Tag: motor vehicle accidents
Is There Tax on Personal Injury Settlements & Awards?
Generally speaking in a typical car accident settlement or slip and fall case the answer is no. The IRS excludes from taxable income damages received on account of personal physical injuries, whether by suit or settlement. Also excluded from taxable income are amounts received under workers compensation laws for injuries […]
Massachusetts PIP – Personal Injury Protection
Massachusetts PIP is how medical bills related to a car accident get paid. PIP stands for Personal Injury Protection. PIP is mandatory in all Massachusetts Auto Insurance Policies. Massachusetts PIP Basics PIP pays up to $8,000 in medical bills and lost wages caused by a motor vehicle accident. As with most […]
Necessity: Defense in Criminal and Civil Cases
Necessity as a legal defense in either criminal or civil cases presents challenges. Why? Let’s look at one actual case. Ken and his girlfriend Heather drank a few adult beverages. Heather fell and started bleeding profusely. This happened in a remote area, without cell or other phones. Ken put Heather […]
Negligence, Gross Negligence & Willful, Wanton Conduct
Failing to use reasonable care causes negligence. But, negligent conduct comes in degrees. Different levels of harmful conduct can make a difference. Ordinary Negligence The “reasonable person” standard requires people to conduct themselves as a reasonably careful person would under like circumstances. Ordinary negligence occurs when someone does something that a […]
Texting and Driving: Deadly Combination with Legal Consequences
Like never before people communicate by text. Widespread wireless service expansion and increasingly affordable smart phones bring texting into the hands of nearly everyone. But when texting moves into the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle the distraction is disastrous. Pedestrians face their own dangers. The U.S Consumer Product Safety […]
Comparative Fault: Contributory Negligence & Apportioning Liability
Comparative fault law allows apportionment of negligence among multiple parties who may share liability for one injury. Suppose a pedestrian runs across the street. A car runs a red light, striking a second car which, while going through a green light, is speeding. The impact pushes the speeder into the pedestrian, who is pushed into a […]
Seat Belt Use Admissibility in Injury Claims
Seat belt use reduces injuries and saves lives in motor vehicle accidents. Statistics prove it. But should the use or failure to buckle up be admissible in a personal injury claim where one is injured by the negligence of another driver? This poses an entirely different question. Seat Belt Use […]
OPTIMIZING PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM VALUE. Stepping it Up
Life is a learning experience. But sometimes, making mistakes along the way hoping to learn isn’t the best approach. Instead, if you’re serious about something, you hire a professional. Would you get on a jetliner knowing the person in the cockpit had no training and wanted to learn to fly […]
SOCIAL HOST LIABILITY – PERSONAL INJURY
Social host liability law holds people accountable where they serve house guests liquor to the point of intoxication. Hosts can be held liable to those injured by an intoxicated guest or, under limited circumstances, for injuries to the intoxicated guest. Social Host Liability to Guest Courts impose a heavy […]
Auto Insurance. Understanding Some Basics.
Auto insurance presents a necessary evil. Driving without it is folly. Driving a rolling two-ton metal box, disaster happens in a split second. Cars pose a rolling risk. Excuses for shirking off insurance include “I always drive responsibly … if I get in an accident the other guy’s insurance will […]
