Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

Two families’ lives were changed forever on Sunday morning when a tragic head-on crash on the Mass Pike claimed the life of one man and left another without an eye. As of earlier today, it was not known whether Rene Bronfield, a 49-year-old Worcester man, would survive his Boston car accident injuries. His childhood friend, whose name police has yet to release, died after he was pinned under the dashboard, which collapsed over him.

According to police, the alleged drunk driver, 33-year-old Philip Daniels, entered Interstate 90 from the wrong way in his 1995 Jeep Cherokee. He is accused of crashing head on into Bronfield’s MG near the Prudential Center tunnel. The fatal Boston motor vehicle crash occurred just before 2am.

Authorities say that Daniels, a financier for John Hancock Financial Services, had a BAC of .23, which is significantly higher than the .08 legal driving limit. The Norwood man reportedly told Massachusetts police that he was drinking beer at Lucky’s Lounge prior to the Boston auto crash.

At his arraignment, the Norwood man pleaded not guilty to motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol.

Drunken Driving Accidents
Drunk driving not only causes serious injuries and deaths, but this dangerous behavior destroys families. In addition to the victims involved in a drunk driving crash, there are the victims' family members who must now cope with the emotional trauma brought about by losing someone they love prematurely and in such a senseless manner. Drunk driving victims and the people they love will likely spend years grappling with the consequences brought about by someone else's negligent behavior.

You can hold a drunk driver liable for causing your serious injuries or your loved one’s death.

Financier charged in fatal Pike crash, Boston Herald, December 29, 2009

Surviving victim of wrong-way crash still critical, Telegram, December 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Fatalities and Fatality Rates in Alcohol- Impaired-Driving Crashes by State, 2007-2008, NHTSA (PDF)

Continue reading "Boston Wrong-Way Accident on Mass Pike Kills One Man and Seriously Injures His Friend" »

Michael L. VonBehren was just 18-years-old when a Lowell drunk driver fatally struck him on Interstate 290 in December 2008. Now, his parents Dale and Kathleen VonBehren, are suing JBC of Worcester for the Shrewsbury teenager’s Massachusetts wrongful death.

Somang Ath, the 26-year-old driver of the vehicle that struck the car that their son was riding, was also killed in the tragic Massachusetts car accident. Prior to driving the wrong way and crashing head-on into the vehicle that VonBehren was in, Ath drank alcohol with friends at Jillian’s, a Worcester bar.

According to Massachusetts police, Ath’s BAC was .28%. The License Commission suspended the bar’s license for a week after determining that there was evidence that Jillian’s over-served him. JBC of Worcester, which was bought by Revolution Entertainment of Whitinsville this May, was the owner of the bar at the time that the deadly Shrewsbury traffic accident happened. 10 days after the tragic Shrewsbury car crash that killed Ath and VonBehren, Jillian’s allegedly over-served another man who had a BAC of .30.

The Massachusetts wrongful death complaint accuses the company of negligence for over-serving Ath and letting him get drunk. 50 “Does” were also listed as Massachusetts wrongful death defendants in the VonBehren’s civil lawsuit.

The VonBehrens are seeking damages for pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and mental anguish.

Third Party Lawsuits
In Massachusetts, not only can you sue the drunk driver that caused a car crash for Boston personal injury or wrongful death, but you can also sue third parties, such as a bar or a liquor store, that contributed to the inebriated motorist becoming drunk. For example, a bar may have overserved the motorist, allowed an underage teen driver to drink or obtain alcohol, or let a drunk patron get behind the wheel of the vehicle. This holiday season, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Massachusetts State Police are cracking down on drunk drivers to prevent more alcohol-related crashes from happenings.

Family sues bar’s ex-owner in son’s death, Telegram.com, December 15, 2009

Dedham Police joins Massachusetts State Police in crackdown on drunk driving during the holiday, Wicked Local, December 15, 2009

Related Web Resources:
MassDOT

Fatalities and Fatality Rates in Alcohol- Impaired-Driving Crashes by State, 2007-2008, NHTSA (PDF)

Five years after 3-year-old Jason Fox’s death, a Suffolk County jury has awarded his parents $15 million in Massachusetts medical malpractice damages: $5 million for wrongful death, $5 million for the boy’s pain and suffering, and $5 million for the loss of their child. The family’s attorney, James Fox, said fighting the case was an “uphill battle.”

