If you've been in an auto accident, you probably need help settling and paying your medical bills, dealing with insurers, and bringing litigation for your injuries. Our legal team can help.

A Brownfield site is real property in which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Brownfield sites are often abandoned industrial or commercial sites.

Previously, both developers and their lenders steered far clear of these sites for fear that the substantial environmental cleanup costs involved would reduce the anticipated project profit margin. Commercial lenders also feared that, in the event of a foreclosure, the bank would be burdened with a contaminated property and substantial attendant cleanup costs.

New federal and state legislation (the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownsfields Revitalization Act, and the Brownsfields Act: Chapter 206 of the Acts of 1998, respectively) now provide financial incentives that can allay these concerns and have reinvented the business model regarding these sites. Our attorneys can help guide you through the process of purchasing and developing a Brownsfields site.

If you need assistance with bringing actions and defense relating to consumer claims, our lawyers can help you represent your interests.

In the event that you find yourself involved in a dispute relating to a breach of contract claim, our attorneys can help you work toward a favorable resolution. We can also review any contracts before you sign them to avoid potential disputes in the future.

Everyone knows that the law prohibits discrimination based on sex, age, religion, or ethnicity, but there are many other areas that can be troublesome for an employer. Before you make a decision about such things as who can and cannot take leave to care for a sick or disabled loved one, or what is or is not a reasonable accommodation, it's a good idea to consult with an employment law attorney.

Whether a spouse is filing a joint petition or a complaint for divorce, the process can be one of the most stressful times in a person's life. In today's economy, the most common problem for divorcing spouses is how to take their previously shared income and create two separate households, complete with their own set of bills and expenses. Parents are worried about their children, what to do with the house, retirement accounts, and how they will live once the divorce is over. It is an extremely emotionally charged process, and not one a person should undertake alone and without counsel. The possibility for one spouse to lose some of their rights to children, equity, accounts, alimony, health insurance, and a host of other factors is just too great to embark upon without solid legal counsel.

As every residential landlord knows, obtaining a judgment for eviction can be difficult and expensive. Under the old bankruptcy law, tenants could file and cause a lengthy delay of a hard-fought eviction.

Now, under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, (BAPCPA) if a residential landlord has a judgment for possession by the time the tenant files for bankruptcy, the stay does not prevent the landlord from continuing to evict the tenant 30 days after the petition was filed. With few exceptions, in a majority of cases, it is likely that a debtor's financial distress will prevent any cure, thus permitting the landlord to move forward with eviction in a relatively short period of time. Bacon Wilson can help facilitate the process for you.

Many expectant parents have questions about how much leave they are entitled to after the arrival of a new child. The laws are different for expectant mothers and fathers. Depending on the employer, some expectant fathers may be unable to take paternity leave when their child is born. Conversely, depending on the employer, expectant mothers may be able to take up to twenty (20) weeks of leave under State and Federal Law.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides for twelve (12) weeks of leave, regardless of the gender of the employee, for the birth and care of a newborn child, care for a newly adopted or foster child, or leave for a serious illness to the employee. Leave can be for paternity, maternity, or specific personal health reasons, depending on the needs of the employee. But there are conditions that apply to the family and medical leave. Our lawyers can help clarify them for you.

In the event that you need representation to resolve legal disputes through the courts, mediation, or arbitration, Bacon Wilson can help.

This is an emerging area of law, and an extremely difficult one. It is the burden of the grandparent seeking visitation to prove that a decision by the judge to deny visitation is not in the best interest of the child. Since parental decisions, no matter how wrong they seem to be, are given presumptive validity, it must be alleged and proven that failure to grant visitation will cause the child significant harm by adversely affecting the child's health, safety, or welfare. It must also be established that a strong current relationship exists between grandparent and grandchild.

