Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

A 25-year-old man was killed in a bar fight early in the morning on August 14th across the street from Fenway Park. The altercation occurred on Lansdowne Street at approximately 12:10 a.m.

The suspect whose actions played a role in the death of the young man has been identified as a 25-year-old resident of Boston. The victim was killed when a glass was thrown during the altercation and a shard lacerated the man’s neck.

In addition to killing the one man, the shards of glass also injured two others, a 22-year old man and a 23-year-old woman, that were in the area at the time of the bar fight.

Continue reading "25-year-old Man Killed in Bar Fight Near Fenway Park" »

Chris Rybicki, a 35-year-old Lynn resident, sustained serious injuries early Saturday when he was struck by an allegedly drunk Peabody motorist driving a Volkswagen Passat. Rybicki was riding a Yamaha scooter at the time of the Salem car accident.

Police say that the driver, 25-year-old Beth Erin MacGillivray, had bloodshot eyes, her speech and her breath were slurred, and she smelled like alcohol. She reportedly admitted to earlier drinking four beers. MacGillivray, who failed two out of three sobriety tests, was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol with serious bodily injury, as well as her second offense of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

Drunk Driving
According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study that surveyed 6,999 people, one out of 12 drivers surveyed admitted that they’ve driven drunk at least once over the course of 12 months. One in five motorists say they’ve driven within two hours of consuming an alcoholic drunk. Four out of five drivers said they considered drunk driving to be a major threat to people’s safety.

Drunk driving impairs the senses, slows reflexes, dulls the mind, causes blurry vision, drowsiness, and makes it nearly impossibly for the motorist to stay in control of his/her vehicle. Our Boston, Massachusetts personal injury lawyers represent car crash victims that were injured because a motorist was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The US Department of Transportation says that drunk drivers are involved in 1/3rd of all deadly US auto accidents. Governors Highway Safety Association chairman Vernon Betkey has said that the number of traffic deaths could be reduced by 50% if drunk driving was eliminated and everyone used seatbelts.

Lynn man seriously injured when hit by alleged drunken driver, Itemlive, August 30, 2010

Government study: 1 in 12 drivers admit driving drunk, USA Today, August 25, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Impaired Driving, CDC

Drunk Driving, Insurance Information Institute

Continue reading "Lynn Man Sustains Serious Injuries in Salem Car Crash Involving Alleged Drunken Driver " »

An emergency room doctor was killed this past Friday when the motor scooter he was operating collided with a truck. The accident occurred at approximately 10 a.m. on Beacon Street in Brighton.

The doctor was an attending physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. The chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital stated that the doctor was killed after his motor scooter collided with a truck.

The doctor was rushed to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. At this time, no citations have been issues and the cause of the collision is under investigation.

The victim was married with three children.

Continue reading "Motor Scooter Accident Kills Boston ER Doctor" »

Mike Findley and his wife Mary have agreed to settle their Boston medical malpractice lawsuit over an unsuccessful kidney transplant that he received at Tufts Medical Center for $1.25 million. The agreement was reached with the hospital, which was called New England Medical Center at the time, Drs. Krista Johansen, Erick Schadde, and Lauren Cornella and Nurse Janet A. Turgeon right before their Massachusetts personal injury trial was set to begin in Suffolk Superior Court.

The couple had accused doctors of botching what should have been the perfect kidney match in 2003. The donor kidney, which had comes from Mike’s brother Jeff, was the perfect match, but the Findleys contend that inexperienced physicians, administrative breakdowns at the teaching hospital, and understaffing allegedly contributed to its death just one week after the transplant, which took place on June 25, 2003.

According to Mike’s Boston medical malpractice attorney, following the transplant procedure, doctors and nurses failed to respond properly even though they knew that the patient’s urine output was dramatically reduced—a sign that the new kidney was failing. No attending physician was called and a renal ultrasound wasn’t ordered until the next day. Also, three of the doctors involved were in training and two were interns that had been working there for less than a month.

Mike was forced to undergo a second transplant, but that kidney has also failed. He is currently on a national kidney transplant list with an approximately 4- to 5-year waiting list.

Kidney Transplants
The National Kidney Foundation says that nearly 80,000 people are waiting for a new kidney. Doctors cannot afford to make mistakes that can cause a kidney transplant to fail. This type of medical error can make the different between life and death for a patient. Also, successful kidney transplant can significantly improve the patient’s quality of life.

