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A 65-car pileup in Massachusetts resulted from frozen ice, sending 35 people to local hospitals. Two people – a pregnant woman and a man in his 30s – sustained serious injuries. But who’s liable for a massive pileup involving droves of drivers and wintry weather? But in this case, it seems drivers didn’t have anywhere to go. ‘Black Ice’ Blamed for Pileup Shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday, the temperature in Central Massachusetts dropped, turning precipitation into a freezing rain that created black ice on an elevated stretch of Interstate 290, reports MassLive....

In our ongoing series, Adoption Option, we are going over the basics of adoption to help guide you through the life-changing, family-forming decision to adopt. After asking yourself whether you should adopt and taking a look at types of adoption available, you may now be ready to get professional assistance in making this dream a reality. With so many options available, it is important to know about what is available....

In October 2016, an explosion at Mohawk Asphalt Emulsions in Glenville, New York sent two workmen to the hospital with serious burns. The alleged source of the explosion was workers using a blow torch to heat a holding-tank valve, which then ignited the vapors of liquid asphalt. Those two workers ultimately died from their injuries and Mohawk settled two citations for safety violations regarding the incident, paying the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration $17,745 in fines....

Barnes & Noble had to swallow a bitter pill in federal court on Monday, when a federal appeals court held that the retailer couldn’t enforce legal provisions buried behind a link hidden on its website – also known as a “browsewrap” agreement. Almost every major company has an arbitration provision included in its website’s Terms of Use, and B&N was no exception. However, as The Recorder reports, the onus is on the business to give notice of these terms....

You’ve heard of stays of execution for people on death row, but did you know a court could step in and put the brakes on the euthanasia process for a dog? That’s what one woman is hoping for as she fights to keep her dog alive, despite what the local animal shelter has in store for the pooch. Euthanized for Biting Mary Schiefel gave her dog up to a local no kill shelter, the Upper Peninsula Animal Welfare Shelter (UPAWS) in February because she could no longer care for him....

Last week New York’s first medical marijuana dispensaries opened, and the state joined the growing number of places in the US that permit cannabis purchases for people with a doctor’s recommendation. The question then naturally arises, given our litigious society, can you sue a doctor for medical malpractice based on such a recommendation? How does medical marijuana differ from prescription drugs? Recommendations and Prescriptions First things first. A recommendation for medical marijuana is not a prescription....

Thou shall not post bad reviews of your church online – unless you want to face the wrath of a vengeful lawsuit. That’s what an Oregon pastor seems to be saying, as he’s filed a $500,000 defamation lawsuit against four former church members who badmouthed his church on a blog, Portland’s KGW-TV reports. But the accused defamers are fighting back against Pastor Charles O’Neal’s lawsuit, with a special kind of legal action that asserts free speech under the First Amendment....

According to the Los Angeles Times, the supermarkets were found to have overcharged customers on pre-packaged and weighted items such as fried chicken, bulk coffee, salads and fish. One example was found when an inspector bought a salad from the salad bar and discovered that the store charge for the weight included the packaging. Another inspector bought four packages of fried chicken which were short by 3.5% each. The Times reports that while this may not sound like a huge fraud, such short-changes add up....

A Colorado man suffocated after being buried alive under “several tons” of pinto beans, in a deadly workplace incident that could lead to a wrongful-death lawsuit. Raymond Segura Jr., 56, of Morgan County, Colo., was crushed when a huge pile of pinto beans collapsed at a warehouse in northeastern Colorado, The Denver Post reports. Segura was buried under a pile of beans 15 to 20 feet high. It took more than 50 rescuers about an hour to dig Segura’s body out from the pile, according to the Post....

Yesterday, a New York Man was charged for dressing up like his mother. Well, dressing up like his mother for six years in order to collect $117,000 in government benefits. Along with grand larceny, he has been charged with criminal impersonation. When does impersonating someone else become criminal? According to the AP, Thomas Parkin has a close relationship with his mother… as in Anthony Perkins, ‘Psycho’ close. Parkin claims to be his mother (citing the fact that he held her as she died)....

