accident injury

  • Massachusetts and New Hampshire Insurance Laws for Motor Vehicle Collisions, Dog Bites, or other Personal Injuries

    ByRory Parnell Hours

    New Hampshire and Massachusetts share similar histories, but over time their laws have become different. In the context of motor vehicle collisions, slip and fall injuries, dog bites, and other personal injuries, this becomes important in how your claims are handled. One law in particular is the Massachusetts’ consumer protection act (M.G.L 93A) and its sister law M.G.L 176D which regulates the practice of insurance in the state. The key difference is that the Massachusetts’ consumer protection statute applies to insurance companies conducting business in the Commonwealth, while New Hampshire’s supreme court decided that New Hampshire’s consumer protection statute (RSA 358-A) does not apply to insurance companies. In Massachusetts, M.G.L 93A provides that if an insurance company violates M.G.L 176D, then the injured party (the…

  • Dog Bites Injuries

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    Dogs are man’s best friend. Most of us have had them as a part of our families over the years. However, dogs (especially poorly trained dogs) can be highly dangerous animals. When they attack, they can cause lasting and permanent physical and emotional scarring. Some breeds (like pit bulls, German Shepherds or Dobermans) can cause even more significant damage because of their physiological makeup. These breeds are often blacklisted by insurance companies because of this. Often, insurance companies will charge higher premiums to dog owners who own dogs like a pit bull or Doberman. This is not necessarily because they are more aggressive than other dogs, but because the damage they cause is so much more significant.In New Hampshire, dog bite cases are strict liability….

  • Self-Drivings Cars and The Intersection of Human Negligence and Products Liability

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    Self-Driving cars are now becoming more and more popular. Other states, like California, are now allowing them to be operated on their roads in controlled settings. For many of us, this will remind us of movies involving cars that drive themselves while the human in the car is able to relax on their drive. It’s almost like a taxi, but it’s the person’s car and a computer program is driving. Technology is always a fascinating thing, but in this context, what happens when self-driving cars cause an accident?As many people are aware, if you cause an accident and are liable, an insurance claim and possible litigation may be brought against you. This would require the person that was hit and injured to prove that the…

  • Medical Payments Coverage Under The TRAVCO Case

    By Hours

    For those of us that handle injury cases, the TRAVCO decision was a long time coming. Basically, New Hampshire has a no-fault coverage on any automobile insurance policy issued in the state. This no-fault coverage is called “Medical Payments” coverage and is regulated by RSA 264:16. As Plaintiff’s attorneys, we long took the position that using the medical payments coverage to pay the health insurance lien was not a “double recovery” within the statute and should be allowed. Insurers refused to honor this and steadfastly refused to pay any health insurance lien. The Medical Payment Statute forbids a person from recovering from both health insurance and auto insurance for a medical bill related to the accident. However, if the person injured pursue a third-party claim…

  • The Other Guy Did Not Get A Ticket. How Can I Recover for My Injury?

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    It is a common and understandable misconception that someone injured in a car accident cannot successfully bring a claim unless the person they are considering going after was issued a traffic ticket as a result of the accident. While a ticket can help with the liability argument, it really is not necessary to proving a case. To understand why it is necessary to understand the difference between what is necessary to prove a crime and what is necessary to prove a civil wrong. The key here is what we call the “Burden of Persuasion”.Simply put, the burden of persuasion is the level of certainty the proponent must establish to the trier of fact that the proponent’s assertions are correct. In criminal cases, the burden of…

  • Jessica’s Law: Why it’s Important to Clear your Roof of Snow and Ice

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    Jessica’s Law has been the law of New Hampshire for about fifteen (15) years now. It is a law that requires the clearing of ice and snow off the top of a vehicle prior to driving it. The basis of the law was a tragic accident that claimed the life of Jessica Smith in 1999. A piece of ice about nine (9) feet long flew off of a tractor-trailer, smashing into a box truck that veered into Jessica’s vehicle killing her. The accident in Peterborough is not long forgotten by her parents, as Jessica would be thirty-nine (39) years old coming up. However, we find that driving around that many people still do not clear their entire cars. We understand what it is like to…

  • Non-Traditional Injury Cases: Trip and Falls and Product Liability

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    Most injury cases that are handled by personal injury attorneys are auto accident cases. 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. While we have addressed slip and falls and our strategy in approaching them, the trip and fall case is often confused with a slip and fall. A trip and fall generally come as a result of some unknown invisible defect that causes a person to trip and fall, or…

  • Personal Injury: Maximizing Settlement Value

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    her scenario, your doctors will tell you when you are no longer expected to improve. This is called reaching “maximum medical improvement”. At this point, it is time to try to evaluate the claim you have and find out what settlement you should take. The bulk of your claim is made up of the costs of your medical treatment. Typically, if you get back to 100%, this will only include your past medical treatment. If you find yourself permanently injured, then future medical expenses are included in the compensation, as is a potential permanent impairment. Other expenses that an injured party is entitled to compensation for our past and future lost income, the mileage you incurred medical appointments, and pain and suffering. All of these…

  • New Medical Payment Legislation In NH: Why Senate Bill 303 Should Be Passed

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    A proposal in front of the New Hampshire legislature this month was Senate Bill 303. Senate Bill 303 clarifies language in the medical payment statute relative to payment of health insurance liens in personal injury cases. In every private health insurance policy is a provision involving a right of reimbursement, or “subrogation clause”. This clause states that if a person receives a judgment or settlement from someone relative to injuries they sustained, then the health insurer has a right to be reimbursed for any bills they paid related to those injuries. This is a complicated provision, so it is important to ensure you seek the advice of an attorney before trying to deal with this on your own. The issue that was created by the initial…

  • What is Negligence and Who Is A Reasonable Person?

    ByParnell, Michels & McKay Law Offices Hours

    A large number of personal injury claims are based, at least in part, on a theory of negligence. Negligent conduct is conduct that falls below the standards of behavior established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. A person has acted negligently if he or she has departed from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances. To use an old logical saw, that ultimately begs the question of who a reasonably prudent person is. To some, the definition of that person comes as a surprise. The reasonably prudent person can sometimes be generalized as “Debbie Do-Gooder”. The reasonably prudent person stops completely at lights and stop signs. They signal a full 100 feet before making…