Couple, hospital settle for $1.25M in kidney transplant suit, Boston Herald, August 15, 2010

Related Web Resources:
National Kidney Foundation

Tufts Medical Center

A man fell down a staircase at Fenway Park during a game last week between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. As a result of the fall, the man suffered severe injuries to his head and neck.

The fan fell approximately 14 feet down the staircase located at Gate B at Fenway Park. The man, whose name has not been released by the police, was treated by rescue workers at the scene who removed the injured man from the park on a stretcher. Following the treatment which the fan received at the scene of the accident, he was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for further treatment of the serious injuries he sustained in the fall.

In a brief statement to the press, the Red Sox reported that a fan was injured in a fall and was treated at the scene before being taken to the hospital. The Red Sox did not make any further comments about the incident.

Continue reading "Man Suffers Head and Neck Injuries From Fall Down Fenway Park Stairs" »

The Massachusetts wrongful death trial against a Lawrence cop and two State Police troopers over Alfonso Santana’s 2005 unexpected passing is scheduled to begin today. At issue, reports The Boston Globe, is whether Santana, 39, died from a police choke hold, cocaine intoxication, or another cause.

Santana was apprehended on October 19, 2005 by the three defendants, (former) Lawrence cop Mark Rivet, and Troopers Stephen R. Gondella and Mark F. Blanchard. The three men, who were watching a suspected drug house on Forest Street in Lawrence, had approached Santana, who had just parked his car, and asked for his ID. The officers say that they restrained Santana when they saw him put a white object in his mouth.

Court records report that police pepper-sprayed Santana and hit his face during a struggle that lasted for several minutes. For most of the altercation, Gondella’s arm was “around Santana’s neck.” Police were eventually able to retrieve what proved to be “a small amount of cocaine.”

After Santana was handcuffed, police realized that Santana did not have a pulse and was not breathing. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Autopsy results from the state medical examiner’s office determined that Santana died from “acute cocaine intoxication” from an “acute and chronic substance abuse.’’ However, a pathologist for Santana’s family says that the toxicology tests that the medical examiner ordered found no cocaine in Santana’s urine.

Former Massachusetts medical examiner Gerald A. Feigin has said that in over 6,000 autopsies, there was never a case where he found cocaine in the blood but none in the urine. He is wondering whether someone planted cocaine in Santana’s blood specimen. Feigin has also said that he thinks that Santana may have died because he was choked too hard and for too long.

Excessive Use of Force
Excessive use of police force—whether unintentional or not—has been known to cause serious injuries, including death. Massachusetts police brutality is a violation of one’s rights and can be grounds for a Boston injury lawsuit. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that police cannot abuse their power by using excessive force and the victims fail to report such incidents.

Police sued over death in ’05 arrest, Boston.com, August 20, 2010

Read the Civil Action, US Courts, July 16, 2010 (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Lawrence Police Department

Massachusetts State Police

A 17-year-old girl who was raped in an elevator at the Lynn commuter rail station last June is suing the MBTA for Massachusetts premises liability. She is claiming that inadequate security, poor lighting, and failure by the MBTA to take the appropriate precautions to protect members of the public contributed to her becoming the victim of the violent crime.

Police say that the teenager was waiting to take the train home on a Sunday evening when a man shoved her into an elevator, choked, and raped her. When the elevator doors opened, two people were able to pull the attacker off her. The victim says that the sexual assault lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. Joseph Sarcione, a 23-year-old homeless man was arrested and charged.

According to the plaintiff’s Massachusetts injury attorney, with 23 crimes reported at the Lynn station since January, MBTA police officials knew that the train station could be a dangerous place for patrons and should have done more to prevent the rape from happening. However, Transit Police contends that only one of the crimes prior to the sex assault incident involved any violence.

Since the woman was raped, the T has improved security on the rail platform and in its three block-long garage. Police patrols now go through the garage several times a day, broken lights have been replaced, and a police officer accompanies passengers exiting late night trains.

