The lawsuit accuses Whirlpool of negligence and knowing that it was placing the 134-year-old church under unreasonable risk of harm. The Archdiocese is alleging that the company breached its implied warranty because the refrigerator was in a defective state and therefore hazardous and that the home appliance manufacturer should have known or knew that it had subjected the church to unreasonable risk.The complaint also accuses Whirlpool of violating the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.

It cost over $10 million to rebuild the church, which was burned to the ground. The Weymouth Fire Department, Weymouth Police Department, the Office of the State Fire Marshall, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted a joint investigation. A malfunction in an old refrigerator in the church basement was determined to be the cause of the fire.

If you were injured or suffered property damage because of a defective household appliance, electrical product, motor vehicle, machinery, or another defective product, contact our Boston, Massachusetts products liability law firm to explore your legal options.

Products can become defective during the design phase or while they are being manufactured. A manufacturer may also have breached its warranty for a specific product. Our defective products lawyers will work with experts to identify the defect and determine whether the manufacturer, designer, or retailer could have acted to prevent the defect. If product is not defective, and you are injured because of a malfunction, the manufacturer could still be held strictly liable.

Archdiocese files $10M suit agains Whirlpool in ’05 blaze, Boston Herald.com, July 2, 2008

Weymouth church destroyed, Boston.com, June 10, 2005

Related Web Resources:

Whirlpool Corp.

Archdiocese of Boston

Mass Law About Consumer Protection

Perry sustained leg fractures and other injuries after she was pinned underneath scrap metal when the Green line trolley she was riding in collided with another train on May 28. Special equipment had to be used to extricate the 37-year-old accident victim, who was sitting behind the train operator, from the wreckage.

Several other people sustained serious injuries, and the train operator, 24-year-old Boston resident Terese Edmonds, died in the crash.

Investigators continue to probe into what caused the crash. Contrary to early speculation, numerous tests proved that Edmonds was not talking on the phone when the crash happened.

If you have been injured in a train crash anywhere in Massachusetts, it is important that you retain the services of a personal injury law firm that knows how to handle train accident claims and lawsuits, and the different kinds of accident situations and causes that can arise.

Common kinds of train accidents:

• Single train crash
• Multi-train collision
• Train crashes involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, or buses
• Train accidents involving pedestrians
• Trains caused by human error, whether the train operator, a train conductor, another motorist, or the train station.

In the Greater Boston area and throughout Massachusetts, our train crash lawyers have helped injured clients sue the negligent parties for financial recovery. We know how to determine causation and liability. Our Massachusetts injury law firm is familiar with the jurisdictional matters and other issues that are unique to train crashes and cases involving the MBTA.

Woman trapped in deadly crash sues MBTA, BostonHerald.com, June 26, 2008

Woman Injured In Green Line Crash Sues MBTA, WBZTV.com, June 25, 2008

Related Web Resources:

MBTA

Conductor Killed In Newton Train Collision, WBZTV.com, May 29, 2008

The lawsuit, filed in Worcester Superior Court in January, named de Araujo, Atlantic Union College, and Atlantic Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Board of Trustees Head Donald G. King, and former AUC President George Babcock as defendants in the case. Mr. De Araujo is internationally recognized for his musical performances and choral direction and is called “Maestro.”

The lawsuit accuses him of sexual abuse and inappropriately touching the plaintiffs. The suit also alleges that the college knew that the former music professor had a history of sexually predatory behavior but either ignored complaints or got rid of the men that did complain. The plaintiffs are also accusing AUC of firing workers that opposed the abuse and participating in libel and slander against the students that accused Araujo of abuse. One student claims he lost his scholarship after he denied Araujo’s sexual advances.

Araujo, who retired in 2007, denies the accusations.

Our Boston, Massachusetts sexual abuse law firm represents men, women, and children that have been the victims of abuse by teachers, counselors, coaches, and others. While the criminal process can hold a perpetrator accountable by charging him or her with committing a crime, this will not compensate an abuse victim for injuries, pain and suffering, mental and emotional trauma, and the financial costs that come with suffering such serious harm.

Our Massachusetts sex abuse lawyers take your sex abuse injuries very seriously, and we will handle your case with sensitivity and great skill while helping you recover the compensation you are owed.

