Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

Eight months after 100-year-old Elizabeth Barrow was allegedly strangled to death by her 98-year-old roommate at a Dartmouth assisted living facility, her family has filed a Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit. The 54-count civil complaint accuses Brandon Woods of Dartmouth, its executive director Scott Picone, and a number of staffers of Massachusetts nursing home negligence. Barrow’s family is also seeking damages from her roommate, Laura Lundquist.

Barrow was found dead in her ed on the morning of September 24. There was a plastic bag around her head.

Autopsy findings showed that Barrow sustained blunt force trauma to her chest, left leg, skull, and arms and that the cause of her death was strangulation via asphyxiation. The Dartmouth, Massachusetts nursing home neglect lawsuit accuses the assisted living facility and its employees of failing to provide Barrow with a safe environment and that, as a result, she suffered until she died.

Lundquist, who is charged with second-degree murder in Barrow’s death is likely the oldest murder defendant in Massachusetts. Police say that the 98-year-old allegedly killed her roommate because she was jealous that Barrow had a better window view and received more visitors. Lundquist is diagnosed with dementia and paranoia.

Prior to Barrow’s murder, her son, Scott, had requested that the nursing home separate the women because Lundquist had allegedly been harassing the older woman for weeks. However, Picone says that the assisted living facility offered Barrow the opportunity to change rooms twice but she refused. He says the two women behaved as if they were “sisters” and ate lunch and walked together.

Massachusetts Nursing Home Violence
Assisted living facilities must make sure that patients are kept safe. This means protecting them from Boston nursing home abuse, neglect, and patient violence. Unfortunately, it is no longer surprising news to hear about a resident assaulting, raping, or killing another patient. If a resident has a history of violence or is suffering from a mental illness that could make him/her prone to injuring or killing another patient, the assisted living facility must provide proper supervision or, if necessary, keep the patient separated from others, so that no one gets hurt or dies.

Slain 100-year-old woman's family files wrongful-death lawsuit against Brandon Woods of Dartmouth, SouthCoastToday, May 29, 2010

Massachusetts Nursing Home Violence: 98-Year-Old Dartmouth Nursing Resident Indicted for 100-Year-Old Roommate’s Homicide, Boston Injury Lawyer, December 15, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Brandon Woods of Dartmouth

Elia Adames, the Methuen motorist who failed to stop after her vehicle struck 2-year-old Jordan Pena on Tuesday, says she was scrolling through her cell phone when the Lawrence, Massachusetts pedestrian accident happened.

The collision tossed the toddler, who ran into the street while playing in the driveway, some 15-20 feet into a fire hydrant. He was flown to Children’s Hospital in Boston and was admitted in critical condition to the ICU.

Pena has head injuries. A hospital spokesperson said on Wednesday that his condition was upgraded to serious.

According to witnesses, Adames’s car was speeding when she struck the boy. Police found the 21-year-old driver after a witness managed to take down her license plate number. When they asked Adames if she knew that she’d struck the little boy, she started crying and said she’d heard a thumping sound while trying to find a number on her cell phone. Adames is charged with living the scene of a Massachusetts personal injury accident.

Distracted Driving
According to Nationwide Insurance’s yearly “Driving while Distracted” survey, 30% of the drivers surveyed who admitted to talking on the cell phone while driving now do this less often than they did last year. 4 out of every 10 drivers who text and drive also say they’re engaging in distracted driving less often in 2010. According to the insurance company, studies show that distracted driving is now the cause of one of every four US traffic crashes.

Cell Phone Use While Driving
Cell phone driving can prevent a motorist from paying full attention to the road conditions and ongoing traffic. This distracted driving habit reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving and a motorist’s reaction time can become delayed as if he/she were drunk. Most cell phone users never intend to injure or kill anyone while driving, but unfortunately, such catastrophic outcomes can result.