Inadequate Security
Property owners and managers can be held liable for Boston premises liability if inadequate security contributed to someone becoming the victim of a violent crime. Premise owners have a responsibility of taking the appropriate action to prevent crimes from happening. Depending on the type of property, preventive measures involving adequate security can include:

• Setting up a working alarm system
• Hiring security guards
• Scheduling police patrol
• Installing surveillance camera
• Making sure there are working locks on entryways and exits
• Installing adequate lighting
• Requiring people to sign in and out of a premise

Woman sues T over rape, Boston Herald, August 14, 2010

Teen choked in Lynn T station attempted rape, MyFox Boston, June 11, 2010

Related Web Resources:
MBTA

Inadequate Security, Justia

A Plymouth Superior Court jury has awarded a $400,000 Brockton nursing home abuse verdict to 76-year-old Marlene Owens, who is the only living relative of John J. Donahue. The 93-year-old nursing home resident died in 2005 after he lost his eye during an accident at Embassy Rehabilitation and Health Center and developed sepsis.

Donahue’s eye was removed more than 18 hours after a metal safety hook on the Hoyer lift that a female nursing home worker was using to transfer him out of his bed gouged it. According to the state, two people are supposed to operate the device when moving a patient. Donahue died 47 days later.

While the jury did not find Kindred Healthcare, the then-owner of the Brockton assisted living facility, liable for Donahue’s Plymouth County wrongful death, they did find the defendant liable for his eye injury. The $400,000 award is for his pain, suffering, and disfigurement.

However, obtaining Brockton nursing home abuse recovery for the elderly man’s personal injuries was not easy. In 2003, a few years prior to his passing, Donahue had signed a “voluntary” agreement giving up his right to sue the assisted living facility for personal injury or wrongful death. By signing the agreement, Donahue had agreed to resolve such disputes through arbitration. Last year, a judge invalidated the arbitration agreement because Donahue was already suffering from delusions when he signed it.

Massachusetts nursing home workers are supposed to follow proper procedures when moving patients from their beds or wheelchairs or when helping them walk to the bathroom or another destination. The reason these procedures are in place is to prevent Boston injury accidents from happening. Many nursing home patients already are in poor health and injuries can cause serious health complications, even death. Failure to abide by such procedures and regulations can be grounds for a Boston nursing home neglect case.

Stepdaughter wins $400G over nursing home abuse, Boston Herald, August 15, 2010

Brockton jury awards $400,000 in Embassy nursing-home accident, PatriotLedger, August 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
How to Use a Hoyer Lift to Transfer a Patient, eHow

Massachusetts Department of Public Health

The widow of Robert J. Martin Sr. a 73-year-old Truro selectman intends to sue the town of Provincetown and the Old Colony Tap bar for his Massachusetts drowning death. Martin’s body was found close to Fisherman’s Wharf on the evening of September 28, 2008.

While the amounts that she plans to seek from the town and the bar have not been determined, Margo Martin did send a demand letter to the town of Provincetown last year seeking $900,000 for its negligence. Margo contends that town workers contributed to her late husband’s Provincetown, Massachusetts wrongful death because they did not try to rescue or revive him when he still could have been saved. According to a police report, choppy seas, high tides, heavy wind, seaweed buildup, poor lighting on the beach, blocked vehicle access, and storm drain construction caused delays in retrieving Martin’s body.

Margo is also accusing the town of inadequate maintenance of its drains, culverts, beachfront, and ditches, which created a safety hazard that also contributed to Martin’s Massachusetts wrongful death. Because the town did not resolve her claim within the six months, she can now file her Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit in court.

As for the Old Colony Tap bar, it reportedly served Martin alcohol on the night that he died. This, even though a family member had previously asked the bar not to serve Martin alcohol because he had started drinking again after years of being sober.

Also, Margo’s Boston wrongful death lawyer says that the bar improperly served Martin two other times. He ended up with a DUI criminal charge after one occasion. After the other time, he fell on his face and got hurt.

Massachusetts Drowning Accident
There are drowning accidents that could have been prevented were it not for other parties’ negligence. In addition to drownings in natural bodies of water, swimming pools, and hot tubs, drowning deaths can also happen during boating accidents, as well as when someone is injured or falls unconscious in a bathtub. Children are at high risk of bathtub drownings.

Report details night of Provincetown drowning, DailyMe, August 5, 2010

Drowning victim's wife to sue Provincetown, Cape Cod Times, August 10, 2010

Family seeks $900K in Provincetown drowning, Boston Herald, August 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Provincetown.com

Continue reading "Truro Man’s Family to Sue Provincetown for Man’s 2008 Massachusetts Drowning Death" »

Our Boston attorneys have recently seen that a 55-year-old resident of Millbury was hit by a MBTA commuter rail train yesterday afternoon. The accident occurred on the tracks near 61 Frank Street in Worcester.