An affidavit must be submitted to the court at the onset of the action, which particularly and sufficiently sets forth facts strong enough to rebut the presumption of parental fitness. It is certainly not a lost cause, and well worth the battle to many grandparents, but grandparents should know that the burden rests on them if they desire to establish grandparents' rights.

If your loved one has not drafted and signed a health care proxy and durable power of attorney and then becomes mentally or physically disabled, you or a social service agency will need to petition the local probate court for an appointment of guardianship. You will also have to obtain a medical certificate clearly stating the loved one's medical condition and the need for a guardian to serve. This certificate establishes that your loved one no longer has the ability to make personal, social, medical, or financial decisions for him- or herself. It is then necessary to petition the court for authority to become your loved one's guardian, and the court will issue a notice called a citation, which has to be published in the newspaper where the ward currently lives. There is a date by which any person may object to the guardianship proceeding, and if no objection is made, then the hearing may be scheduled. This is a process best undertaken with legal guidance, and our firm can help. We can also assist you with the bond and accounting that the court requires.

Massachusetts law may hold employers liable for harassment or retaliation, be it sexual harassment or for other reasons, even if it was not a supervisor who engaged in prohibited activity. If a supervisor or a managerial employee learns that a worker is being harassed by another employee, it is imperative that immediate remedial steps are taken to avoid liability. It is a good idea to consult with an employment law attorney to avoid problems.

If you've been injured in an auto accident, a slip-and-fall situation, or at work, or if you're the victim of negligent medical treatment, you probably just want life to get back to normal. Our legal team can handle the coordination of medical expense payments and deal with insurers so you can concentrate on recovering.

When medical treatment mistakes are made that cause serious harm to you or a family member, we can help you obtain restitution for your pain and suffering.

An employer may be held liable for an intentional or illegal act committed by his employee. The employer's knowledge of past acts of impropriety, violence, or disorder by an employee may be sufficient to forewarn the employer that the employee may engage in future wrongful conduct. Bacon Wilson can help counsel you in hiring responsibly and what to do if you find yourself the target of a negligent hiring suit.

If you've been injured in an auto accident, a slip-and-fall situation, or at work, or if you're the victim of negligent medical treatment, you probably just want life to get back to normal. Our legal team can handle the coordination of medical expense payments and deal with insurers so you can concentrate on recovering.

Probate is a court proceeding in which the following events take place:

• The validity of your will is determined or your intestate (without a will) estate is settled
• An executor or administrator is appointed
• The executor or administrator inventories all of your assets that you held individually at your death
• All your debts, taxes, and probate administration fees are paid
• Distributions are made in accordance with the terms of your will or according the laws of intestacy in the that event you die without a will

This process does not occur overnight, and requires significant expertise to administer it properly in order to avoid prolonged lawsuits. Probating an estate can be very expensive and can take years to complete. It is not a private process, meaning that anyone can see what assets you have and where the assets are transferred. If these are areas of concerns for you, it's important to understand how to avoid the probate process. Bacon Wilson attorneys possess extensive experience in this area.

If you or a family member are injured by a defective product and need assistance in your recovery against the manufacturer of the product, our legal team can guide you through the process.

There are two primary goals of employers in offering severance packages to employees: first, extending fairness and compensation to longer-term employees and second, reducing the employer's exposure to potential liability in a lawsuit or administrative claim. Severance packages are complicated and best offered under the direction of an employment law attorney.

If you suffer from injuries caused by a fall on a property such as a store, parking lot, or another area not properly maintained in safe condition, the Bacon Wilson attorneys can help.

Visitation, now called "parent time," is a very complex area of law. There are several types of visitation and an unlimited number of scenarios and schedules that can be developed and utilized when considering the needs and interests of the children, the appropriateness of one parent to spend overnights with a child, the work schedule of the parents, the location of residences, the ages of the children, and other factors. Visitation issues can arise for never-married parents, divorcing parents, after a specific incident has arisen, and during custody battles. Visitation agreements can also be modified at any time upon the showing of a material change in circumstance.