Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

The federal government has issued a nationwide ban that bars commercial truckers and bus drivers from text messaging while operating their vehicles. This ban goes into effect right away and any bus operators or truck drivers who are caught texting while driving are subject to a maximum $2,750 maximum penalty.

This prohibition is part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to curb distracted driving. Talking on a cell phone and texting while driving have proven particularly dangerous, and people have died in motor vehicle crashes throughout the US as a result.

Just last May 49 people were injured in a Boston MBTA trolley accident because the 24-year-old conductor was texting his girlfriend. While MBTA operators of buses, trains, and streetcars are no longer allowed to carry cell phones while on the job, among the rest of the Massachusetts driver population only school bus drivers are prohibited from talking on a cell phone while driving. Unlike a number of other US states, Massachusetts currently does not have a law banning drivers from texting or talking on handheld cell phones. However, yesterday the Joint Committee on Transportation approved a bill banning all drivers in the state from texting. It also bans drivers under 18 from talking on a cell phone. The Massachusetts Senate and House must approve the bill before it can become law.

Truck drivers who text reportedly increase their Massachusetts truck crash risk by up to 23 times. Truckers and bus drivers who text inevitably have to take their hands off the steering wheel and their eyes off the road. When this occurs, a public bus, a school bus, a tractor-trailer, a semi-truck, or an 18-wheeler truck turns into a dangerous and deadly fast-moving vehicle. Meantime, Some US Senators are calling on the US Transportation Department to extend its federal texting ban to all motorists.

It is never a good idea to text message or surf the Web while driving. In the event of a catastrophic Massachusetts motor vehicle collision, the negligent driver can become the defendant of a Boston injury case.

Mass. lawmakers propose law to ban text messaging while driving, Masslive.com, January 28, 2010

Senators urge expansion of federal ban on texting by truckers, bus drivers, StarGazette, January 26, 2010

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces Federal Ban on Texting for Commercial Truck Drivers, US Department of Transportation

MBTA: Conductor in Boston trolley crash was texting his girlfriend, Boston.com, May 8, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association

Continue reading "US Department of Transportation Bans Commercial Bus Drivers and Truck Drivers from Texting while Driving" »

Shane and Danielle Lambert are suing McLean Hospital for their children’s Massachusetts wrongful deaths. Kaleigh, 5, and Shane, 4, died on January 11, 2008, when their aunt, Marcelle Thibault, carried them onto Interstate 495 where the three of them were fatally struck by two motor vehicles.

Thibault, who is Danielle’s identical twin, was mentally ill. She had received treatment for her condition at McLean Hospital. Psychiatrists at the Harvard-affiliated psychiatric facility had diagnosed the 39-year-old with bipolar disorder in 2007. After discharging her from the Belmont hospital they recommended outpatient therapy and prescribed psychotropic drugs. However, the Lamberts claim that McLean’s doctors failed to warn them that Marcelle might be a danger to herself and those close to her.

On the night of the tragic incident, four months after she was discharged from the mental hospital, Thibault arrived at the Lamberts home to pick up the kids for a sleepover. Earlier in the evening, Massachusetts State Police almost detained her for a psychiatric evaluation. She reportedly was behaving strangely on an I-495 median and she even hit a motorist who tried to help her.

Thibault took her nephew and niece back to the median where she stopped her vehicle, parking it in the wrong direction. She took off the kids’ clothing, as well as her own clothes, and ran with them into oncoming traffic. A week after her death, the Middlesex district attorney’s office ruled the Lowell pedestrian accident a murder-suicide.

Other defendants in the Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit are Katryn Healy, a licensed social worker, and psychiatrists Dr. Mia D. Pfleging and Dr. Matthew E. Bernstein.

A party does not have been the direct cause of Massachusetts wrongful death in ordered to be named as a defendant. A defendant can be held liable if their allegedly negligent actions contributed to causing the death.

Parents' suit blames hospital in children's Lowell I-495 deaths, January 27, 2010

Lawsuit faults McLean in death of 2 innocents, Boston.com, January 26, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Wrongful death, the General Laws of Massachusetts

McLean Hospital

An attorney for the family of Kenneth Howe says there will be a civil rights lawsuit filed over his death. The 45-year-old man died while in police custody after he was arrested at a North Andover sobriety checkpoint on November 26.

