Cape Cod Injury Lawyer Blog

The Massachusetts wrongful death statute provides a legal remedy for those whose loved ones have died due to the negligent, willful, wanton, or reckless behavior of a person or business. If a plaintiff is successful in a wrongful death case, he or she may be entitled to damages, such as the funeral and burial expenses…

A recent court decision focused on the Ortho Evra patch, a birth control option that prevents pregnancy by transferring synthetic hormones through the wearer’s skin. While arguably more convenient than other forms of birth control, the patch is not without risks, including death. In the case of Niedner v. Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., the plaintiff was…

In order to adjudicate a claim, a court must have subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, and venue. If subject matter jurisdiction is not present, the only remedy is dismissal of the case because the court lacks the authority to hear the case. With regard to personal jurisdiction and venue, however, there is also the possibility…

There are many ways in which a product can be deemed defective. Sometimes, only a single defective product results from a manufacturing error. In other words, something went wrong during the process of making the product. In other cases, all of the products in a particular line are found to be defective due to a…

About a year ago, we shared with you a Massachusetts Court of Appeals decision in a malpractice case in which the issue was whether or not suit had been filed within the three-year statute of limitations set forth under Massachusetts law. The intermediate appellate court decided that the case was timely filed under the continuing…

Releases and waivers of liability are so commonplace these days that many people sign them without even stopping to consider the consequences. Perhaps they even doubt that such agreements will hold up in court if an accident does happen. The truth is that a release or waiver is an important legal document that has the…

Clearly, the United States Constitution guarantees the criminally accused the right to counsel. However, exactly when, and under which circumstances, that right first attaches is sometimes a point of contention. Recently, Massachusetts’ highest court was called upon to revisit this issue as it concerned a defendant’s right to counsel regarding whether or not to submit…

Most people understand that there are statutes of limitations that govern the time that an injured person has to bring a claim in a court of law. There are numerous other issues of timeliness, however, of which the general public may be less aware. One of those issues – the notice period for a medical…

There are thousands of laws on the books in Massachusetts and across the nation. What happens when two of those laws potentially conflict? For instance, if a driver is obligated to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, but the pedestrian is obligated to obey a pedestrian crossing signal, what happens if both the driver…

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released an “Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2015,” projecting that some 35,200 motor vehicle accident fatalities occurred nationally last year. The good news is that this number, while tragic, is lower than the 43,510 fatalities that happened 10…