Jason, who was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, died in December 2004 after undergoing a procedure at Children’s Hospital in Boston a year and a half earlier to treat his birth defect. The serious defect, which was treatable, prevented his limbs and organs from receiving enough oxygen.

Jason underwent seven cardiac catheterizations and open heart surgery. During his second catheterization in April 2003, Jason had a seizure. The contrast dye, which allowed doctors to better see his anatomy, went into his brain.

Doctors who conducted an MRI to determine if he now had brain damage found a piece of metal in his brain that they think came from a medical instrument. They are not sure which procedure or what hospital the metal piece came from. The toddler’s heart rate dropped during the MRI and doctors had to revive him. Jason couldn’t speak or walk when he left the hospital. He sustained permanent brain injuries and eventually died.

Jason’s parents, Brian and Andrea Fox, say the doctors lied about what they did when treating their son and tried to cover up their actions. In Superior Court last week, the jury blamed Dr. James Lock and anesthesiologist Dr. James A. DiNardo for the boy’s wrongful death. They found at least two other doctors liable for providing Jason with negligent medical care.

Because of an agreement reached between the defendants and plaintiffs before the $15 Million Boston wrongful death verdict was announced, the actual medical malpractice award will be less.

Family wins $15 million malpractice judgment against Children's, MyFoxBoston, December 18, 2009

Jury ties doctors’ errors to boy’s death, Boston.com, December 19, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Children’s Hospital in Boston

Tetralogy of Fallot, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

Along with the Window Covering Safety Council, Consumer Product Safety Commission is announcing another major recall—one of its largest ever—of 50 million roll-up blinds and Roman shades because they pose a possible strangulation hazard. Roman shades have been the reported cause of 16 near strangulations and 5 fatalities in just the last three years, while since 2001, the CPSC has received reports of 3 deaths because of roll-up blinds. Some three million roll-up blinds and five million Roman shades are sold annually.

The CPSC and the WCSC are providing free repair kits. Also, to prevent strangulation accidents involving window coverings, they are recommending that only cordless window coverings be used in homes that have young children. If your window blinds or shades do come with cords, then they are advising that you keep the cords out of children’s reach.

The Safe Kids USA Web site reports that airway obstruction (through suffocation, choking, and strangulation), is the number one cause of accidental injury-related fatalities among children younger than age 1. Kids, especially in the younger than 3 age range, are especially prone to strangulation injuries and deaths.

Product manufacturers are aware of the hazards that their furniture, clothing, toys, and other consumer goods can pose to this young age group. Yet many continue to make dangerous or defective products that young children continue to pay for with their lives. If this has happened to your son or daughter, do not hesitate to contact our Boston products liability lawyers about your Massachusetts child injury case.

In just the last few weeks, the CPSC has announced several major recalls involving young children’s products. In late November, it recalled 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft due to possible suffocation, entrapment, and fall hazards. That announcement was followed up by the recall of about 500 LaJobi cribs and approximately 24,000 Amby Baby Motion Beds this month over similar concerns. The CPSC also recalled approximately one million umbrella strollers by Maclaren following 12 fingertip amputations. Also, there have been numerous recalls involving thousands of children’s clothing items and toys because they posed potential lead poisoning, choking, and strangulation hazards.

CPSC Announces Voluntary Recalls to Repair Millions of Roman Shades and Roll Up Blinds by Multiple Firms, CPSC, December 15, 2009

Airway Obstruction, SafeKids USA

Related Web Resources:
Window Covering Safety Council

Consumer Product Safety Commission

In Massachusetts, a 98-year-old nursing home patient is charged with killing a 100-year-old woman. Laura B. Lundquist is accused of strangling Elizabeth W. Barrow. The two of them were roommates at Brandon Woods of Dartmouth. Lundquist has suffered from dementia.

Barrow’s body was discovered in her bed last September. She had a plastic bag over her head. While suicide was explored as a possible cause of death, autopsy results say she was murdered by manual strangulation.

The victim’s son says he asked nursing home workers at the Dartmouth, Massachusetts nursing home to separate the two women, who did not appear to get along. Scott Barrow claims that Lundquist accused Barrow of stealing from her and complained about her visitors. The Massachusetts nursing home says that they asked the two women if either of them wanted to move to a different room but they both refused.

Last week, New Bedford Superior Court Judge Lloyd MacDonald sent Lundquist to a state hospital where she will undergo a lengthy competency evaluation prior to her arraignment. She is charged with second-degree murder.

