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Most people think they would know what to do in the event of a car accident. If there are no serious injuries, you just exchange information and call the insurance company, right? But many of us underestimate how shaken up we would be in a collision, even if no serious injuries are immediately apparent. Rear-end collisions can be especially frightening. One minute you’re sitting at a stop light, thinking about what you’re going to make for dinner, and then CRASH. Even without injuries, the effects of such an accident can leave you emotionally shaken and unsure of what to do next. Contact a Boston Car Accident Lawyer Today.

The 4 R’s of Motor Vehicle Collisions

The good news is, there’s an easy way to remember what to do in the event of a rear-end collision. Just remember the 4 R’s; review, report, record, and reach out.

  • Review: Although you can never really be ‘prepared’ for a car accident, there are steps you can take to increase your chances of reacting appropriately if an accident occurs. For starters, immediately following an accident, review the situation. Is anyone injured? Injuries, minor and severe, take priority over property damage. If no injuries are present, review property damage. Is your car damaged? What about the other driver’s car? What about surrounding property? Take a quick mental note of any visible damage and move to step 2.
  • Report: If no injuries or damages are apparent, you probably don’t need to report the accident to the police. However, if there is significant damage or anyone suffered injuries, you should immediately contact the police. In addition to offering protection if emotions become heightened, police can investigate the accident and create an official report. This can be immensely helpful in a lawsuit. Once the police have been contacted, call your insurance company. Timely reporting is crucial if you wish to file an insurance claim.
  • Record: A permanent record of the accident scene, contact details, witness statements, medical expenses, and property damage can be your best friend after a car accident. Record every detail possible, and do it as soon as possible. While you’re still at the scene of the accident, talk to other drivers, passengers, and witnesses to get their perspective on what happened, before their memories fade. Jot down your own account of what happened as well. Take pictures of the scene, including damage to the car(s) and any other property, and any factors that may have contributed to the accident, such as an icy road, or a difficult-to-see stop sign positioned behind a large tree or improperly-parked vehicle.
  • Reach out: If you or anyone else involved in the accident suffered injuries, or if there was significant property damage, you should reach out to a skilled motor vehicle accident attorney. Many personal injury lawyers will be willing to work on a contingency basis, meaning they don’t get paid unless your claim is successful. Whether you’ve been injured, or someone is blaming you for their injuries, you will want the help of an experienced auto accident lawyer.

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BMW has announced that it will be recalling 622,000 SUVs worldwide due to potential problems with the child seat anchors in the vehicles.  According to the report, these anchors may become damaged over time and therefore do not secure the seat properly.  The models included in the recall are certain X3 SUV models including the xDrive 28i, xDrive28i, and xDrive35i model years 2011 through 2017, as well as X4 SUV models including the xDrive 28d, xDrive28i, xDrive35i, and xDriveM40i model years 2015 through 2017.  There are about 189,000 vehicles being recalled in the U.S. alone.  Documents posted on Tuesday June 14 by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explained that anchor bars for child seats in the SUVs could become damaged when people use European-style child seats.  Therefore, most owners of the affected models in the U.S. do not experience issues because typically they use child seats with flexible Latch connectors, which do not cause the problem.

BMW originally discovered the problem with anchor bars in March when a customer in Europe reported a damaged anchor.  The report stated that an unoccupied child seat moved sideways when the 2011 BMW X3 vehicle made a turn.  The owner discovered that this was due to damage on one of the lower anchor bars.  Two more similar reports were also presented to BMW, both from Europe.  Upon investigation, more anchor bar claims were discovered, where one instance included the anchor bar completely breaking.  In its recall summary, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated, “The affected vehicles have lower anchor bars for securing child-restraint seats that may become damaged when using the European-Isofix-type rigid-style connector child-restraint system.”  NHTSA also noted that these damaged anchor bars could increase a child’s risk of injury during a crash.  BMW said that it is not aware of any injuries or fatalities related to problems included in the recall.  To solve the problem, dealers will fuse a reinforcing bracket to the lower anchor bars at no charge to owners.  This recall is expected to start July 12, 2016 Continue reading

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What if revealing information could land you with millions in rewards?  The IRS can award money to those who provide “specific and credible information” to the IRS if the material yields collection of taxes, penalties, interest or other forms of collection from the defiant taxpayer.  The IRS is specific in noting that the information needs to be concrete and proven, not simply “educated guesses” and that proves a substantial Federal tax issue.  The information must also be relatively new, as the statute of limitations on corporate and individual cases can be as short as three years.  There is no statute of limitations for fraud, but these issues are more difficult, and therefore are often avoided by the IRS.