AUC professor's sex abuse lawsuit has been settled, Wicked Local, June 20, 2008

Sexual abuse lawsuit settled, Telegram.com, June 21, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Atlantic Union College

Francisco de Araujo: Dialogue with an Adventist conductor, producer, and artistic director, Dialogue.adventist.org

Plaintiff Anne Cahill alleges that the companies either knew or should have known that grease-build up in a kitchen exhaust pipe could pose a potential fire risk, which could have been prevented. The grease fumes are believed to have caused a fireball on August 29, 2007, killlng Cahill and firefighter Warren Payne and sending 12 other firefighters to local hospitals.

It was an hour after the fire had ignited before firefighters were called to the scene. Fire officials say that there was grease and toxic fumes in an 8-inch space of the restaurant’s ceiling.

J & B Cleaning was contracted to clean the hood cover, stove area, roof fans, and the floor beneath the stove. A company spokesperson says that prior to the fire, the company had last cleaned the areas on June 21 and that the next cleaning was scheduled for September.

The city of Boston was barraged by criticism after the tragic accident because Tai Ho Restaurant had been eight months overdue for an inspection when the fire happened. Six other businesses suffered property damage from the blaze, including the Continental Shoppe, Ferns By Sheila Cobb , and L’Essence Art Gallery.

It is the responsibility of property owners and managers to make sure that a premise is safe from hazards that can cause serious injury or death to patrons, residents, visitors, customers, or workers. If someone you love died or you were seriously injured because of a person or an entity’s failure to properly maintain, inspect, or repair hazardous conditions on a premise, our Boston premises liability lawyers can help you explore your legal options.

Although you cannot sue your employer if you were injured on the job, there may be third parties that can be held responsible for your injury accident. If your loved one died in a work accident, you are eligible for death benefits under Massachusetts’ workers’ compensation law. One of our Boston workers' compensation attorneys can discuss your case with you.

Firefighter’s widow files lawsuit, Wicked Local, June 13, 2008

Premises Liability, Justia

Related Web Resource:

Workers' Compensation Insurance

Worcester police are also wondering why they were never told of his death. The police and the Worcester district attorney’s office have subpoenaed the hospital for Napier’s medical records. According to Massachusetts law, police must be informed of any deaths that occur in any city, even if suicide is the cause of death.

On May 12, Clark University Police Chief Stephen Goulet contacted Worcester police and asked them to check on Napier. Police found Napier at his apartment. He was unable to answer the door and he appeared “confused.”

He was transported to St. Vincent Hospital and a CT scan was performed. Napier was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma and underwent emergency surgery. His family believes the injury occurred several weeks prior when he was struck by a pizza delivery door while riding a bicycle. The impact caused him to hit the door and fall onto the floor. The pizza delivery driver did not see Napier as he opened the door.

Following the emergency surgery, a nurse at St. Vincent Hospital said Napier’s behavior appeared off. He reportedly made a suicidal gesture with a knife on May 15 and was placed under 24-hour observation. A psychiatric evaluation was ordered.

The family claims that the evaluation never took place and Napier was taken off the watch. ON May 16, Napier hung himself from the shower. He was then reportedly resuscitated and placed on a breathing machine. He was declared dead on May 18.

The hospital says that they notified the medical examiner and the Department of Public Health. Police say they cannot properly investigate the death scene because Napier was removed from the scene and his room had been cleaned.

Medical care providers are supposed to ensure that hospital patients get the proper medical care and attention. Failure to provide that care can be grounds fora medical malpractice claim or lawsuit.

If you believe that you were injured or your loved one died because of the negligence of a hospital or another health care provider, our Boston, Massachusetts medical malpractice attorneys can explore the details of your case with you. In some instances, it can take weeks to realize that you have a traumatic brain injury or another serious injury from an accident—we can investigate your case and determine liability.

Clark professor's death probed, Telegram.com, June 2, 2008

Clark mourning the loss of popular scholar, Telegram.com June 1, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Winston Napier

The lawsuit alleges that on May 18, 2005, Capt. John DiVincenzo and Detectives Richard Ganey and David Richardson breached procedures and engaged in acts of omission when they responded to a 911 call from Danielle’s boyfriend, who reported that she was threatening to commit suicide.

The three men picked up Danielle and drove her to Beverly Hospital. They then turned Danielle her over to her father, then-Sgt. Dennis Tarsook, in the Beverly Hospital parking lot instead of taking her directly to the hospital the way they should have. Danielle, 19, committed suicide in her apartment later that day.

