Defense Verdict in Serious Collision in Callahan Tunnel

Car

Attorneys Michael Melville and Paul Rainville successfully obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial in Boston Municipal Court.

The matter arose from a single-vehicle accident occurring in the early morning hours in the Callahan Tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts. The plaintiff was a passenger in the vehicle being operated by the defendant driver. The plaintiff claimed the defendant driver was negligent when he lost control of his vehicle and struck a Jersey Barrier.

The plaintiff claimed she sustained serious injuries including a lumbar fracture and chronic pain syndrome among other injuries. The plaintiff offered testimony from an expert neurologist to support her injury claim. The defense offered their own expert neurologist, as well as a neurosurgeon, who contested the nature and extent of the plaintiff’s injuries.

During the trial, the parties presented starkly different versions of events to the jury. While both parties testified that they had spent time together the night before the motor vehicle accident, the plaintiff denied that she had engaged in a romantic interlude with the defendant in the hours leading up to the accident. The defendant insisted that the parties were romantically involved. Moreover, their accounts of the accident differed substantially. The plaintiff testified she was unsure of what happened immediately before the impact, and her attorney argued that the accident was caused by the defendant not paying attention to the roadway and driving in an unsafe manner. The defendant testified that the plaintiff saw an incoming call from his ex-girlfriend on his cell phone and became extremely angry as a result. Further, the defendant testified that the plaintiff had taken PCP before the collision. The defendant testified that the plaintiff began hitting him and screaming at him about the telephone call, which interfered with his ability to drive.

The jury returned a defense verdict in favor of the defendant driver.

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