Personal Injury Law

General Litigation | Personal Injury Law
What is Negligence Per Se? How using statutes can help you win your case.
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices April 12, 2023August 15, 2025
Often in injury litigation we raise violations of statutes as one of our theories of liability. This can take the form of violating a statute on the rules of the road, or when a property owner violates the local building code and someone gets hurt. Many of us understand that these laws passed by our legislature are designed in most situations to protect us, but what is often misunderstood is how these can help win your case. This theory of liability is called “negligence per se”. A person is negligent per se if they violate a statute designed to protect against the type of accident or harm caused by their conduct, and the plaintiff is someone the statute is designed to protect. A good example…
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General Litigation | Personal Injury Law
Gwyneth Paltrow Lawsuit: What Lessons Can We Learn From The Frivolous Suit iled against her?
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices April 5, 2023August 15, 2025
You may be keeping up with the Gwyneth Paltrow skiing lawsuit for an incident that occurred in Park City, Utah in 2016. While this case is getting significant publicity, it has also brought to the forefront important issues with bringing a personal injury claim after a skiing incident. Because skiing is such a popular wintertime sport in New Hampshire, it is important to stay informed about the law and potential pitfalls in bringing skiing injury claims. Let’s begin the discussion with the Paltrow lawsuit itself. Briefly, Terry Sanderson, a former optometrist, brought this lawsuit claiming that Paltrow was negligently skiing, crashing into him and causing four broken ribs and brain damage, in 2016. Paltrow denied this and countersued, arguing instead that Sanderson crashed into her,…
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Personal Injury Law
Enhanced Damages vs Punitive Damages
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices January 23, 2023August 15, 2025
In New Hampshire, punitive damages are not allowed under the law when filing an injury lawsuit. Only compensatory damages are allowed in NH. Punitive damages are “penalties” and are designed to punish the person or company responsible. The most obvious example of this is with tobacco. Cigarette manufacturers faced large punitive damage verdicts when the juries were advised about what they knew about cigarettes causing cancer, and whether they hid any of those facts. Unlike other states, NH does not allow this type of damage. New Hampshire does, however, have “enhanced compensatory damages”. Enhanced compensatory damages result in a jury being instructed to double the damages if the facts warrant a finding for enhanced damages. However, these damages are “compensatory” and not designed to punish….
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Personal Injury Law
Spoliation: Top Five reasons you have to preserve evidence
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices December 13, 2022August 15, 2025
You have been injured, and you are not sure what happened. Maybe you slipped on something in a grocery store, or maybe there was a mechanical failure in an ATV or snowmobile, and now you are in the hospital unsure of what to do. If you find yourself in this situation, here are the top five reasons to preserve evidence: Because you need to know what happened! Beyond your legal case, it is important to try to preserve evidence when injured so you can find out what happened to you. Even if you are not able to bring a lawsuit for your injuries, knowing how and why you were hurt can provide peace of mind. Because you have a duty to preserve it! Once you…
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Personal Injury Law
Why Should My Auto Insurance Pay Anything? The Accident Wasn’t My Fault!
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices September 9, 2022August 15, 2025
The situation involves you being rear ended from behind while waiting for a red light. You are upset, injured and end up going to the emergency room. You need treatment, and your outlook will take months if not longer to recover. The accident is not your fault, and you want your bills and damages paid for. Then, one of our experienced attorneys here at Parnell, Michels & McKay tells you your insurance will help pay some of your damages. At first blush, this response can be confusing, but it is also very correct. Your insurance is there for a reason, and will protect you when the driver that hurt you does not have insurance, or has low insurance limits. The two most common types of…
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Personal Injury Law | Workers Compensation Law
Freedom of Information Act: What is it and why is it important?
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices August 31, 2022August 15, 2025
While you or your attorneys are gathering information about your claim, there may be many terms you are unfamiliar with. You may have heard of the Freedom of Information Act in the news, but be wondering how it relates to your case. What is the Freedom of Information Act, when is it used, and why is it relevant to your personal injury case? The Freedom of Information Act is a law representing a compromise between the State’s interest in keeping its activities confidential and the public’s right to know what the State is up to. In New Hampshire, this is known as the Right to Know law under RSA 91-A. All government records are subject to the Right to Know Law, with certain exceptions such…
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Personal Injury Law
MA PFAS Contamination Lawsuit
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices August 17, 2022August 15, 2025
You may have heard of a chemical group referred to as PFAS or “forever chemicals” before. This stubborn chemical family has a history of winding up in water, air, fish, and soil across the nation and globe. Once this chemical is released into the atmosphere and distributed throughout our environment, it does not leave. The indestructible nature of PFAS has coined the chemical a harmful reputation to the human body, with studies proving that ingestion or contact with it causes a vast array of medical disorders (including various cancers). The natural distribution of PFAS is often due to waste-water dumping conducted by corporations that utilize the chemical, as it is often a component of the flame retardant fire fighters use in abundance. As a result,…
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Personal Injury Law
Beware of Flying Objects – The Baseball Doctrine
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices July 15, 2022August 15, 2025
Here in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, we are blessed to be surrounded by several baseball and hockey teams at the professional, collegiate, recreational, and youth levels. Notably though, many people do not realize the risks they are assuming when attending these sporting events. For example, you may not have known that if you attend a baseball or hockey game, and are hit by a flying puck or baseball and get injured, that you cannot recover money for any injuries you suffer. This concept is known as implied assumption of the risk, or in more memorable terms, the baseball doctrine. While a facility owner usually owes a duty to protect people that enter their facility, courts have held under the baseball doctrine that baseball stadium and…
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Personal Injury Law
Product Liability: How To Know If You Have a Claim If You Were Injured By a Product You Purchased
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices June 28, 2022August 15, 2025
Most injury cases handled by personal injury attorneys are auto accident cases and slip or trip and falls. Auto accidents are by far the most common, as driving a car comes with significant inherent risks. The same can be said for riding a motorcycle or a bicycle, and the injuries from these accidents can be devastating. However, there are many other types of cases like slip and falls, trip and falls, dog bites, and other incidents that lead to injuries. One of these types of cases are product liability cases. This is a situation where something you bought doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to, and a person is injured as a result. Product liability generally includes three types of cases. A defect in the…
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Personal Injury Law | Workers Compensation Law
The Exclusivity Rule in Worker’s Compensation
ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices May 18, 2022August 15, 2025
After you’ve been injured at work, you likely have many questions. You may have heard of the Exclusivity Rule in worker’s compensation but have questions about the rule. You may have questions about the way your worker’s compensation claim is moving forward. What is the Exclusivity Rule, and how does it affect your worker’s compensation claim? By law, accidental injuries which occur at work must exclusively be brought under the worker’s compensation statute. This requirement to bring these claims as worker’s compensation cases is called the Exclusivity Rule. The Exclusivity Rule means that claims based on a work-related injury that could be brought against an employer or coworker are barred, except in very limited circumstances, and thus the “exclusive” remedy is in workers’ compensation. This…
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