Howe was accused of striking one state trooper and trying to flee the scene. Police arrested him after a brief pursuit and he was charged with assault and battery on a police officer.

The family’s Massachusetts injury attorney says that Howe never attempted to resist arrest. According to the driver of the pickup truck that the Worcester man was riding in, the trooper pulled Howe from the vehicle and started yelling out that she had been assaulted. 10 – 20 cops then surrounded Howe, who afterwards was unable to stand up unassisted. Police picked him up and dragged him to a cruiser.

While in the booking room at Andover State Police Barracks, Howe became unconscious. He was transported to Lawrence General Hospital where he was declared dead.

Howe’s relatives have said that the “blunt force” injuries to the chest and head that killed Howe were a result of police beating him during his arrest. This week, the Chief Medical Examiner’s office ruled that the Worcester man’s death was a homicide, with “beating” as the cause of the victim’s fatal injuries. However, the medical examiner’s office was quick to point out that it is not assigning criminal wrongdoing or blame. Final forensic and autopsy findings are still pending.

Massachusetts Police Brutality
If you believe that your loved one sustained injuries or died while in police custody because a Massachusetts police officer used excessive force when apprehending, questioning, arresting, or interrogating him/her, you should not be afraid to report the incident. Police brutality is a violation of a person’s civil rights. Even if no wrongdoing is found on the part of an officer or a police department, you may have grounds for filing a Massachusetts police brutality complaint.

Medical Examiner: Death in cop custody a homicide, Boston Herald, January 23, 2010

Man Dies In State Police Custody After Arrest, WBZ, November 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's Office, Mass.gov

Massachusetts State Police

Continue reading "Massachusetts Police Brutality?: Death of Worcester Man While In Police Custody is Ruled a Homicide " »

Toyota Motor Corp is recalling 2.3 million vehicles over a gas pedal defect that can cause mechanism problems involving the accelerator pedal. This is the automaker’s second massive recall related to a gas pedal defect. Toyota recalled about 4.26 million autos beginning last November after four family members died because the floor mat on the driver’s side caused the gas pedal to jam down and the Lexus to accelerate to speeds of over 100 mph.

The vehicles included in this recall are the:
• Sequoia (2008 – 2010 models)
• Tundra (2007 – 2010 models)
• Highlander (2010 model)
• Camry (2007 to 2010 models)
• Avalon (2005 to 2010 models)
• Matrix (2009 to 2010 models)
• Corolla (2009 to 2010 models)
• Rav4 (2009 to 2010 models)

Toyota’s reputation for making quality, safe cars has taken a beating. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that Toyota recalled more autos than any other car manufacturer in 2009. In total, the automaker recalled 4.87 million vehicles, including 110,000 Tundra pickups over worries that the vehicles’ spare tires might fall onto the road, causing a potential traffic hazard.

Now, Safety Expert Sean Kane is reportedly telling ABC News that there have been over 60 new incidents involving runaway Toyotas since the automaker announced the November recall and said it would modify the affected vehicles’s gas pedals. Over the holiday season, four people died on December 26 after their Toyota drove off the road and landed upside down in a pond. The floor mats were in the trunk, where Toyota had advised car owners to put them.

Toyota says this latest recall isn’t related to the one from last November.

Defective car parts can be a significant safety hazard that can kill and seriously injure people. Injured parties and their families can find out whether they have a Boston auto products liability complaint on their hands.

TOYOTA RECALL: Reports of Runaway Cars, ABC News, January 21, 2010

Auto recalls surge in '09, NHTSA says, Detroit News, January 12, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota may shorten gas pedals in acceleration recall, Consumer Reports, November 17, 2009

Continue reading "Toyota Recalls More than Two Million Autos Over Gas Pedal Defect" »

Plymouth resident John Norrie is suing Hewlett-Packard Co. for Massachusetts products liability. Norrie’s house burned down in November 2006 when his HP Pavilion Notebook computer overheated and caught fire. Norrie was asleep at the time, but he managed to escape. He says that he sustained serious injuries.

According to Norrie’s Plymouth injury complaint, he fell down a flight of stairs and separated his shoulder as he fled his home. Now, he is seeking over $250,000 in Massachusetts personal injury compensation for his injuries and the damage to his home. Norrie is accusing Hewlett-Packard of breach of warranty and negligence in regards to the manufacture, sale, instruction, and distribution of a product that was defective.

