Are You Prepared for St. Patrick’s Day? To be on the Road That Is

St. Patrick’s Day is a widely celebrated Irish holiday and people pull out all the stops to do it right with lots of green décor, Irish food, and, of course, Guinness and other alcoholic drinks. Many of you will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this coming Sunday, March 17, 2013, at a friend’s home, at a local pub, or by even hosting a party at your home. But the holiday is not all fun and games.

What You Might Not Know about St. Patrick’s Day

While enjoying the festivities of St. Patrick’s Day, you may not realize how dangerous the holiday could be. All it takes is for one person to drink too much, get on the road to head home, and cause a drunk driving accident. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 700 people were killed across the U.S. during the St. Patrick’s Day holiday from 2006 to 2010.

Helping You Stay Safe

Impaired driving endangers not only yourself but everyone on the road. As experienced car accident attorneys, the Kiley Law Group legal team has seen firsthand the consequences of drinking and driving. In order to stay safe this St. Patrick’s Day weekend, our firm encourages you to follow these tips:

• As a guest or pub patron, plan a safe way home before arriving for festivities. Either designate a sober driver or take a cab.
• As a host, don’t let guests who have been drinking drive. Take their keys and arrange for a safe ride home or make sure they sober up before leaving.
• Use a sober ride program. Boston has the “Be My DD” program available 24/7. A driver will take you home in your own vehicle. For more information, call (877) 823-6933 or visit http://www.bemydd.com/designated-driver.html.
• Avoid driving in the late night/early morning hours before, during, and/or after St. Patrick’s Day.
• If you see a potentially drunk driver on the road, stay away and call it in to your local police department.

As the saying goes, don’t drink and drive, and help your friends and family stay safe by not letting them drink and drive. Also, be cautious of others when on the road this holiday weekend. If you can do those things, you’ll not just have a fun St. Patrick’s Day but a safe one too!

Defective Airbags Prompt Toyota Recall of Almost 900,000 Vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced the recall of 887,709 potentially affected Toyota Corolla and Pontiac Vibe vehicles due to an airbag defect.

The vehicles’ supplemental restraint system (SRS) circuits may short, creating an abnormal flow of electrical current, which subsequently increases the level of heat and potentially damages the circuits. As a result, the front airbags and/or seat belt pretensioners may malfunction and inadvertently deploy the airbags, increasing the risk of a car accident and/or injury.

Toyota is recalling model year 2003 – 2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix cars, and General Motors is recalling model year 2003 – 2004 Pontiac Vibe cars.

What to Do Now

Owners of the recalled vehicles will be notified by Toyota or General Motors and dealers will install a supplemental harness including an electrical filter between the airbag control module and its wire harness at no cost. A recall notification schedule has not yet been established.

If you would like additional information regarding this recall you can call Toyota at (800) 331-4331 or Pontiac at (800) 620-7668. You can also call the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at (888) 327-4236 or visit www.safecar.gov.

What if the Defect Has Already Caused Injury?

Recalls are necessary safety measures, but they sometimes come too late to prevent all incidents of injury. If you have been injured directly as the result of an auto defect or a car accident caused by an auto defect, you may be able to hold the auto manufacturer financially responsible for medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, and other damages. To find out if taking legal action is the best option for your particular situation, contact Kiley Law Group today to discuss your legal rights.

Truck Driver in Fatal Wellesley Bicycle Crash Sued for Wrongful Death

The driver in the August 18-wheel truck collision with a bicycle in Wellesley, which claimed the life of a 41-year-old man, will not be criminally charged, the Boston Globe reports. According to the Globe, Wellesley Police and Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office sought indictment alleging motor vehicle homicide, but a grand jury chose not to indict.

The truck driver and his employer still face a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the cyclist’s family.

The accident occurred on August 24, 2012 when an 18-wheeler struck the cyclist while he was riding a bike near the intersection of Weston Road and Linden Street in Wellesley. According to police, the truck did not stop after the crash. Police found the driver two days later.

According to the trucker, he was driving the truck for his company at the time of the crash.

While the truck driver is not facing criminal charges, the victim’s family has filed a civil wrongful death suit against the driver and his company.

What is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

In fatal accidents where the negligent actions of a driver cause serious or fatal injuries, the victim’s family has the right to pursue a civil personal injury claim or, in the case where the victim dies from his injuries, a wrongful death lawsuit against the negligent party, seeking damages.

