By Robert I. Feinberg | Published January 28, 2013 | Posted in Wrongful Death | Tagged Tags: injury case, personal injury attorney, verdict, Wrongful death claims | Leave a comment
Many people are unaware that in a wrongful death action in Massachusetts, which is brought under Massachusetts General Laws, c. 229 s. 2, the proceeds are meant to be distributed to the statutory beneficiaries and pass outside of the estate. It must be noted that M.G.L. c. 229, sec. 2 references the classes of statutory Read More
Read MoreThough they seem similar, there are clear and definitive differences between Rule 803(1) Present Sense Impressions and Rule 803(2) Excited Utterances. If applied correctly, each rule provides an exception to the the rule against hearsay. The former is used in court in the trial of a personal injury case far more than the latter. The Read More
Read MoreIn my last blog, I wrote of the rule pertaining to admissions of party opponents, 801(d)(2) of the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Massachusetts Guide to Evidence. Let’s contrast that to Rule 804(b)(3)’s declarations against interests exception. The most fundamental difference between these two exceptions is that in the first exception the declarant must Read More
Read MoreLoyalty to a client is an essential element of the attorney-client relationship. This relationship binds them through ‘thick and thin’ and against all other persons with conflicting interests. Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:07 and the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility Rule 1.7 state that an attorney cannot continue to represent two or more clients at Read More
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