Lawrence Hit-&-Run Suspect May Have Been On Phone, WBZ, May 26, 2010

Survey: People talking, texting less while driving, Chicago Breaking News, May 27, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Distracted Driving, NHTSA

Distracted Driving, National Safety Council

Continue reading "Hit-and-Run Driver in Lawrence Car Accident that Injured Toddler Was Scrolling Through Cell Phone" »

On Monday, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced a bill that would outlaw the manufacturer and sale of drop-side cribs. Meantime, US Consumer Product Safety Commission chairman Inez Tenenbaum is pledging to ban the sale and manufacturer of drop-side cribs by the end of 2010. The CPSC intends to establish a new standard that would make it mandatory that all cribs have fixed-sides.

These actions come because the dangers posed by drop-side cribs that have yet to be recalled can no longer be ignored. Poor design, hardware malfunctions, deformities, or breakage, dangerously large openings created between the side rail and mattress, improper installation, and screws coming off are some of the crib defects reported that have resulted in serious injuries. In the last decade alone, at least 32 baby deaths have involved drop-side cribs. Crib drop sides may also be a factor in 14 infant crib entrapment deaths.

Granted, the CPSC has already recalled some seven million drop-side cribs in the last five years and the industry has started phasing out cribs with drop sides. Some large retailers won’t even allow them on sale floors anymore. However, many of these cribs can still be bought online and they continue to be used in residences and daycares.

Our Boston products liability lawyers are aware of the defects involving drop-side cribs and the dangers they pose. These poorly designed cribs can lead to suffocation, entrapment, strangulation, fall accidents, and wrongful death.

You can hold a negligent crib manufacturer liable if your son or daughter was injured because a drop-side crib was defectively designed or made or it malfunctioned.

Lawmakers look to ban drop-side cribs, AP/Google, May 25, 2010

CPSC Issues Warning on Drop-Side Cribs 32 Fatalities in Drop-Side Cribs in Last 9 Years, CPSC, May 11, 2010

CPSC eyes total ban on drop-side cribs, KATU, May 24, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Crib safety tips, Consumer Reports

Infant/Child Product Recalls (not including toys), CPSC

A Plymouth County jury awarded Mark Lambert $4.3 million for Massachusetts personal injuries he sustained when snowplows pushed a heavy load of snow off a highway overpass on January 17, 2005. The snow, which an expert witness compared to a 3-b-8 foot block of concrete, struck Lambert’s Mack truck on Route 44, crushing his vehicle.

Lambert, who owns Rainbow Fruit stores, sustained serious back injuries. He claims that he has experienced constant pain since the 2005 car crash. He is unable to work and has had to undergo back surgeries.

The defendant of this Massachusetts injury lawsuit is PA Landers. In 2008, the company was ordered to pay the state $3 million and the federal government $900,000 for overcharging for the asphalt that was used during the Big Dig project. The company was accused of generating bogus weight slips for truckloads of asphalt over an eight-year period.

PA Landers also settled two other motor vehicle crash lawsuits in 2006 and 2007.

Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries can permanently impact a victim’s life. In addition to seriously painful and disabling or disfiguring injuries, the injured party may no longer be able to work, live independently, tend to daily tasks, or participate in daily activities. The victim's career may be over, resulting in the loss of income and benefits, and personal relationships may be damaged. Loved ones also suffer as a result of the changes and losses the injured person must endure.

If someone else’s negligence contributed to your Boston injury accident, you may have grounds for suing the liable party or parties.

Mass. man crushed by snow gets $4.3 million jury award, MassLive, May 20, 2010

Jury awards $4.3m to man hurt when snow pushed off bridge, Boston.com, May 20, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Injury and Accident Overview, Justia

PA Landers

One day after federal officials lifted the city of Boston’s ban on trucks transporting hazardous materials, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admission has given the city a 45-day extension on the ban. However, city officials don't believe this is enough time to finish a safety analysis to justify the need for why the ban should stay in effect.

For the first time 2006, trucks transporting hazardous substances, including gasoline, propane, and oxygen, were allowed for one day to travel between 7am and 6pm through Boston’s streets. Also, whereas before trucks could only travel at night and on a route (Cross Street by the Greenway) that is considered safer because there are more traffic lights, commercial trucks were allowed through Commercial Street in the North End. However, for the next 45 days, the extension puts the old restrictions back in place.

