Personal Injury Law Firm Burns & Jain Injury Blog

We have been practicing law in Boston and throughout Massachusetts since 1985. I have represented clients in District Courts, Superior Courts, the Appeals Court, Housing Court, Probate Courts, Federal Bankruptcy Court and the Federal District Court.

Call Us 617-227-7423

Bankruptcy Numbers Up in Boston and Across Massachusetts

According to initial numbers posted by the National Bankruptcy Research Center, there were over 1,410,000 personal bankruptcies filed in 2009. The total is up 32% from 2008. We have found that the number of clients qualifying for Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy, in which you discharge all of your unsecured and non priority debt has increased as well. The number of personal bankruptcies are the highest since the new, stricter, bankruptcy law went into effect in October, 2005.

Read More

Can Massachusetts Employers Fire You for Filing for Bankruptcy?

Clients and potential clients in Massachusetts sometimes ask us if filing for a Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy will have any adverse effect on their employment status. The answer is fairly clear: no. In 1978, Congress passed a law which prevented various types of discrimination against folks who filed for bankruptcy protection. With respect to denying employment, that law states that an employer cannot “deny employment to, terminate the employment of, or discriminate with respect to employment against” anyone simply because he or she has filed for personal bankruptcy.

Read More

Massachusetts Foreclosures Trending Down

While end of year statistics are not yet in, the good news for our Massachusetts clients is that the number of foreclosures is trending down. There were 27.3% fewer foreclosures through October 2009 (7,707) than the same period a year earlier (10,603). The auction numbers were down 9.8% for that time period. Statistics just out from Banker and Tradesman shows that November foreclosures are down as well.   Another good statistic is that the number of actual foreclosure deeds, which represents foreclosures that conclude (the property is not reclaimed by the owner) is also down significantly: 26.8% for the first 11 months of 2009.

Read More

Credit Report Check Ups for Massachusetts Bankruptcy Clients

Updated 9/21/16 Clients regularly ask us about their credit score. We are always on the lookout for information that will help our clients understand and upgrade their score. Recently, we have learned of new websites that may be useful to determine your credit scores. The following are a few we have found: Credit Karma, owned by TransUnion, provides a credit score which is NOT your actual FICO score, but claims to be an indication of your FICO score. For no cost, the website provides helpful information for increasing your score. A nice feature is that you can check your scores as often as you wish. The fun part of this site is that you can simulate future events to determine how they would effect your credit score.

Read More

2010 Retirement News for Massachusetts Clients

Many of our clients are worried about their retirement, their 401k accounts, and, of course, what to do about future investing. They are not alone. In a study undertaken by Wells Fargo, it was shown that workers are not saving sufficiently. Notwithstanding the significant loss of value of retirement accounts following the “crash” in 2008, according to their survey, only 23% of workers are saving more than they were a year ago, 57% are saving the same amount and 20% are saving less. On the other hand, 56% of pre-retirees are planning to work more years.

Read More

Stolen Wallet Tips

A client of ours had her wallet stolen recently on Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts. After commiserating with her and then looking around the web, we have come up with a few suggestions should the same happen to you.   1. Use only initials on your printed checks so a thief will not know how you sign your name. Do not have your phone number on your check. Never put your social security number on your checks.   2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Write “photographic identification required” in the signature spot.   3. When paying a credit card bill, only write the last four numbers of the credit card on the check.   4. Make a copy of each and every document in your wallet (front and back) and keep it in a safe place. You can also make a PDF file of these documents and have them available in a web based storage account. Be careful with passwords for that account, however. You can do the same with your passport.

Read More

Surprising Drop in Consumer Bankruptcies November 2009

While it still feels like Massachusetts consumers are filing bankruptcies at record rates, the statistics may be encouraging right now.   Consumers filed 112,152 personal bankruptcies in November, 2009. This was a decrease of 18% from the October 2009 numbers.   Nevertheless, the numbers are up 12% from the previous year. These figures are from the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Read More

Brigham’s Files for Bankruptcy Protection in Massachusetts

Boston attorney Thiadora Pina appeared in Suffolk Superior Court on behalf of the owner of Brigham’s Ice Cream stores on November 18, 2009. We represented the owner, Luke Cooper, individually, as a vendor filing suit against Brigham’s Ice Cream’s holding companies, including Deal Metrics, LLC.   The vendor alleged that Brigham’s Ice Cream owed them a considerable amount of money. In their suit to collect that money directly from the bank holding Brigham’s Ice Cream’s funds, the vendor sought to also collect money directly from Luke Cooper. Attorney Pina argued on behalf of Mr. Cooper in an effort to deny the vendor the right to attach his personal bank accounts. She successfully presented her argument to the Suffolk Superior Court and the vendor’s Motion was denied as to Luke Cooper, individually.

Read More

The IME — Insurer’s Medical Examination

Following a bodily injury claim, your insurance company has the right to request that you present to a doctor of the insurance company’s choice for a medical examination. No matter who is at fault in an automobile accident, your insurance company always pays the medical bills through insurance coverage that you purchased called, Personal Injury Protection (PIP). This part of your insurance policy mandates that you must cooperate with your insurance company after you present a claim to your insurance company. This part of your policy also mandates that as part of this cooperation, you must present to a doctor for a medical examination if your insurance company requests you do so. Thus, the right to present to the insurer’s doctor is not optional.   When you present for the insurer’s medical examination, you should bring with you any documents/medical records you have in your possession that related to your accident or injury. You do not need to order records, have them mailed to you, or drive around to your doctors to get records. But if you have the relevant medical records in your possession, then you should bring them along.

Read More