity? The source for learning detailed answers to these questions is from the client himself/ herself.
Respondeat Superior and the Meaning of Latin Terms
Latin terms are commonly used in law and while they may sound fancy, I have to say that their doctrines are pretty straight-forward and pretty clear. The doctrine that I would like to speak about today is known as Respondeat Superior. Essentially it means that the employer is responsible for the actions of its employee in the course and scope of employment of that employee. It is interesting that when I have reviewed cases that have been prepared by younger lawyers, there seems to be an overemphasis on the notion of Respondeat Superior.
The Problems with Pre-Settlement Funding
You will not find a shortage of companies that offer to loan you money on your case. I have seen them increasingly used in recent years. Having an injury can be a time-consuming, stressful and money-sapping process, especially if the client is out of work. As a result, businesses have been created with the idea of advancing money to injured people but, of course, fully expecting to get that money back plus interest and fees. It’s the “plus interest and fees” that need close examination.
Stairway Accidents
Believe it or not, in the field of personal injury, there is a whole specialty, or perhaps we should call it a subspecialty, on stairway cases. These cases involve slips or trips and falls that occur on stairways. There is no shortage of data on such accidents. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has collected much of it over the years. Other professions are attuned to safety issues. Designers and architects are always mindful of what the safest configuration will be in constructing a stairway.
How Medical Records Can Support Your Case
What can be more important in a personal injury case than medical records? In considering some of the factors that I want to bring to your attention in today’s blog, I thought back to how I started in tort law or injury law. I began my legal career in a personal injury defense firm in the 1980s, where my boss would frequently go to the Middlesex County courthouse to read medical records of various clients who had cases that we were defending.
Facts vs. Law
An esteemed judge has said in a trial practice course that as between facts and law, facts are a hundred times more important than law. In these blogs I often deal with law but hopefully it is understood to be an essential framework – but only a framework- for case development. By case development, I mean finding facts that fit into the law. In this blog, I will talk to you about how we go about proving some of the elements of a case. What is the best source or evidence that will help to prove my client’s case?