Our Boston truck accident lawyers believe that it is important that trucking companies, truck industry officials, the state, and the federal government continue to do what is necessary to prevent Massachusetts truck crashes and the resulting injuries, exposure to hazardous substances, and deaths that can result. We are here to help Massachusetts truck crash victims obtain compensation from all liable parties.

In other truck safety news, the FMCSA is launching its Pre-Employment Screening Program. Commercial motor carrier companies will now be able to look at driver inspection and crash records when determining whether to hire a prospective candidate. PSP reflects the US Department of Transportation’s commitment to making sure that the safest drivers are the ones driving large trucks and buses.

Boston gets 45-day extension of truck ban, Boston.com, May 18, 2010

FMCSA Launches Pre-Employment Screening Program, US Department of Transportation, May 11, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Pre-Employment Screening Program

Continue reading "Preventing Boston Truck Accidents: City Gets 45-Day Extension Before Ban Barring Commercial Trucks from Transporting Hazardous Materials in the Daytime is Lifted" »

Massachusetts fall accidents from elevated heights can lead to broken bones, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and even death. This is why it is so important that property owners, premise supervisors, and other responsible parties make sure that there are no hazardous conditions or situations that can lead to catastrophic falls.

On May 2, Devon Burgess, a former wrestler and all-star lineman for Nauset Regional High School, died when he was injured during a Cambridge fall accident. The 26-year-old was attending a party at an apartment building when he fell off the edge of the flat rooftop.

There was no railing around the sides of the roof. Burgess’s girlfriend says that on the night of the party, a lantern was hung from a tree branch to illuminate the roof edge but that the light may have gone out. She says that Burgess found the branch, which gave way, and that was when he fell. He was killed instantly.

Also that day, Watertown resident Chris Civali, 27, died when he fell from the sliding door located on either the second floor or the third floor of a building. He suffered fatal head injuries. There was no stairwell or balcony on the other side of the door.

Fall Accidents
Unfortunately, fall accidents from elevated heights are not uncommon. If you read the news daily, you will likely see an article about someone who was recently hurt or killed when he/she fell off a building, crane, ladder, staircase, or through a window. This is why it is important that premise owners make sure that the proper safety measures are in place to minimize the chances that a fall accident will happen. Even slip and fall accidents, which usually occur at ground level, can lead to painful, debilitating, and catastrophic injuries.

Former Nauset all-star dies in fall, Cape Cod Online, May 4, 2010
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100504/NEWS/5040330/-1/NEWS01

Brookline Police: 27-year-old man dies after fall, Wicked Local, May 3, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Premises Liability Overview, Justia

Continue reading "Massachusetts Fall Accidents in Cambridge and Brookline Claim Two Lives" »

A 50-year-old Belchertown man named Lord Jesus Christ was injured in a Northampton pedestrian accident on May 4. Christ was treated at a local hospital for his injuries, which included a bruised hip, soreness, facial swelling, and broken teeth, before being released.

The driver of the vehicle that struck Christ, 20-year-old Pittsfield resident Brittany E. Cantarella, received a citation for a crosswalk violation. She was making a left turn when her car hit Christ.

Christ’s Massachusetts pedestrian accident made international headlines because of his name, which he legally changed to Lord Jesus Christ. While many people have gotten a kick out of Christ’s name, getting hit in a Boston pedestrian accident is no laughing matter.

Depending on the type of injury and its severity, an injured pedestrian may experience severe pain, disfigurement, and immobility. He or she may also be forced to take time off work to undergo costly surgery, other medical procedures, and rehabilitation.

Some Common Driver Errors that Can Cause Massachusetts Pedestrian Accidents:
• Texting or talking on a cell phone
• Failing to stop at a stop sign or stop light
• Failing to allow a pedestrian in a crosswalk to finish crossing the street
• Drunk driving
• Ignoring the red, flashing light of a school bus that is warning that kids may be getting off and walking around a bus and into the road
• Speeding

Unlike motor vehicle occupants, pedestrians have no protection whatsoever from the impact of getting hit by a car, motorcycle, bus, or semi-truck.