While under Massachusetts wrongful death law, Dennis stands to recover compensation from the suit, his ex-wife and Danielle’s mother, Beverly, says that he is also liable for their daughter’s death because he did not get Danielle the medical care she needed before she killed herself.

Police are not allowed to interfere in incidents involving family member. This policy was implemented in 2004, after a police officer responded to a 911 call involving his son in a domestic dispute. His son killed his girlfriend and committed suicide three days later. The city of Beverly, who employed the three cops, is also a defendant in the lawsuit.

Our Boston, Massachusetts law firm represents families all over Massachusetts with wrongful death claims and lawsuits against parties that caused their loved ones’ deaths. You have three years from the date of the wrongful death to file a lawsuit. It is important that we start investigating your case as soon as possible.

Police sued for $10 million over suicide of officer's daughter, Salem News, May 6, 2008

Police may face $10m suicide lawsuit, Wickedlocal.com, May 5, 2007

Related Web Resource:

Beverly Police Dept.

150 people were hurt in the accident that happened after a shipping depot allegedly neglected to secure a freight car on its property, causing it to escape from the yard, roll onto the Stoughton rail line, and strike the rush hour train.

Some 120 people had already filed claims against the MBTA, and this is the first personal injury lawsuit. The plaintiffs are Easton resident Vickie Beaulieu, Stoughton resident Jennifer Kimbrel, and Canton resident Mary Ellon Gleason.

The MBTA has already filed a lawsuit against CSX Transportation, the rail freight carrier that is accused of not properly securing the freight car and Cohenno Inc., the owner of the depot that was supposed to house the car.

All three plaintiffs of this Massachusetts train accident lawsuit were passengers on the commuter train. They say that they suffered “severe, grievous, and permanent injuries” and are accusing the defendants of negligence, carelessness, and recklessness.

Train accidents can result in serious personal injuries. Just last week, several passengers were injured and the MBTA train operator was killed when a commuter train rear-ended another. Federal investigators are now reporting that the operator, Terese Edmonds, may have been speeding before the Green Line train she was operating slammed into the other train.

It is important that you hire a Massachusetts train crash lawyer that knows how to pursue and prove your personal injury case.

Train sped before crash, NTSB says, Boston.com, June 1, 2008

Investigators Rule Out Track, Brake Problems In Train Crash, Courant.com, June 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:

MBTA Files Lawsuit Over Canton, Massachusetts Train Accident that Injured 150 and Caused Property Damage, Altman & Altman LLP

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

The train operator, 24-year-old Boston resident Teresa Edmonds, died at the accident scene. Rescue workers finally managed to remove her body from the train wreck about 7 hours after the crash.

The Massachusetts train collision occurred around 6pm during rush hour on Wednesday when a two-car outbound Green Line train ran into another two-car train that was stopped at a red light signal. Both trains were leaving Boston.

About 200 people were on both trains at the time of the collision. A number of passengers were thrown from their seats.

The federal investigators are here to analyze the condition of the signals and the track, the performance of dispatchers and trolley operators, and the emergency response.

Our Boston, Massachusetts train accident attorneys represent clients throughout Massachusetts that have been seriously injured or lost loved ones in MBTA and MBCR train crashes. We have the experience to investigate the accident scene and determine liability.

If you are a train operator, conductor, engineer, or track worker that was seriously injured in a train accident in Massachusetts, or if someone you love is a train worker that died on the job, our Massachusetts work injury lawyers can help you. We can also determine whether any third parties, such as the train manufacturer or a train maintenance company, are liable.

The Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety Analysis says 951 people died and over 11,000 others got hurt in the 14,355 train accidents that occurred in 2002.

Investigation begins into fatal crash on Green Line, Boston.com, May 29, 2008

Trolley operator dies after collision in Newton, Boston.com, May 28, 2008

Eight injured in Green Line train crash in Newton, Mass., The Daily News Tribune, May 28, 2008

Related Web Resources:

MBTA

National Transportation Safety Board

Steven J. Huard says that jail officials have denied him the proper medical care ever since he began serving his 5-6 year prison sentence. Huard began serving time in prison after he was convicted of assault and battery and resisting arrest charges in 2005.

Huard says he has had chronic health problems since 1989, when he was diagnosed with liver disease. He also sustained a spinal cord injury and bulging discs in 2002. In 2004, he sustained more injuries in a car crash. He also fractured his right hip and ribs when he fell from the roof of a two-story building in 2005. He underwent hip surgery and was told by the surgeon to use a cane, as well as undergo physical and rehabilitation therapies.

