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Crusier and Motorcycle Accidents
We represent officers injured in motor vehicle accidents involving cruisers, motorcycles, and mountain bikes, as well as their personal vehicles. Such accidents include cruisers that are intentionally struck or that collide with a pursued vehicle when the pursued operator slams on the brakes. Other accidents can occur when an officer loses control of the cruiser during pursuits and collides with stationary objects or even other cruisers in pursuit. At times, officers are injured when removing drivers and passengers from the stopped motor vehicles, while placing stop sticks, and even while running towards a stopped motor vehicle to prevent its flight. Accidents can occur driving to or from work and on personal time. In some cases, the offending vehicle leaves the scene, without the driver identifying himself or herself, after striking the officer’s vehicle or causing it to veer off the roadway in so-called “hit and run” accidents. We have even collected compensation for officers who were injured after they, or their motorcycles, slipped on fluids in the road.
Stolen MV Pursuits
Many officers mistakenly believe that a viable claim for compensation over and above statutory injury on duty or workers’ compensation benefits cannot be made because the stolen motor vehicle was used without authority and the owner’s insurance company can be expected to disclaim coverage. Although the owner’s insurance company would be expected to disclaim coverage, we have been able to successfully collect tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars for officers injured during stolen motor vehicle pursuits throughout the years. As with other motor vehicle accidents, officers are, at times, injured when the officer loses control of the cruiser and collides with stationary objects or even other cruisers in pursuit.
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Directing Traffic
It is not unusual for police officers to be injured while on foot and directing traffic at an intersection, construction detail or accident scene. Many of these accidents result in so-called “soft tissue injuries,” involving sprained necks, backs, and/or knees. However, many also result in serious injuries including fractures, spinal injuries, and scarring. In cases involving details, we have collected compensation for the injured officer not only from the offending motorist, but also from the utility or construction company, which negligently failed to set out proper work area protection devices. There are numerous state, federal, and company guidelines, which regulate the manner in which work area protection is to be set up. It is not unusual for these guidelines not to be followed, resulting in the police officer being put in harm's way of approaching traffic.
Defective Premises
This is a broad category, and includes injuries that occur in various buildings and properties. For example, serious injuries may result from a fall down the stairs due to broken treads, rotted wood, faulty railings, uneven steps, or the absence of lighting. We’ve also collected for injuries that may be the result of dangerous conditions that could have easily been corrected by the landowner, such as dangerous ice accumulations, inadequate fire escapes, faulty wiring, and poor lighting. Photographs of the defective condition preserve such evidence and are invaluable to making successful claims.
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Snow and Ice
Officers are frequently injured in falls on icy driveways, walkways and stairs. Although an officer typically cannot make a claim when the area is owned by the officer's employer, valuable claims are made where the property is owned and/or maintained by a third party. Photographs of the snow or icy condition are invaluable, as are photographs of the condition which caused the ice to accumulate in the first place. Because Massachusetts law requires any such claim to involve an “unnatural” accumulation of snow and/or ice, documentation and photographing of the source of the condition is helpful. Past cases have involved ice which has accumulated due to gutters missing from overhangs above steps, discharge of water from drainpipes onto walkways, depressions in driveways where ice has accumulated, and snow and ice which has been trampled over leaving frozen footsteps and ruts.
Road Jobs and Other Details
Officers are frequently put in harm’s way while working on details where heavy equipment is being used. In most cases, the operator of the equipment and the operator’s employer were negligent for not keeping a proper lookout and/or providing staff to warn the equipment operator of the officer’s physical location. Past cases have included an officer struck by a descending bucket in a bucket van, the swinging counterbalance on a Gradall, and an officer whose hearing was damaged by the constant backfiring of a utility vehicle engine which was negligently maintained.