The commuter rail train left Boston at 2:40 p.m. and was traveling at approximately 40 mph when it struck the pedestrian.

Luckily, one of the passengers on the train was a registered nurse. The nurse provided first aid to the pedestrian until Worcester EMS arrived. The injured man was immediately taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center – University Campus for treatment.

Continue reading "Man hit by MBTA Operated Commuter Rail Train in Worcester " »

Our Boston lawyers have discovered that a 12-year-old boy was airlifted to Children’s Hospital for treatment of the injuries he sustained at the Whitman town pool. At approximately 12:30 on Monday afternoon, the boy reportedly slipped into the pool, striking his back on the pool ladder in the process.

Following the impact, the young boy complained of severe lower back pain and a numb sensation in his lower extremities. The Whitman firefighters that responded to the 911 call were able to stabilize the child in the deep end of the pool before he was airlifted to the hospital.

If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a slip and fall, you may be entitled to financial recovery for your injuries. At the law firm of Altman & Altman, we have recovered millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for personal injury victims. Please contact our firm for a free case evaluation.

Continue reading "Child Airlifted from Whitman Town Pool After Fall" »

A confidential Massachusetts injury settlement has been reached between the plaintiffs, Katie Nardin and Thomas Soisson, and the insurers of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity and MIT graduate Bhaskar Mookerji. Nardin and Soisson sustained severe chemical burn injuries to the face, arms, and legs while doing environmental cleanup volunteer work on the Charles River Cleanup Boat on September 6, 2007.

A Styrofoam-like object that was scooped up from the water and deposited in a plastic trash barrel on the boat exploded, causing their injuries. The object, which was actually sodium metal, had been stolen from an MIT school lab as part of an annual tradition that involves throwing the material into the Charles River.

Mookerji, now 22, came forward in April 2008 and admitted that he threw the sodium metal into the water. He was charged with environmental pollution and disorderly conduct. The criminal charges against him were eventually dropped.

Soisson had to have skin graft surgery for his injuries and has spent a great deal of time recovering. Nardin received treatment for her burn injuries and has had to seek medical attention another nine times because of infection and scarring. The Massachusetts personal injury compensation settlement is for their physical injuries and emotional trauma.

The blast also cost thousands of dollars in decontamination efforts.

Chemical Burns can cause:
• Tissue damage
• Blisters
• Numbness or pain
• Black dead skin
• Vision problems
• Low blood pressure
• Seizures
• Cardiac arrest

Chemical burns can be very painful and traumatic.

Deal reached in MIT fraternity prank, Boston.com, August 10, 2010

Confession linked TEP to Na injuries, The Tech Online, March 12, 2010

Chemical Burns, emedicinehealth

Related Web Resources:
Tau Epsilon Phi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Charles River Cleanup Boat

Continue reading "Massachusetts Personal Injury Settlement Reached in MIT Fraternity Prank that Severely Injured Two Volunteers" »

The attorneys at Altman & Altman have learned that a toddler fell from a second story back porch in Lynn this past Sunday. The child was at a Lynn daycare facility when the accident occurred. The toddler is currently in stable condition at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The 22-month-old child was on the back porch of her daycare facility when she fell 15-feet, landing in the driveway. Currently, the Lynn police and the Department of Children and Families are investigating the incident. The operator of the Lynn daycare has agreed to cease all operations of her business pending the ongoing investigation.

If you or a loved one has been hurt in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation through a Boston Personal Injury lawsuit. Please contact the law firm of Altman & Altman to for an initial consultation with an experienced lawyer at no cost to you.

Source: Cops: Toddler hurt in Lynn fall will be OK, The Daily Item, August 10, 2010

This week, the National Transportation Safety Board held a hearing to determine what needs to be done to prevent tanker trucks that carry hazardous materials from rolling over. The meeting comes nine months after a tanker rollover accident on I-465 last October that caused a massive fireball, destroyed a bridge column, and injured four people, including the tanker driver. The truck was hauling almost 12,000 gallons of liquefied petroleum.

Because cargo tanker trucks are designed with high gravity centers, they have a higher rollover risk than other vehicles. This can prove catastrophic—especially when the truck is transporting hazardous materials.

