Responsive, Thorough, and Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers Serving the Boston Area

Personal Injury

Most injuries arise out of accidents that are caused by reckless or careless acts. If you were injured in an accident, you might be able to recover damages from the party whose behavior led to the accident. Generally, Massachusetts personal injury lawsuits allege that the defendant was negligent. To prove negligence, you must establish that the defendant owed you a duty to act with reasonable care and that the defendant breached the duty. You must also show that the breach caused the accident in which you were injured and that your injuries caused you to suffer damages.

Car Accidents

Car accidents are common throughout the Boston region, and they often cause significant injuries. While most car accidents are caused by negligent driving, they also can be caused by dangerous road conditions, defective vehicles, or a combination of factors. Recently, following a summer-long consolidated trial involving a school bus/car collision, HBMH Law’s clients obtained a significant portion of the $36.5 Million verdict, the largest Personal Injury Verdict in Massachusetts from 2019-2021. If you sustained injuries in a car accident, the personal injury attorneys at our Boston-Framingham area firm, based in Framingham may be able to recover the cost of any medical bills that you incurred in treating your injuries, as well as the cost of repairing any damage to your vehicle. If you could not work due to your injuries, you may be owed lost wages or earning capacity as well. In addition to compensation for your economic losses, you may be awarded damages for the pain and suffering that you experienced because of the accident.

Truck Accidents

Commercial trucks and buses pose a significant risk of harm to other people on the road, due to their immense size and weight. There are regulations that are imposed on truck drivers and trucking companies to help mitigate the risks associated with them. For example, there are maximum weight limits on trucks, drive time limits, and requirements for drivers and trucking companies to conduct regular inspections. When the regulations are not followed, this can lead to a catastrophic accident. In many cases, a victim injured in a trucking accident can pursue claims against the truck driver involved in the accident and the driver’s employer as well.

Construction Site Accidents

Construction sites may involve unguarded heights, large machinery, and industrial building supplies, as well as other elements that pose a risk of harm to workers. Thus, it is critical for the entities that manage construction sites to comply with any applicable safety rules or regulations to make sure that the sites are safe. When a company fails to comply with safety standards, it can lead to falls, electrocutions, crushing injuries, and other significant harm. If you were injured while working on a construction site, our Boston-Framingham personal injury attorneys can advise you on whether you can bring a third-party personal injury claim in addition to a workers’ compensation claim.

Medical Malpractice

People rely on medical professionals to treat and prevent diseases, and they have a right to expect the care that they receive to be competent. Unfortunately, however, many treatment providers do not provide care that comports with their experience or training, and their patients may suffer harm as a result. If you were injured by incompetent medical care, you may be able to pursue damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Generally, you must show that your treatment provider deviated from the applicable standard of care, and the deviation caused your harm. In most cases, expert medical testimony is needed to establish the standard of care and the manner in which it was breached.

Police Misconduct

Every person has the constitutional right not to be subjected to unreasonable or excessive force by law enforcement officers. When police officers exceed their authority to use force, our lawyers can help.

Product Liability

All products that are sold to consumers must be safe for their intended purpose, but people are regularly harmed by unsafe products, such as pharmaceuticals or medical devices. A personal injury lawyer in our Boston-Framingham area office may be able to help a victim injured by a defective product seek damages from any entity that had a role in designing, manufacturing, distributing, or marketing the product. Often, a plaintiff bringing a product liability claim will assert that the product had a design defect or a manufacturing defect that caused it to be unreasonably unsafe. Other types of product liability theories include failure to warn and breach of warranty.

Premises Liability

Any party that possesses or owns a property has a duty to maintain the property in a safe condition to prevent people who enter the property from being harmed. Therefore, if a person suffers an injury due to a dangerous condition on someone else’s property, the property owner may owe compensation to the victim. In most cases, for the property owner to be held liable in a premises liability claim, the injured person must show that the property owner knew or reasonably should have known of the dangerous condition. Evidence showing how long the condition existed prior to the accident can be used to establish that the owner should have discovered and remedied the condition.

Dog Bites

While many people consider dogs to be members of their family, dogs are nonetheless animals and can bite a person, causing significant injuries. Our Boston-Framingham personal injury lawyers can help hold a dog owner liable if his or her dog bites someone. When a dog bites a person, the owner of the dog may be held strictly liable for any damages caused by the bite. This means that it makes no difference whether the dog ever previously attacked a person, or whether the owner of the dog acted negligently. In most cases, a claim to pursue damages arising out of a dog bite must be filed within three years of the date of the incident.

College and University Negligence

Most colleges strive to provide their students with a safe environment, but some institutions fail to prevent or address known risks of harm, causing students to be injured. For example, school officials may ignore underage drinking that is prevalent throughout the campus, which can lead to alcohol poisoning or other alcohol-induced injuries. Similarly, a school may lack adequate lighting or security in dorms or other public areas, making students vulnerable to attacks. In addition, colleges and universities may have a duty to address student mental health issues that can lead to depression and student suicide – which takes the lives of about 1,100 students a year. Building on more than 20 years of experience in this area of practice, HBMH Law was counsel in Nguyen v. MIT, the leading case on this issue which established that colleges and universities can owe a duty of care in such circumstances. Depending on the circumstances surrounding a student’s injuries, the university or college may owe the student compensation.

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

There are numerous federal and state regulations that set forth the standards to which nursing homes must adhere, but many nursing homes do not comply with these standards. Common signs that a nursing home resident’s right to competent care is being violated include bruising, dehydration, malnutrition, sudden weight loss, falls, bedsores, and confusion. In many cases in which a nursing home resident suffers harm, it results from neglect by insufficient or improperly trained staff, but deliberate acts of abuse also can occur. If you or a loved one suffered harm in a nursing home, you should speak to a personal injury attorney in our Boston-Framingham area office regarding your right to compensation.

Wrongful Death

Under Massachusetts law, any entity or person that wrongfully causes someone else’s death due to negligence, a breach of warranty, or a reckless or wanton act may be liable to the deceased person’s surviving family members for damages. The damages recoverable in a wrongful death claim include burial and funeral expenses, the loss of the income that the person who died would have earned during his or her life, and the loss of the companionship, care, and guidance provided by the deceased person. In some cases, punitive damages may be awarded as well. We can help with these significant cases.

Workers’ Compensation

If you were injured at work, you may be owed workers’ compensation benefits from your employer. In most cases, an injured employee must show that he or she had an employment relationship with the employer and that his or her injury arose in the course and scope of employment. An employer presented with a workers’ compensation claim may attempt to avoid paying benefits by disputing the extent of the injury or questioning whether the injury was work-related. The personal injury lawyers at our Boston-Framingham firm can handle work injury claims in addition to ordinary personal injury claims.

Commercial Litigation

When business relationships deteriorate, it can lead to complex litigation. Many commercial lawsuits involve breach of contract claims. In other words, the plaintiff will allege that the defendant failed to comply with the terms of a contract, thereby causing harm to the plaintiff. To succeed in a breach of contract claim, the plaintiff must show the existence of a valid contract, a material breach of the terms of the contract, and damages caused by the breach. Commercial litigation also can involve fraud, business torts, and other causes of action.

Contact an Experienced Attorney in the Boston Area

The experienced attorneys at Heinlein, Beeler, Mingace & Heineman, P.C. are proficient in handling a variety of legal matters. We will work diligently to help you pursue the best outcome available under the facts of your case. You can contact us online, at our Framingham office at (508) 626-8500, or at our Boston office at (617) 725-0500 to set up a free consultation to discuss your situation.