Lithium-Ion Batteries and Laptops
The fact that lithium-ion batteries pose an injury hazard is not news. Over the past five years, HP has announced four recalls of its lithium-ion batteries because they were considered fire hazards. Last May, HP recalled the batteries for nine Pavilion Notebook models because there was a chance the batteries might rupture, posing a fire hazard. 70,000 lithium-ion batteries were part of this recall, which included batteries for HPs, Compaq Presarios, and one HP Compaq model. Over the last several years, other computer manufacturers, including Apple Inc., Compaq, and Dell, have also recalled their lithium-ion batteries.

While a battery that gets a little hot may not sound too dangerous, it can lead to serious injuries and even death if the overheated battery causes a laptop to burst into flames. Last August, a 56-year-old Canadian man died when his HP laptop caught fire after it was left on a sofa. Yet despite the dangers, manufacturers continue to sell laptops that pose a fire hazard. Just this month, The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of approximately 22,000 Acer Aspire notebooks because they might short circuit and overheat.

Plymouth man sues Hewlett-Packard over laptop fire, The Boston Globe, January 8, 2010

Laptop fire blamed for Vancouver death, CBC News, August 26, 2009

HP Recalls Notebook Computer Batteries Due to Fire Hazard, CPSC, May 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Hewlett-Packard

Products Liability, NOLO

Continue reading "Plymouth Man Files Massachusetts Products Liability Lawsuit Against Hewlett-Packard After Laptop Fire Destroys Home and Causes Him Serious Injuries" »

The family of a 12-year-old boy who was seriously injured in a Massachusetts pedestrian accident is suing Michelle Medeiros and her dad Fernando for personal injuries to a minor. Michelle, 17, is accused of striking Kelvin Savanhmixay and then leaving the crash scene. Now, his family is seeking damages for his pain and suffering and the injuries that he sustained during the traffic crash, including permanent disfigurement and loss of function.

Lowell police say Medeiros’s motor vehicle struck Kelvin at the intersection of Route 113 and Mammoth Road, causing him to fly about 20 feet in the air. Rather than stopping to help the boy, the teen driver is accused of leaving him dead and rushing off to a Lawrence salon for a hair appointment.

Michelle then called Lawrence police to report that someone had vandalized her father’s car. She also allegedly filed a false police report and had the vehicle towed to a body shop in an attempt to cover up evidence from the Massachusetts car accident.

Police say Michelle later confessed to her involvement in the Massachusetts hit-and-run crash. The high school senior is charged with passing a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating at a speed greater than reasonable and proper, leaving the scene of an accident, and failure to use caution when changing lanes.

Hit-and-Run Accidents
Motorists are not allowed to drive away without stopping at the crash scene anytime they are involved in a pedestrian accident. To do so is called hit-and-run driving and against the law. Leaving a crash site can prove catastrophic if the pedestrian is seriously injured and no one calls for medical help. In some pedestrian accidents, victims who should otherwise have survived and recovered from their injuries ended up dying because the motorist that struck them didn't contact 911.

Law suit filed against Methuen teen in hit and run, The Eagle-Tribune, December 29, 2009

Hit-And-Run Victim Home, With Sense Of Humor, WBZ, November 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Massachusetts Department of Transportation

Continue reading "12-Year-Old's Family FIles Massachusetts Pedestrian Lawsuit Against Methuen Teen and Her Dad " »

In Norfolk Superior Court, Kathi Meyer filed a Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit against the people that allegedly made alcohol available to her daughter Taylor on the day that she died.

Taylor drowned while drunk. The body of the 17-year-old Plainville teen was found in a swamp. She disappeared after leaving an underage drinking party at the abandoned Norfolk airport. A two-day search ensued.

Named as defendants in the wrongful death lawsuit are siblings Paige and Brian Zuzick, Sean Flynn, Rachel Stark, and her mother Dianne, Matthew Dusseault, and Christopher Moran. Brian gave alcohol to Taylor and Paige. Flynn, a 21-year-old North Attleboro resident, bought the rum for Brian. Taylor allegedly had access to alcohol during a party at the Stark residence before she went to the party at the airport. Dusseault and Moran, who are both from Norfolk, are accused of bringing alcohol to the underage drinking party.