If a case is strong, there are two types of potential awards granted by the IRS.  First are awards issued to those who report cases with total values less than $2 million or with individuals who earn less than $200,000 annually.  These awards are smaller but still can be substantial.  The IRS can offer a maximum reward of 15 percent up to $10 million.  These awards are discretionary and therefore cannot be appealed to the Tax Court.  In 2006, the IRS instituted a new whistle-blower program to attempt to catch more “big cheaters”.  In these cases, the total amount in dispute must surpass $2 million in addition to a few other requirements.

If the case involves an individual, his or here annual gross income must be upwards of $200,000.  If the case adheres to these clauses, the IRS will pay 15 to 30 percent of the amount collected to the whistleblower.  In these cases, the whistleblower can appeal the claim to the Tax Court.  Since new incentives have been implemented, the IRS has received various tips from about 476 individuals identifying 1,246 taxpayers in 2008, the first full year the program was implemented.  These tips have been well supported with documentation involving billions of dollars in taxes, penalties, and interest.

Most often, the individuals who contact the IRS with tips are disgruntled middle-ranking employees at large corporations.  It is believed that these workers inform on those in upper management because they feel stuck in their positions at work and frustrated with the tax evasion that they know to be occurring.  Informant identity is not made public, but often times the person’s name is obvious based on the information provided.  This fact which might incite retaliation, along with the extensive amounts of information that are required to complete the forms in a report to the IRS (i.e. the accused’s social security number) often deter individuals from making reports.  Continue reading

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Often times after older citizens suffer an incapacitating illness or stroke, they require some time to recover in a rehabilitation center.  However, there are some cases in which these skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) partake in fraudulent behavior.  The way this scam works is often through a type of billing fraud called “upcoding”.  Upcoding is when a provider, such as an SNF, bills a health insurance payer, in this case Medicare, using a false current procedural terminology (CPT) code for a more costly service than was performed.  Upcoding is understandably illegal because it forces individual patients and taxpayers to pay more so that the providers get paid more money.  In addition to stealing money from patients, it also puts false information on their medical records.  This is not only dangerous, but it may affect the patient’s future ability to get insurance.  SNFs also may place patients into the highest Resource Utilization Group (RUG) category.  This is another scam used by SNFs because by doing this, the center receives the most Medicare money paid by the government.  In this group, patients receive excessive physical and occupational therapy, which is often unnecessary and can even be unsafe for the patient.

According to a New York Times article published in September 2015, Inspector General Levinson reported SNFs have been classifying patients in the highest level of therapy group at an increasing rate.  The article states that increases in SNF billing for placing patients in RUG accounted for $1.1 billion in Medicare payments in 2012 and 2013.  Additionally, fraudulent SNF billings in 2009 resulted in $1.5 billion of inappropriate Medicare payments.

Fraud in skilled nursing facilities is relatively prevalent.  This year, the country’s largest nursing home therapy provider, Kindred/Rehabcare, paid $125 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations.  The providers RehabCare Group Inc., RehabCare Group East Inc. and their parent, Kindred Healthcare Inc. were involved in a government lawsuit in which they were accused of allowing their SNFs to submit false claims to Medicare.  Nationally, RehabCare provides rehabilitation therapy to patients through more than 1,000 SNFs in 44 states.  The government filed a complaint, which claimed that RehabCare’s policies were directed at receiving the highest reimbursement level regardless of the clinical needs of its patients.  U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts claimed RehabCare was involved in several schemes in which they “engaged in a systematic and broad-ranging scheme to increase profits by delivering, or purporting to deliver, therapy in a manner that was focused on increasing Medicare reimbursement rather than on clinical needs of patients.”  Along with the initial $125 million paid by Kindred/RehabCare, there were also settlements with four SNFs for their role in submitting fraudulent claims.  Continue reading

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The home should be a place of comfort and security. You can adjust the thermostat to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer, prepare nutritious meals in your kitchen, read in your favorite armchair, take hot baths after a long day, and sleep peacefully in your cozy bed at night. But don’t let these comforts of home fool you into thinking accidents can’t happen. Serious injuries and fatalities occur at home all the time.  Especially homes with little children running around – take a minute to look around to make sure that your keeping your house as safe as possible. Kids have a knack fro getting into the most obscure places and spaces. Safeguard your house by being aware of these most dangerous household items.

Cleaning Supplies

Harmful chemicals in cleaning supplies, such as bleach, can be extremely toxic. Unfortunately, curious youngsters can’t distinguish a deadly chemical from the juice or milk in their sippy cup. Make sure that bottle tops are screwed on tightly and that all harmful cleaning solutions are kept on high shelves, well out of a child’s reach. In addition to being dangerous if ingested, cleaning supplies can also be flammable, and can explode under certain circumstances. To prevent combustion and explosions, store chemicals at the proper temperature.