As Americans’ dependence on cell phones, Blackberry devices, and other PDAs threatens to rise to the level of a nationwide addiction, state lawmakers are keeping pace by continuing to crack down on use of these devices while driving. Already this year, five states have strengthened their distracted driving laws by making specific prohibitions against talking on cell phones and sending electronic messages while driving. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the following new laws have been in effect since January: These new laws are only the latest efforts by state lawmakers to combat distracted driving and prevent car accidents....

Michael Turner happens to be one of those deadbeat parents who, year after year, fail to pay child support. Like many a deadbeat dad, that failure has repeatedly landed him in jail. Despite being indigent, he has never been provided counsel to help fight incarceration. The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in Turner’s case. The question? Are indignant deadbeat parents entitled to free counsel if they face jail time? All but six states (Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Georgia, South Carolina) provide indigent parents with free counsel if they face jail time for failure to pay child support, reports The Seattle Times....

Sometimes when you are injured and your property is damaged, you may not know the identity of the culprit. But just because the person responsible is unknown doesn’t mean you can’t sue. The American legal system is actually set up to handle lawsuits where many (or all) of the defendants’ identities are a mystery. It may make your case less likely to be a success, but not knowing a name or address isn’t a fatal blow to a civil lawsuit....

Health care is all the rage these days. Keeping health care coverage affordable and accessible for aging employees is a constant concern for any employer – especially in the face of rising costs across the board. As part of President Obama’s health care reform efforts, the $5 billion Early Retiree Reinsurance Program was established to help cover costs for individuals who leave the workforce between the ages of 55 and 64, according to Bloomberg....

Ho, Ho, Holy Cow, is it that time of year already? For those of us taken off guard by how fast the season of giving has come upon us, there is some good gift-giving news. Many among us love the gift card, that one size fits all, never have to return it gift. This year, a gift card is a better gift than ever, as new rules are working (finally) in favor of the consumer to make gift cards less restrictive and less expensive....

You may not consider yourself political, preferring business development to legal developments in your state. Still, you can’t ignore the law. It changes all the time and it impacts the climate in which you operate, as entrepreneurs and business owners in North Carolina can tell you first hand. Last week, that state passed HB2, a law that many nationwide have deemed discriminatory against the LGBT community. Companies warned Governor McCrory that passage of the law would cause them to reconsider doing business in North Carolina....

Over the past few weeks, businesses small and large have been forced to deal with the most recent ransomware attack, aptly named WannaCry. Like other ransomware, a business’s computers, networks, data, and servers, all get locked down by a hacker that demands payment in untraceable bitcoins to unlock the systems. However, unlike other ransomware attacks, the WannaCry attack is so simple to avoid that victims would likely want to cry after learning how easy it would’ve been to prevent, hence the name....

According to the IRS, “automatic tips” will be classified as service charges instead of tips beginning in January 2014. This means they will be treated as regular non-tip wages for tax purposes, The Wall Street Journal explains. “Automatic tips” are pre-calculated gratuities, typically added to restaurant bills for large groups. Currently, “automatic tips” are still considered tips, meaning it’s up to the tipped servers to report them as income. But those days are numbered....

A San Diego man died while getting his wisdom teeth removed. His family alleges medical malpractice. Getting your wisdom teeth removed may be one of the most common types of surgery. After all, almost everyone will have their wisdom teeth removed at some point. However, tragedy hit 25-year-old Marek Lapinski. As he was undergoing the routine procedure in March, he reportedly began to cough. Medical personnel gave him the drug propofol, and Lapinski then went into cardiac arrest, reports the Los Angeles Times....

A new law limiting an uninsured driver’s right to sue in Missouri takes effect October 11, after Missouri’s legislature voted to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of House Bill 339. In Gov. Nixon’s veto message, he expressed concern that the bill was “riddled with ambiguity that will generate excessive litigation over how and to whom its provisions would apply.” But Missouri lawmakers apparently did not agree. What is HB 339, exactly?...