Lord Jesus Christ Recovering From Crash, The Boston Channel, May 12, 2010

Lord Jesus Christ suffers minor injuries in downtown Northampton crosswalk mishap, MassLive, May 6, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Pedestrian Safety, Mass.gov

Pedestrians, NHTSA

Continue reading "Massachusetts Pedestrian Named Lord Jesus Christ Injured in Northampton Car Accident" »

According to a Texas Transportation Institute report, from 1999 to 2008 there has been a 10% increase in the proportion of deadly nighttime traffic crashes involving US teen drivers. This increase can be largely attributed to cell phone use and text messaging that, combined with the risks already posed by driving in the dark, can create “a perfect storm,” says Senior Research Specialist Bernie Fette.

Granted, distracted driving, poor visibility, and slower responses due to fatigue can negatively impact drivers of any age group regardless of the time of day or night. However, add to these hazards the fact that teen drivers are less experienced, easily distracted to begin with, and not as skilled as their more experienced adult counterparts when it comes to avoiding becoming involved in a car crash, and its easy to understand why teenagers’ car crash fatality risk at night has gone up.

Currently, in Massachusetts only school bus drivers are banned from using cell phones while driving and the state doesn’t have a ban on text messaging. This means that unlike in a number of other US states, where new drivers (if not all motorists) are not allowed to talk on the phone and drive at the same time, even the most inexperienced drivers are allowed to text/talk on the phone and drive here. This makes them a danger not only to themselves but to others.

It doesn’t help that, per a 2009 study from the Pew Research Center, cell phone use among teenagers has increased 58% since 2004. 52% of teens admitted to talking on the phone and driving at the same time. 34% said they’ve texted while driving. Also, Fette notes that because today’s teens grew up talking on the cell phone and texting, they wrongly believe that they are "experts" and can easily talk/text and drive at the same time.

Many teens can’t resist the urge to text. According to NPR, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood considers the habit of texting while driving to be an addiction.

Massachusetts Distracted Driving Accidents
Talking on a cell phone takes the motorist’s mind on the road, and texting requires that a driver take at least one (if not both) hands off the steering wheel. Both activities can make it hard for the driver to pay attention or react quickly during an emergency. Not only can the driver end up in jail for injuring or killing a passenger, the occupant of another vehicle, or a pedestrian during a Massachusetts car crash, but the motorist can also be sued for Boston personal injury.

Cell phones raise teen nighttime driving risks, The Washington Post, May 6, 2010

Teens, Cell Phones and Texting, Pew Research, April 20, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Oprah's "No Phone Zone" Pledge, Oprah

Distraction.gov

A diesel generator emitting high doses of carbon monoxide has claimed one life while sending three others to the hospital. The accident happened at the victims’ Sudbury home that they were renting.

According police, one of the victims woke up early Friday to discover that she couldn’t breathe. She contacted 911. Firefighters and police officers arrived around 3:30am. They turned the generator off right away and took the remaining residents, who were unresponsive, from the house.

The woman who called 911, 42-year-old Aida Leone, was treated at a Framingham hospital and then later released. Two other tenants, 20-year-old Elvis Dasilva and 50-year-old Juraci Almeida, were transported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston where they were admitted with life-threatening illnesses. A fourth victim died at the hospital.

The rented house did not have electrical service. Firefighters say that there did not appear to be any working carbon monoxide detectors at the house. A Massachusetts law, known as Nicole’s Law, requires that homes contain functioning CO detectors that work.

Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can be hard to detect. CO poisoning can prove fatal. Claiming hundreds of lives each year, it is the leading cause of poison-related fatalities in the US. Signs of CO poisoning include weakness, dizziness, pulsing headache, fatigue, breathing problems, confusion, nausea, and sleepiness.

Generator fumes blamed in man’s death, Boston.com, May 1, 2010

Man killed in carbon monoxide poisoning, Boston.com, May 1, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon Monoxide Detectors, Mass.gov

Continue reading "Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Kills One Tenant and Injures Three Others at Sudbury Home" »