Depending on the causes behind the accident, the victim’s family may be entitled to financial compensation.

If You Have Been Injured in a Drunk Driving Accident

If you have been injured in a Massachusetts car accident that was caused by a negligent driver, you will likely have a lot of questions regarding your rights and legal options.

To find out if you have a case, consult with a Boston wrongful death attorney about your loved one’s accident. Your attorney will examine all the details of your accident and advise you on the best course of legal action to help you secure the compensation you deserve.

Call (888) 208-1695 to schedule your FREE consultation.

What Are the 10 Most Dangerous Intersections in Massachusetts?

Intersections are where different directions of vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle, and other road traffic meet. With so much going on in one place, it makes sense that intersections are the location of many car accidents. These accidents are not a natural consequence of an intersection, however. As Tom Kiley and the personal injury legal team at the Kiley Law Group know all too well, it is often the negligence of others that causes injury accidents and, in intersections, this negligence usually involves other drivers ignoring right-of-way rules or other traffic laws, such as speed limits. But in other cases, the intersection itself may be designed in a way that makes it more hazardous than others.

If motorists and other road users are aware of the most dangerous intersections in their state, they could exercise more caution and hopefully avoid a potentially hazardous situation, which is why the Massachusetts personal injury lawyers at the Kiley Law Group would like to pass on the following information concerning the 10 most dangerous intersections in MA, provided by GLocalProv.com:

1. Veterans of Foreign Wars Hwy – Varnum Avenue, Lowell, MA – 161 crashes, 42 injuries
2. Randolph Avenue – Chickatawbut Road, Milton, MA – 73 crashes, 40 injuries
3. Middlesex Street – Wood Street, Lowell, MA – 131 crashes, 25 injuries
4. Concord Turnpike – Cambridge Turnpike (Crosby’s Corner), Concord/Lincoln, MA – 103 crashes, 30 injuries
5. Pleasant Street – West Street, Brockton, MA – 90 crashes, 31 injuries
6. President Avenue – North Main Street, Fall River, MA – 92 crashes, 30 injuries
7. Plymouth Avenue – Rodman Street, Fall River, MA – 107 crashes, 27 injuries
8. Grand Army of the Republic Hwy – Swansea Mall Drive, Swansea, MA – 97 crashes, 27 injuries
9. Main Street – Pleasant Street, Woburn, MA – 121 crashes, 21 injuries
10. Main Street – Middle Street, Weymouth, MA – 121 crashes, 21 injuries

While being especially alert when driving through these intersections can help prevent traffic accidents, you can’t always trust that others will do the same.

 If you have been injured in a Massachusetts intersection accident caused by the negligent actions of another driver, you may be entitled to pursue legal action against the at-fault party. Contact the Kiley Law Group today to discuss your particular situation. Consultations are free, so you have nothing to lose.

MetLife Settles Over Surcharges to No-Fault Drivers

MetLife recently settled with Massachusetts over costly surcharges it applied to no-fault drivers in accidents, agreeing to refund the drivers and pay a $50,000 fine to the state, the Boston Globe reports.

MetLife’s surcharges were applied to customers even after state rulings found they were not the at-fault drivers in the accidents.

According to State Attorney General Martha Coakley, customers of MetLife’s Metropolitan Property & Casualty Insurance Co. were penalized after filing accident claims, even after a state appeals board ruled that they were not the ones who caused the accidents. The Globe reported that MetLife is working on refunding the customers that were incorrectly charged.

Defending Your Rights and Finances Against Insurance Companies

Under Massachusetts law, a driver who was penalized with a surcharge by an insurance company because he or she is deemed at-fault in an accident can appeal the insurance company’s decision to the state. If the state appeals board vacates the surcharge, the insurance company is required to halt the extra charges or refund the penalty money which it already collected from the driver.

According to the Globe, Coakley’s office will also investigate whether other Massachusetts auto insurance companies similarly violated the law.

MetLife customers who believe they have been incorrectly charged following their accident can contact the attorney general’s insurance and financial services at 1-888-830-6277.

This story was brought to you by the Boston personal injury lawyers at Kiley Law group. If you have suffered personal injuries due to someone else’s negligence in a Massachusetts auto accident, call 1-800-410-2769 to find out about your legal rights. Free Consultations for auto accident injury victims and their families.