Boston Injury Attorney Blog

Massachusetts's law requires seat belts to be worn by all occupants when riding in a private passenger motor vehicle, including vans and trucks.

In Massachusetts, all drivers and passengers who are 12 years old and older must wear seat belts. Exceptions include: (1) Drivers and passengers who have proof from a physician that a disability or medical condition makes wearing a seat belt dangerous or impossible; (2) Drivers and passengers of vehicles made before July 1966; (3) Taxi, livery, tractor, bus, and truck drivers (the truck must have a gross weight of at least 18,000 pounds); (4) Emergency vehicle passengers and police and fire vehicle drivers; and (5) Postal workers on duty.

As to child safety seats, children 12 years old and younger must ride in federally approved child safety seats until they are five years old and weigh at least 40 pounds. Children older than five but younger than 12, who weigh more than 40 pounds, must ride in booster seats or use safety belts. It's crucial to note that age does not determine when a child no longer requires a safety seat; rather it is the weight of the child that determines the need for a safety seat.

Despite laws requiring the use of seat belts, car accidents occur everyday and personal injuries occur.

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Recently in Massachusetts, two dogs injured a little girl in an attack. According to the Worcester Telegram Gazette, Corrie Hammond, 6, was riding her scooter on Gates Court, a quiet dead-end street that her parents' thought was safe until a pair of pit bulls attacked her back on September 7, 2009. Apparently, one of the dogs jumped up and bit her on her face. She has a puncture wound on her forehead that will leave a scar.

M.G.L. ch. 140 - 155 makes a dog owner or keeper liable for bodily or property damage caused by the dog unless the injured person was committing a trespass or tort, or was teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog. Massachusetts Health Laws require that all animal bites; be reported to the Board of Health and the Dog Control Officer. Bites must be reported as soon as possible after the bite occurs so that the animal can be located and examined to determine its health. In many towns, once a dog bites, a hearing will be held to determine if the dogs should be euthanized. In Corrie's case, the dogs were ordered to be euthanized. These pit bulls were not neutered, not vaccinated, and not at all socialized.

An animal attack is a frightening and traumatic event and is often unprovoked. If you or someone you know is a victim of a dog bite attack, get the name, address and phone number of the dog owner. Be able to describe the circumstances of the animal bite including the time of day and place of occurrence. It is helpful to know what kind of dog was involved. We can help find out if the dog immunized for rabies.

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Collisions occur in Massachusetts between bicyclists and motor vehicles nearly every day. In Massachusetts, all bicyclists must obey all traffic laws of the Commonwealth including red lights, stop signs and riding with traffic. All bicyclists should stay to the right of the roadway, except for left hand turns, or where bike lanes direct otherwise and bicyclists must ride in a single lane.

Many towns, such as Cambridge, discourage the riding of bicycles on sidewalks. If a bicyclist is involved in an accident resulting in bodily injury or property damage in excess of $100.00, a bicyclist must notify the police in writing on a Cambridge Police Bicycle accident report. Cambridge also requires bicycle registration. Everyone 16 years old and younger is required by law to wear a bicycle helmet while riding a bicycle on a public way. It is also a good idea for everyone to wear a helmet at all times while bicycling. Parents of children under the age of 16 years of age shall be held liable and fined according to M.G.L. c. 85, s11B for all violations of these laws.

The Boston Globe recently reported on an award of nearly $100,000 to police departments thought the state to provide overtime funds to address pedestrian and bicycle safety through enforcement and education. With the money, police departments are putting officers at busy intersections, issuing more citations and handing out bicycle helmets for young riders and hosting public events to reinforce their message for bicycle safety.

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Elderly drivers causing car accidents in Massachusetts is a news story on a regular basis. The Boston Globe reported on October 14, 2009, that a 93-year old was to be arraigned for stepping on the gas instead of the brakes, ending up inside a Danvers Walmart on June 2. The crash left a Gloucester mother and her 1-year-old daughter injured.

The crash was just one of several incidents involving elderly drivers in Massachusetts.

Legislation has been filed on Beacon Hill that would require drivers 85 years or older to pass road and vision tests to get their licenses renewed. However, is an "age-based" legislation the best solution, or medical decisions the criteria to use. In some states, doctors are legally mandated to report impaired drivers, who may be of any age. In Massachusetts, the Registry of Motor Vehicles gets reports of impaired drivers from family members and police and has reviewed the medical records of 8,000 drivers of which 3,000 have voluntarily given up their licenses.

Governor Deval Patrick wants to make testing of drivers 85 and older mandatory every five years. New Hampshire already requires road testing for drivers 75 and over. Legislation has also been filed to require doctors to alert the Registry of Motor Vehicles to cognitive and physical impairments that affect their patients' ability to drive, regardless of their age.

Whatever changes in the law are made, they need to be fair to all drivers.

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Texting while driving causes personal injuries. Common sense dictates that it is impossible to keep an eye on the road and text. Use of cell phones diminishes the ability to drive safely. Driving while texting is essentially driving blind.

Massachusetts is one of 21 states currently considering legislation that would ban texting while driving. Twelve others have already passed bans including Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Tennessee, Utah, Virgina and Washington. Washington, D.C. has also outlawed the behavior.

In Massachusetts this past May, the Senate dropped its longstanding opposition to a ban on texting while driving laying the groundwork for a prohibition in Massachusetts after several tragedies caused by distracted drivers. The Senate vote came less than two weeks after Aiden Quinn, a 24-year-old MBTA operator, told authorities he was sending his girlfriend a text message when he missed a red light and slammed into a stopped trolley near Government Center Station. The crash destroyed three trolleys and injured nearly 50 people.

A bill currently pending in the federal government would give federal funds to states that forbid driving while texting or talking without a hands-free device. It could pass this year. Amid calls from the Obama administration and traffic safety advocates to ban texting and talking on hand-held cell phones while driving, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) has thrown his support behind the effort -- a sign that the Senate could pass such legislation this year.

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