Massachusetts Nursing Home Negligence
Nursing homes are supposed to make sure that patients with violent tendencies are closely monitored and/or are kept separate from the other patients. They are also supposed to determine whether patients suffering from mental illness pose a danger to themselves or others and if so, nursing home employees must take the proper steps to prevent that patient from hurting others. Failure to provide this protection can give an assisted living facility patient and/or family members cause for filing a Boston nursing home negligence lawsuit.

Examples of nursing home patient violence:

• Molestation
• Physical assault
• Sexual assault
• Murder
• Rape

Woman, 98, charged in slay, Boston Herald, December 12, 2009

Roomate, 98, indicted for murder in 100-year-old woman's nursing home death, SouthCoastToday, December 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Aggression between nursing-home residents more common than widely believed, studies find, Cornell University, May 29, 2008

Nursing Homes, Mass.gov

Continue reading "Massachusetts Nursing Home Violence: 98-Year-Old Dartmouth Nursing Resident Indicted for 100-Year-Old Roommate’s Homicide " »

Speaking exclusively to WHDH, Betty Velasquez says the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority is not taking the injuries she sustained when her purse, arm, and foot became trapped in a train door seriously. Velasquez, a Quincy resident, says the incident caused her to fall consciousness and temporarily lose feeling in her hand and arm. She also has suffered from dizzy spells and migraines following the MBTA accident.

Velazquez says she had to go to the hospital and underwent a CAT scan. She is on several kinds of medication and working with a physical therapist. She also has taken several weeks off from her job while she recovers.

The unfortunate Boston train incident happened at South Station on November 6 when Velasquez’s purse got caught in the train door as she tried to board. She was able to free her body from the train, but she ran next to it in an attempt to pull her purse free. Her body slammed into a wall close to the end of the platform before she freed herself.

Two MBTA workers have been disciplined over the incident. The 39-year-old train operator was suspended for 10 days and the train attendant whose job it is to observe the doorways and platform was fired.

While the MBTA says it is fortunate that Velasquez wasn’t seriously injured, her Boston injury lawyer says that his client’s injuries were definitely not minor ones.

Train Door Accidents
Train doors are supposed to be properly maintained and train workers must make sure that the doors and platform area are clear for departure. Train doors also must be closed properly before a train can leave a station. Malfunctioning train doors can cause injuries. A person boarding or exiting the train can caught in between or get hit by the doors as they shut. A passenger can fall out of a moving train if the doors open suddenly.

Injuries caused by a defective or faulty train door and/or because a MBTA worker was negligent can be grounds for a Boston injury lawsuit.

Boston subway survivor speaks out, WWLP, December 9, 2009

MBTA Train Snags Purse, Sends Woman Sprawling, The Boston Channel, December 8, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Continue reading "Quincy Woman Trapped by Boston Train When Her Purse Got Caught in Door Claims MBTA Not Taking Her Injuries Seriously" »

The Boston Globe is reporting that the medical condition of Bethany Pfalzgraf, the Boston College senior who was seriously injured in a Massachusetts pedestrian accident on campus early Sunday and has improved. The 21-year-old woman was allegedly struck by Benjamin Knott, an 18-year-old driver, who is aaccused of fleeing the crash site and driving drunk.

Knott is charged with leaving the scene of an accident, drunken driving, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, and causing bodily injury. He failed two Breathalyzer tests. His BAC was .20 and .18. In Massachusetts, the legal driving limit for motorists under age 21 is .02. For adults, the legal BAC while driving is 0.08. Prior to the Boston pedestrian accident, Knott had been visiting friends on campus.

At his arraignment in Brighton District Court, the teen driver pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Boston Drunk Driving Accidents
If you or your loved one was injured by a drunk driver, you should speak with an experienced Boston injury lawyer right away. Driving while drunk is dangerous for anyone who happens to have the bad luck of getting involved in a Massachusetts auto accident with a drunk driver.

Drunk drivers have impaired senses and reflexes, which dramatically increases their chances of being involved in a motor vehicle crash. Yet there are many people who drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Yesterday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske launched the "Over the Limit. Under Arrest" campaign, which is geared toward cracking down on impaired driving. Federal and state enforcement agencies will take part in these efforts throughout the holiday season. While there was an overall decline in the number of drunk driving deaths that occurred last year, there are still many people dying from this senseless and negligent act.