In her Norfolk wrongful death complaint, Kathi says that friends laughingly pointed Taylor toward the swamp instead of the street as she left the party at the airport. Kathi is accusing the defendants of negligence, wrongful death, conscious infliction of pain and punishment, and willful and reckless acts.

Underage Drinking
There is a reason why minors are not allowed to drink alcohol. The US Surgeon General reports that about 5,000 minors die every year because of underage drinking. Teens often do not know how to handle their liquor, which can lead to injuries and deaths from tragic car accidents, violent and sexual crimes, suicide, drug use, and other unfortunate incidents.

Mother files lawsuit after daughter’s drowning death at party, Boston Herald, January 13, 2010

Friends, parents sued in teen's death, The Sun Chronicle, January 13, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Dangers of Teen Drinking, Federal Trade Commission

Underage Drinking, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Continue reading "Taylor Meyer’s Mom Files Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Friends and Parent" »

While traumatic brain injury experts have known for some time that a TBI can cause personality changes, a new study has revealed that brain injury patients exhibit a higher incidence of emotional processing problems than previously thought. This can make recovery even challenging while causing conflicts in the TBI victim’s relationships.

According to head injury specialist Professor Roger Woo and colleague Claire Williams, traumatic brain injury patients can exhibit a loss of emotional attachment with family and friends, which suggests a connection between empathy problems and traumatic brain injuries.

Per neurology literature, there are three broad categories for empathy:

Cognitive empathy: Allows the person to know what someone else is feeling
Emotional empathy: Let’s someone feel what another is feeling
Compassionate empathy: Enables the person to response to another person’s upset feelings with compassion

In the Wood and Williams study, TBI patients scored low on empathy tests—two times lower, as a matter of fact, than control subjects. TBI patients displayed an impaired ability to identify what people on video and in photographs were feeling. Williams and Wood also tested for alexithymia, a personality trait that makes it hard for a person to know/describe what he/she is feeling. 60% of TBI patients they tested compared to 11% of the control group exhibited this personality trait. One reason that emotional processing can become impaired when a person has a TBI is that the areas of the brain that control this type of activity are susceptible to damage.

Massachusetts Traumatic Brain Injury Lawsuits
In addition to wreaking havoc on the victim, a traumatic brain injury can also take a toll on family members and friends. You may be able to obtain Massachusetts injury recovery by filing a Boston traumatic brain injury lawsuit.

Traumatic Brain Injury leads to problems with emotional processing, Psychology Today, January 3, 2010

Impairment in the recognition of emotion across different media following traumatic brain injury, Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Informaworld

Related Web Resources:
NINDS Traumatic Brain Injury Information Page

TBI, The Mayo Clinic

A mother is suing Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, three doctors, and two nurses for Massachusetts medical malpractice. Tessa Savicki says that the defendants violated her reproductive rights when they permanently sterilized her without her consent. Savicki, 35, has nine children.

Savicki says that after giving birth to Manuel Flores on December 19, 2006, a medical team performed a tubal ligation, which is a permanent procedure, instead of implanting an intrauterine device, which is a birth control procedure that can be reversed. She says that the permanent procedure left her mentally distressed and upset that she can no longer have more children.

Savicki says the defendants did not have a medical reason for performing the permanent sterilization. She also claims that never signed a written consent for the procedure, which is required for MassHealth patients.

A spokesperson for the hospital says that the document was signed. However, Savicki’s Massachusetts medical malpractice lawyer says that the hospital’s Health Information Management System department hasn’t been able to locate a signed consent form.

Failure to Obtain Informed Consent
Choosing to permanently prevent pregnancy is a serious and important decision for a woman to make. Doctor should notify a patient of the risks and ramifications associated with this medical procedure.

Medical providers must obtain a patient’s informed consent before performing an invasive procedure. A patient can sue for Boston medical malpractice if a medical procedure was performed without his/her permission or if a medical complication that he/she wasn't warned about occurs.

Ma mom: I was sterilized against my will, Cape Cod, January 3, 2010

Mother of Nine Claims She Was Sterilized Against Her Will, WCTV, January 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Medical Malpractice, Nolo

Tubal Ligation – Permanent Birth Control for Women, HealthNews, December 31, 2007