Refrigerators and Freezers

Young children love to hide in small places, including refrigerators, washing machines and dryers, and walk-in or deep freezers. Newer models often lock from the inside, which helps a child escape. But many older models do not have this feature. When not in use, make sure all appliances are locked, and always do a quick interior check before using a washing machine or dryer.

Sheds

The inside of a shed is often quite messy, filled with toxic chemicals, paint supplies, and dangerous tools. Guests see the inside of your house, but rarely the inside of your shed. Therefore, keeping it clean and throwing out old chemicals, rusty tools, and rotting wood isn’t usually a priority. However, young children may see your shed and think it’s perfect for a game of hide-and-seek, or for playing house.

To avoid serious injuries and death, keep your shed organized. Paint and toxic chemicals should be stored as they are in your home, safely out of the reach of children. The same goes for tools. Discard rotten wood, rusty tools, and anything else that presents an unnecessary risk. It is also important to use caution when placing items on shelves. Overstocking shelves, and allowing items to hang over the edge can spell disaster for someone walking or playing underneath. Continue reading

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Swimming Pool Accidents

Summer camps often involve swimming. Although swimming pools can provide great fun, and respite from the hot sun, they can also pose dangers. Minor injuries from pool chemical reactions and slips on wet surfaces are common, but campers can also suffer more serious injuries, such as electrocution from improperly wired pool lights, and drowning. Contact a Boston Personal Injury Lawyer Today.

If your child is injured in a pool-related accident while at summer camp, what do you do?

To successfully sue for damages, you must prove a breach of duty, and that damages occurred due to that breach. What is a breach of duty? Camp owners have a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect campers from harm. If the camp owner failed to take reasonable care, he or she may be found liable for negligence. For example, if a camp owner neglects to put a fence around the perimeter of the pool and an unsupervised camper sneaks in and drowns, the owner will likely be held responsible.

Who is Responsible for Summer Camp Injuries?

In most cases, the camp itself is responsible for keeping your children out of harm’s way. In order to uphold this duty, camps are required to take proper precautions and exercise good judgment, both before the camp begins and while it is underway.

In addition to inspecting grounds and facilities to ensure that they are free of hazards, camps typically have to perform background checks on staff. If a camp fails to perform this type of background check and a staff member harms a child, the camp will likely be found negligent.

There are certain injuries for which a camp is not responsible, however. For example, inherently-risky activities, such as football camp, may require that you sign a waiver for injuries that may occur during play. Basically, you assume reasonable risk. However, injuries that fall outside the parameters of reasonable risk, such as heat stroke due to the lack of water breaks on a 100 degree day, is another story altogether.

The bottom line is, kids get injured at camp. It’s the nature and severity of those injuries that determines whether or not a lawsuit is in order.

Are Liability Waivers Enforceable by Law?

The short answer is yes. Camp waivers are generally two-part forms; the ‘assumption of risk’ part and the ‘release of liability’ part. The assumption of risk section basically says you will not sue the camp for a risk that you acknowledged at the time of signing. For example, if your child is in hiking camp and he falls while hiking and breaks his leg, you can’t sue. If, however, the instructor accidentally shoots your child in the eye with an unauthorized bb gun, you have some options. You didn’t assume the risk of shooting injuries during hiking camp, therefore, the ‘assumption of risk’ is not applicable.

The release of liability, on the other hand, basically absolves the camp from all injuries suffered while on the grounds. While a waiver for negligence is usually enforceable, it should include an exception for malicious and intentional acts. Without this, the waiver is most likely unenforceable. Continue reading

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In and around Boston, open windows in the spring and summertime are part of our culture, but there can be a real safety issue when opening windows with young children in the house. Many parents are aware of the hazard, but many also believe that this sort of misfortune will never happen to them.  In reality, accidental falls are the number one cause of non-fatal injury for children.  Data from the September 2011 issue of Pediatrics showed that 98,145 children had to be taken to the emergency room after sustaining injuries from accidental falls from windows over a 19 year period from 1990 to 2008.  Reports show that every year accidental falls out windows are responsible for about eight deaths of children under the age of 5 and about 3,300 trips to the hospital from injuries sustained during a fall.  It is also important to note that studies have shown that these falls occur more frequently during the warmer months because windows are more likely to be open to allow fresh air into a stuffy house.  The rate of injury is the highest for children younger than five years old, and the injuries sustained by these youngsters are usually more serious.  With all of these factors in mind, it is important to implement preventative measures to protect your children.  There are simple and easy ways to help prevent children from having access to windows and accidentally falling out of them.