Consider that 31% of fatal commercial truck rollovers involve tanker trucks. Currently, however, the federal government does not require that manufacturers build trucks with lower gravity centers.

Our Boston tanker truck accident lawyers believe that anything that can be done to prevent such dangerous traffic crashes from happening is a positive step toward saving lives. It is important that Massachusetts truck crash victims realize that they have legal options that can allow them to receive compensation from negligent parties.

According to the NTSB, driver error is responsible for 78% of cargo truck accidents. The safety board is trying to determine whether electronic stability systems, like those required in newer cars, would prevent tanker truck rollovers. Sensors could let a truck’s onboard computer know when the weight is about to change and the brakes would automatically activate until balance was be restored. This could be especially helpful when trucks are driving too fast as they make their way around a curve or are entering or exiting a highway ramp. Approximately 1,260 cargo tanker rollovers occur each year.

It was just last month that the federal government lifted Boston’s temporary ban on hazmat trucks. They can now travel through the city’s North End. While the route should get the trucks through the city faster, some residents are concerned that such hazardous loads are making their way through the area. The city and state are hoping to get a permanent ban in place.

NTSB probes rollovers by hazmat tanker trucks, AP, August 3, 2010

Cause of tanker blast that shut I-465 studied, IndyStar, August 5, 2010

Hazmat Trucks Allowed Again In Boston's North End, WBZ, July 1, 2010

Related Web Resources:
National Transportation Safety Board

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading "Boston Tanker Truck Accidents Can Cause Serious Injuries" »

A 91-year-old driver lost control of his minivan this past Sunday afternoon at a parade in Newburyport, injuring three parade goers.

Before the operator of the automobile was stopped by a large boulder on the opposite side of the road, he struck three individuals, including a husband and wife. The pair was hit while they were walking in a crosswalk at the parade.

The couple was taken to the local hospital where they received treatment for their injuries. The third bystander who was struck by the minivan refused treatment on the scene.

At the moment, investigators are inspecting the 91-year-old’s vehicle to see if there were any mechanical problems with the accelerator. The local police have charged the driver with driving to endanger and operating with defective equipment.

Continue reading "91- Year-Old Driver Hits Three Pedestrians Attending a Newburyport Parade" »

Consumer Reports is saying that some dietary supplements may be causing more harm than good. Its report warns of 12 ingredients in supplements that can cause serious side effects, including liver, cardiovascular, and kidney problems. The ingredients that Consumer Reports is cautioning against are:

• Yohimbe
• Lobelia
• Kava
• Greater celandine
• Germanium
Comfrey
• Country mallow
• Coltsfoot
• Colloidal silver
• Chaparral
• Bitter orange
• Aconite

Consumer Reports says there are even supplements that contain pesticides, heavy metals, and prescription drugs.

According to CNN, the Food and Drug Administration says that these possible side effects are dependent upon how much of an ingredient the user takes over a certain period of time. Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration’s power to regulate the dietary supplement industry is limited and many supplements are sold without having to prove that they work and are safe.

A recent article on the magazine’s Web site talks about one man, John Coolidge, who started to experience joint pain, diarrhea, lung problems, hair loss, and the loss of toenails and fingernails after taking Total Body Formula, a supplement that was supposed to improve his health. Hundreds of others have stepped forward to complain about the adverse reactions they experienced while taking the supplement. Based on the FDA's testing of the supplement following the complaints, most samples had over 200 times the amount of selenium than what was listed on the supplement’s label and almost 17 times more than the recommended intake of chromium.

Some have expressed concern that there may even be some manufacturers who may be adding pharmaceuticals into their supplements. One doctor, internist Dr. Pieter Cohen at Cambridge Health Alliance, says that some of his patients have gotten sick from taking supplements.

Our Boston products liability lawyers want to remind you that there are legal remedies available to the victims of a product that caused serious injuries, illness, or wrongful death.

Three Types of Product Defect:
• Design defects
• Marketing defects
• Manufacturing defects

Dangerous supplements: What you don't know about these 12 ingredients could hurt you, Consumer Reports, 2010

Report: Dietary supplements pose health risks, CNN, August 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
12 supplements you should avoid, Consumer Reports

Selected Examples of Deceptive or Dangerous Marketing for Herbal Supplements, GAO, May 26, 2010

Continue reading "Boston, Massachusetts Personal Injury: Are Dietary Supplements Dangerous Drugs?" »