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Resisting Arrest and Foot Pursuits
It is not unusual for an officer to suffer serious injuries when a subject refuses to stop, causing a foot chase over uneven terrain, over fences or through a crowded facility, like a shopping mall. Additionally, officers can be injured when subjects refuse to come along peacefully and submit to arrest. During the struggle to restrain and place these subjects in handcuffs and cruisers, officers are frequently injured in a manner that is long lasting and disabling.
Domestics and Protective Custody
Officers are frequently injured when responding to homes and apartments in order to defuse an emotionally charged situation or to remove someone who is out of control. One of the most problematic areas for officers is confronting and removing the out-of-control or intoxicated family member, significant other, or guest from a home. The situation of a subject who is resisting and struggling is often exacerbated by the tight quarters within which the officer must work, such as nearby stairs, furniture, doorways and appliances. Adding to the danger at times are other family members who interfere with the officer’s efforts either physically or by further inflating the emotionally charged atmosphere. Many of the resisting subjects are impervious to pain and conventional restraint techniques due to their intoxication from alcohol, narcotics, and/or an overdose of prescription medication. In some cases, a subject’s failure to take prescribed medication leaves the subject out of control and violent, making it difficult to safely restrain and remove them. On occasion, officers are injured after falling down stairs, into walls, over furniture, and to the ground while trying to restrain the subject. Some officers have even been bitten by the out-of-control subject while the officer attempts to secure him or her with handcuffs.
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Dog Bites, Knockdowns and Chases
Throughout the years, we have represented officers who have not only been bitten by dogs when responding to a residence, or by a dog that darts out the door while the officer is working nearby, but officers who have been chased and knocked down by these dogs. Although many of these injuries are minor, in that they don’t prevent the officer from returning to work, the scars are often long lasting. In some cases, the officers have suffered serious injuries to knees and other parts of the body when running from or falling over these animals during a police response to a residence.
Injuries During Rescues
Often overlooked as viable claims are officers who are injured during attempts to rescue persons and property put in harm’s way through the negligent acts of another. On many occasions, the officer is the first to respond and must enter hazardous conditions to effectuate a rescue and/or render life-saving first aid. Under Massachusetts law, the person who caused the hazardous condition or injury to the person who requires rescue can be held liable for the harm caused to an officer who responds to such a situation. In the words of a famous jurist, the law recognizes that “danger invites rescue” for which the negligent actor can be held liable.
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Shootings
Being shot by a weapon was once thought of as an area where officers could not recover compensation for what are often life-threatening and career-ending injuries. In certain circumstances, we have had some success in obtaining valuable compensation for these officers.
Toxic Substance and Disease Exposure
Getting seriously burned or sick is not part of a police officer’s job. At times, during a response to a residence, business, or incident a police officer may be exposed to a known highly contagious disease or toxic substance. In cases of a contagious disease which the officer acquires, the injured officer may have a claim against the caller for failing to warn the officer of the diseased individual, so that the officer may take proper precautions. In the case of toxic substances, the person or business whose duty it is to carefully handle such substances so they do not come into contact with the public, may be liable for negligently failing to handle and control such substances so that the responding officer is not put in harm’s way. There are numerous local, state and federal regulations that typically apply to these situations, as well as established industry practices.
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Firefighters
We have made many of the same types of claims for injured firefighters as we have made for injured police officers. For years, many Massachusetts firefighters injured in the line of duty have been shortchanged when it comes to compensation for their injuries. Many are unaware that they have valuable claims for tens — and in some cases, hundreds — of thousands of dollars for their pain and suffering, lost overtime pay, scarring and diminished earning capacity. The typical injured firefighter usually makes a claim to the city or town for his or her medical expenses and lost wages pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 41, Sections 100 and 111F. These statutes provide that “whenever a fire fighter of a city, town, or fire or water district is incapacitated for duty because of injury sustained in the performance of his duty without fault of his own, he shall be granted leave without loss of pay for the period of such incapacity” and is entitled to have all reasonable medical expenses for services which relate back to the injury paid for.
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