Check if the following support articles would help:
Word 2008 for Mac crashes when you try to start the program
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948489
Troubleshooting damaged documents in Word for Mac
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2362088
Word for Mac document stops responding when you try to open a document
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2027101
Word for Mac error: "Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2693802
Documents do not open in Microsoft Word for Mac that were created in an earlier versions
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953266
When you save, Word for Mac crashes or quits
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2027586
BTW, for such Office for Mac specific topics, we'd recommend you to visit the Office for Mac forums in Microsoft Community:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/mac
Max Meng
TechNet Community Support
