Sheff Law Offices, headed by Douglas K. Sheff is one of Boston's oldest and most respected law firms in the area of personal injury law. Founded by pioneer Irving Sheff, the firm has represented thousands of injury victims for over five decades. Read about the firm and recent cases here:

By Peter J. Howe and Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff  |  December 1, 2007

Attorneys representing the families of three Salem Harbor power-plant workers scalded to death in a steam-pipe explosion there last month obtained a temporary restraining order in court, halting plant cleanup efforts until they can gather evidence for a near-certain wrongful death lawsuit.

"We certainly are doing this with an eye toward bringing a wrongful-death case - a big, serious wrongful-death case," said attorney Douglas K. Sheff.
..»Read More

Lawyers seeking evidence stop Salem power plant cleanup
December 1, 2007 - SALEM, Mass. A judge has stopped a cleanup at the Salem Harbor Power Station so lawyers for the families of three men killed in an explosion there can gather evidence.

Attorney Douglas Sheff said a wrongful death suit is likely. He said explosions don't just happen, and numerous entities could be responsible.

Forty-one-year-old Mark Mansfield of Peabody, 56-year-old Phillip Robinson of Beverly and 20-year-old Mathew Indeglia of Townsend were all burned to death in the water-pipe explosion November 6.

The temporary restraining order stops investigators and plant owner Dominion Energy New England from removing or destroying gear around the site until the families' lawyers inspect it.

A Dominion spokesman said he didn't expect the order would delay the plant's return to normal operations. 

FUEL TANKER SUIT PROMPTS CHANGES
The family settled with the company that insured the Boston engineering firm that had repaired the fuel loading system the day of the accident…the fall fractured his skull and caused massive brain trauma. He died a few days later at age 36.

The $7 million settlement is believed to be one of the largest ever in a workplace accident in Massachusetts.

The case also prompted Exxon to install safety equipment for the first time in hundreds of similar facilities across the country.

“I think this case shows that the civil justice system can do a whole lot better job policing big business than the public sector does,” the family's lawyer, Douglas Sheff of Boston, said last week. “In a way, it's kind of a David and Goliath story. To some folks, they may seem powerless. But this shows that a family can be on the same playing field with large entities…

LAWYERS WANT TO LIMIT SECRET SETTLEMENTS
Spurred by reports that Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. spent years negotiating secret settlements to wrongful death lawsuits while its tires continued to cause fatal accidents, a national lawyers' group is pushing a new Massachusetts law banning legal confidentiality agreements in cases involving dangerous products, business practices, and other “public hazards.”

“It's hush money,” said Douglas K. Sheff, president of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Trial Lawyers Association, which will bring the bill to Beacon Hill next month.

To illustrate the need for the new law, Sheff pointed to the stories of two young men, both college football players killed in 1997 accidents involving Firestone tires.

Sheff said the confidentiality agreements signed by the [plaintiffs] with Firestone prevented the Boston-area family from viewing the tires as a possible cause of the accident. The tires were long ago destroyed as scrap, Sheff said, hurting the ability of his clients to fight the case in court.

HANDLING ABUSIVE INSURANCE DISCLOSURE PRACTICE
The failure of insurers to fully disclose available coverage limits is most prevalent in cases involving catastrophic damages and potentially prohibitive medical liens.

These are pressurized situations for plaintiffs' counsel. Insurers sense and prey upon the pressure: As looming medical liens would exhaust all settlement funds, counsel must protect the clients' interests….

These days, plaintiffs' counsel must leave no stone unturned to accurately assure their clients that all coverage has been discovered and/or disclosed. The simple message: Dig deeper, never assume the accuracy of the coverage disclosure, and when you have that “sneaking suspicion” regarding coverage, explore it.

SUBSTANTIAL $730,000 SETTLEMENT IN "MINOR" HEAD INJURY CASE
Can a seemingly minor soft-tissue head injury resulting from a low-impact car accident be transformed into a valuable closed-head injury case? A recent $730,000 settlement indicates that the answer is "yes." Such cases demand tenacious persistence and a willingness to spend money up front on expensive neurological testing, said Douglas K. Sheff, who secured the large settlement. ..»Read More

‘NEW' TESTS ABLE TO SHOW WHAT NEGATIVE MRI, CT SCANS CAN'T
A decade ago, a plaintiff claiming a brain injury from a workplace accident would have been laughed out of court if his medical records showed negative MRI and CT scans. ..»Read More

Overcoming Juror Bias With Focus Groups
Today's jurors receive more information than any in history. Newspapers, television and the Internet are filled with spin and inaccuracy. Special interest groups promote views in the media in order to affect public opinion. ..»Read More