Huard was arrested two months after the surgery and convicted. Huard says that more health issues arose surrounding his hip, his back, and his neck in December 2005, and he needs more therapy. The doctor, however, was only authorized to examine his hip.

Huard also claims that after he was admitted to the Middleton jail, doctors cleared him to enter into the general population without a cane. He says that the Middlesex Sheriff Department won’t bring him to the necessary doctors.

If you have been seriously injured, it is important that you receive the proper medical care. Failure to obtain this care because of the negligence, carelessness, or recklessness of another party can be grounds for a Massachusetts personal injury claim or lawsuit. You will need the help of an experienced Boston, Massachusetts injury attorney who can thoroughly investigate your case and explore all avenues of recovery.

Huard is seeking monetary damages. He also wants the jail’s procedures and policies to be revised so that he can get the medical care that he needs.

Ex-Billerica Man Sues Over Medical Treatment in Prison

Huard v. Essex County Correctional Center, et al, Justia.com

Related Web Resource:

Middlesex Sheriff's Office

Engineer Phillip Robinson, rookie Mathew Indeglia, and mechanic Mark Mansfield were killed when the Unit 3 boiler tubes broke—enveloping them in steam with a temperature that was close to 600 degrees.

Dominion Energy New England officials say they will dispute the claim that they failed to protect the company’s employees from getting hurt or killed on the job. A Dominion official says that an inspection found that the cause of the boiler explosion was an undetectable defect in an old weld that joined two pipe pieces.

OSHA has ordered Dominion to pay $46,800 in safety violations, and more fines may be pending. The company says that the majority of the violations have been remedied.

OSHA says that is essential that Dominion identify and eliminate any dangers to workers and take the necessary steps (including conduct proper maintenance and inspections), to prevent future leaks.

Other fines that may be pending include $4,500 for improperly storing compressed gases in cylinders and $6,300 for failing to inspect the "dead air space" area of the coal-fired boiler that ruptured.

The surviving family members of the victims are considering filing a Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit against Dominion.

If you were seriously injured on the job or someone you love died in a work accident anywhere in Massachusetts, you should contact our Boston work injury law firm for your free consultation. One of our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers can make sure that you are getting paid the full benefits that you are entitled to and that you receive your payments on time. If someone you love has died, we can also make sure that you receive all of the financial benefits that you are entitled to receive. You also may be able to file a Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit against any liable third parties.

OSHA finds Salem plant failed to protect men who died, Boston.com, May 15, 2008

Salem Harbor Resumes Operation After 2007 Plant Catastrophe, an Industrial Info News Alert, Marketwire.com, April 25, 2008

Workers In Salem Plant Explosion Die From Injuries, WBZTV.com, November 7, 2007

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

According to the NHTSA, 31% of deadly 15-passenger van rollovers happen during this time because the summer holidays are a busy time for travel.

Data shows that the more people and cargo there are in a 15-passenger van, the greater the chances of a rollover accident. 50% of 15-passenger van fatalities in 2006 happened when the vans were loaded to full capacity. Other common causes of 15-passenger van fatalities include tire problems, driver inexperience, and failure to use a seat belt.

On a positive note, the number of 15-passenger van deaths declined between 1997 and 2006—the period of time that the new NHTSA study encapsulates. There were over 100 15-passenger van-related deaths in 1997 and less than 60 in 2006.

15-passenger vans continue to be one of the motor vehicles most likely to be involved in a rollover accident. A major reason for this is that the vans are designed in a way that the rear of the van, when fully loaded with passengers and cargo, tends to become weighted down. These vans are also designed with what is called a high gravity center that gets heavier the more people are in the vehicle. 15-passenger van accidents can lead to many injury victims—especially in rollover accidents.

In Massachusetts, our Boston auto products liability lawyers can discuss your injury accident during a free consultation. We have helped many motor vehicle accident victims recover compensation for their injury accidents.

Nation’s Top Vehicle Safety Official Urges 15-Passenger Van Users to Drive with Caution this Summer, NHTSA, May 12, 2008

Fatalities to Occupants of 15-Passenger Vans, 1997-2006, NHTSA (PDF)

Related Web Resource:

15-Passenger Van Safety Hazard Information

NHTSA Action Plan for 15-Passenger Van Safety

The safety board issued its findings today in a final report. Although CAI and Arnel, Inc., a specialty paintmaker both ran the plant, the safety board is holding CAI accountable because the board says one of its employees did not turn off the ventilation system while chemicals were being heated. The employee, however, disputes this finding and says he shut down the heat before leaving for the day.