  1. Keep furniture away from windows—not only is furniture seen as a play structure for young children to climb on, but furniture also allows children to be on the same level as the window, making accidentally tumbling out easier.
  2. Know that window screens are used to keep insects out, not to keep your children in—if a child falls against a screen, the screen will most likely not support the weight of the child, thereby allowing the child to fall out the window.
  3. Install window guards—these are easy to install and specifically designed to prevent children from accidentally falling out of windows.
  4. Plan ahead and create a soft landing surface—plant soft shrubs or a plant bed under windows in the case of a fall to help prevent serious injury.
  5. Manage clutter—be aware of potential tripping hazards near or around windows.

These simple safety tips can help prevent accidental falling and consequential injuring of a child.  Over the weekend, a Brockton child was sent to Children’s Hospital after falling out of a second-floor window in her home.  Fortunately, the child did not suffer any life-threatening injuries.  However, some children are not this lucky when they accidentally fall out of windows.  Therefore, parents need to focus on prevention of such falls.  They are easy to prevent and could save the life of your child. Continue reading

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Several automakers are recalling millions of vehicles in the U.S. with a specific type of frontal airbag inflators manufactured by Takata Corporation, an automotive parts company based in Japan.  Included in the list of manufacturers are General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford, Daimler Vans, BMW, Jaguar-Land Rover, and Mercedes-Benz whose recalls were posted on Thursday by the government.  Additionally, there are eight other companies that also have vehicle recalls.  General Motors had the largest number of recalls with 1.9 million consisting of mostly of pickup trucks and large SUVs.  These recent recalls add to the initial massive recall of Takata products announced in April 2013.

Currently, there are seventeen automakers recalling 35 to 40 million airbag inflators in the largest auto recall in U.S. history.  Initially, Takata blamed the malfunction on workers mishandling and improperly storing propellant chemicals, which caused the inflators to explode due to extreme pressure.  However, it was later found that the typical malfunction that occurs with the Takata inflators is related to high temperatures and humidity.  Repeated cycles of high temperatures and low temperatures can deteriorate the can containing ammonium nitrate, which is responsible for inflating the airbags.  This corrosion then can blow apart the metal can and eject hot metal shrapnel into the vehicles.  Although this seems to be the main issue with the inflators, Takata also attributes some malfunctions to rust, bad welds, and stray chewing gum dropped into at least one inflator.  These malfunctions have caused at least 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries in total.  The series of recalls were initially agreed upon in early May by Takata; however, they are being announced in several phases due to a deficiency of replacement parts.  The recalls include models made from the early 2000s up to the newest models.  Across all models, automakers had recalled 28.8 million Takata inflators before its most current recall expansion.  This means that as many as 69 million vehicles could be recalled in the United States alone.  There are also reports that Takata knew about problems with its air bag inflator since 2004.  Continue reading

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When the temperatures rise, so does the risk of accidents and injuries. Summer activities can be fun and healthy, but it is crucial to be aware of the safety hazards that accompany them. This is especially true when it comes to children. Playgrounds, swimming pools, and lawn mowers can all be dangerous, but with proper supervision and safe practices, you can greatly reduce the risk of serious injury and death. Contact a Boston Personal Injury Lawyer Today.

Playgrounds

Before letting your child play on a playground, make sure it is safe! Outdated, faulty, and defective playground equipment is responsible for serious injuries and deaths every year. By following the tips below, you will dramatically reduce the risk to your child.

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The Safer People, Safer Streets Initiative was launched by the U.S. Transportation Department to help communities develop safer walking and bicycling networks. The department is conducting research and providing new resources to pedestrians and bicyclists so that everyone can have a safer, more enjoyable experience. For example, field offices for the department are working with various transportation agencies to assess the safety of roadways across the country. As bicycling continues to rise in popularity, accidents rise right along with it. Bicycling and walking are healthy, environmentally-friendly activities, and we should encourage their growth. Let’s work together to make the roadways safer for everyone, non-motorized travelers included. Contact a Boston Bicycle Accident Lawyer Today.

Fewer People are Getting Behind the Wheel

Millennials use motorized vehicles significantly less than their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts. Young people drive fewer miles, use public transportation frequently, and often postpone getting their driver’s licenses. That means more people on the roads, biking and walking. In fact, annual ‘miles driven’ statistics are lower than they’ve been in decades. With ride-sharing, bike-sharing, and apps such as Uber, people are much less reliant on cars and trucks to get them from here to there. This trend is likely to continue.

The good news is, walking and bicycling are excellent forms of exercise. They also save money, and are much better for the environment than driving. The bad news? Since 2009, pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and deaths have steadily risen. Due to high populations and heavy traffic in cities, urban areas see the most accidents. In 2012, 73% of pedestrian fatalities and 69% of bicyclist fatalities occurred in urban areas. Sadly, the majority of pedestrian fatalities occur in lower-income sections of urban areas. This is often due to poorly maintained roadways, uneven walkways, and other ‘environmental’ issues that typically plague low income areas. Continue reading

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