Teenager charged with DUI after BC student is hit, Boston Globe, December 8, 2009

Boston College student hit by alleged drunk driver, My Fox Boston, December 8, 2009

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces Intensive Holiday Drunk & Impaired Driving Crackdown & Advertising Blitz, NHTSA, December 7, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Fatalities and Fatality Rates in Alcohol- Impaired-Driving Crashes by State, 2007-2008, NHTSA (PDF)

”Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest" campaign

The father of John Edwards, a Harvard sophomore who committed suicide in 2007, is suing the university and a nurse and supervisor at the school’s Health Services for Massachusetts wrongful death and medical malpractice. John B. Edwards II filed his Boston medical malpractice lawsuit in Middlesex Superior Court.

The elder Edwards is accusing Dr. Georgia Ede of failing to properly supervise nurse practitioner Marianne Cannon, who prescribed three drugs to his son even though she doesn’t have physician training. Cannon prescribed the amphetamine Adderall, a drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to the younger Edwards even though he was never diagnosed with this condition. She later prescribed Wellbutrin and Prozac, two strong antidepressants. Edwards was also taking Accutane, an acne drug that is linked to thoughts of suicide.

The US Food and Drug Administration has cautioned that patients who are prescribed Accutane, Wellbutrin, or Prozac should be closely observed in case they begin to have suicidal thoughts.

In his Massachusetts medical malpractice lawsuit, Edwards II says that the drug Adderall caused his son to experience anxiety and chest pains. He also contends that his son had told Cannon that when he took Prozac in the past he had experienced “out-of-control feelings.”

Harvard University maintains that Edwards was given the proper care.

Massachusetts Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals can be held liable for Massachusetts medical malpractice if mistakes, negligence, carelessness, or recklessness causes injury, health complications, or wrongful death. Medical providers, including doctors, nurse practitioners, anesthesiologists, surgeons, dentists, dermatologists, and gynecologists cannot afford to make mistakes when treating patients.

Prescribing the wrong medication, operating on the wrong body part, giving the patient too much anesthesia, and failing to diagnose that a patient is suffering from cancer or another serious illness are just some examples of the kinds of medical mistakes that can be grounds for a Boston medical malpractice lawsuit.

Family of late Harvard student sues school, Boston Herald, December 4, 2009

Kin sue Harvard over son’s suicide, Boston.com, December 4, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Harvard University Health Services

Medical Malpractice, Justia

The family of 17-year-old John Causland says he is stlll in critical condition following emergency brain surgery for injuries he sustained in a Massachusetts pedestrian accident on Sunday in Waltham. The high school senior was in a crosswalk when a driver who was allegedly drunk hit him.

The driver of the uninsured and unregistered vehicle that struck him was Bonnie Lee Hicks. The 43-year-old Billerica resident was charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle, driving under the influence, and driving with an expired inspection sticker. She refused a Breathalyzer test at the crash site and failed three field sobriety tests. She pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on personal recognizance. She is not allowed to drive and must appear in court again in January.

Court documents say that Hicks told police that she thinks that the teenager jumped in front of her vehicle. She did not sustain injuries in the Waltham pedestrian accident.

As of yesterday, Causland’s family reported that the teenager was sedated and stabilizing but that he was still living “hour by hour.”

2008 Pedestrian Traffic Safety Facts (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration):

• 4,378 US pedestrian deaths
• 69,000 US pedestrian injuries
• 1 US pedestrian death every 2 hours
• 1 US pedestrian injury every 8 minutes
• 75 Massachusetts pedestrian fatalities

Pedestrians are at risk of sustaining injuries any time they are hit by a motor vehicle. These injuries can be especially catastrophic when the driver who strikes the pedestrian was operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, text messaging while driving, or speeding. In Massachusetts pedestrian accidents involving a negligent driver, the motorist may not even attempt to stop or be able to avoid hitting the victim, which can increase the chances that the injuries will be permanently life altering or fatal.

‘No good news’ for teen in crash, Boston Herald, December 2, 2009

Teenager fights for life after accident, The Daily News Tribune, December 1, 2009
Teen hit by drunk driver, say police, Boston.com, December 1, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Traumatic Brain Injury

Continue reading "Massachusetts Teenager Injured in Waltham Pedestrian Accident In Critical Condition Even After Emergency Brain Surgery" »