The report also described the differences that exist between federal and state safety regulations and why these gaps need to be remedied.

Safety board member William Wright said that the CAI should have installed automated safeguards and an alarm system rather than leaving the safety measures to be manually activated by employees that could make mistakes.

The board says that the chemical explosion took place at around 2:46 am.
Fortunately, no one died in the explosion that forced 300 people to evacuate the neighborhood and destroyed 3 buildings and 16 houses. 10 people, however, did sustain minor injuries.

CAI’s attorney is disputing the safety board’s findings. He says that the company’s own investigation (based on computer modeling of the explosion) has reached a completely different conclusion.

Property owners and their insurance companies have filed property damage lawsuits against CAI.

In Danvers and in other cities across Massachusetts, our Boston-based personal injury and property damage attorneys represent clients that have been injured or suffered serious property damage because of the negligent or careless actions of another party.

Report: Lack of safeguards led to Danvers plant explosion, Boston Herald, May 13, 2008

Federal report: Danvers 2006 explosion could have been prevented, Boston.com, May 13, 2008

Read the US Chemical Safety Board's Report (PDF)

Related Web Resources:

US Chemical Safety Report

How they survived, Boston.com, November 28, 2006

Bolduc, 18, says that she and three friends were pulled over because of an unlit headlight. Bolduc says that she had unbuttoned the top button on her pants because she and her friends had just finished eating at the Dartmouth Wendy’s and she was full from her meal.

Although the police stop was for the headlight, Bolduc says that the police officers asked her and her friends if they had drugs or any prior criminal offenses.

Police noticed her unbuttoned pants and requested a female police officer to do a strip search. Bolduc says she was forced to stand naked from her waist down to her ankles in front of her friends and motorists—she says police told her to take under underwear off too. Officer Powell, wearing leather gloves, then allegedly conducted an “internal and manual body cavity search” of the teenager’s genitals. The teenager was not given a ticket or arrested following the search.

However, two of companions received traffic tickets. Christine Moniz was issued a $35 ticket for driving without a license, and Ryan O’Connell was issued a $35 ticket for letting someone without a driver’s license drive the car.

Massachusetts’s police strip search policy says that searches must be conducted in a police department facility unless circumstances necessitate otherwise and always in an area of complete privacy, away from public view. Police strip searches must also involve no touching.

Bolduc filed a formal complaint the day after the March 7, 2007 incident. An internal affairs report found evidence that Officer Powell violated police policies. The Massachusetts State Police Division of Standards and Training is disciplining her.

Our Boston personal injury lawyers represent clients in cities across Massachusetts that have been injured because of other parties’ negligent, careless, or criminal actions.

Lawsuit filed against Mass State Trooper, Herald News, April 30, 2008

Related Web Resource:

New England: Massachusetts: Strip-Search Settlement, New York Times, June 1, 2002

Related Web Resources:

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Massachusetts Police Brutality

The most dangerous industry for Massachusetts workers continues to be construction and firefighting. 20 construction workers died while on the job last year, while 9 Massachusetts firefighters died, most of them due to work-related illnesses. Other industries in Massachusetts with a high number of worker fatalities in 2007 are transportation, fishing, utility work, and motor vehicle repair.

Stress on the job reportedly led to six deadly heart attacks. Three of these fatalities were 38-year-old firefighters. 19 worker deaths were caused by fall accidents.

Two 17-year-old construction workers were among 2007's worker fatalities. A 71-year old mechanic was recorded as the oldest person to die last year due to a worker injury. One telecommunications worker with Verizon was electrocuted and died in Plymouth when his bucket struck high voltage wires.

Some people have expressed worries that certain companies are prioritizing productivity over worker safety. For example, the bucket used by the telecommunication worker that died was not insulated.

Work safety advocates believe that many of last year’s deaths could have been avoided if workers had been given the proper gear, equipment, and training. For instance, the 17-year-old construction worker that died in a fall accident was not using a safety harness when he fell from a Salem church roof last year.

Although Massachusetts workers’ compensation law provides injured workers and their families with financial compensation, the recovery may not cover all expenses and losses.

Our Boston workers’ compensation law firm can make sure that you are paid all of the workers’ compensation that you are owed in a timely manner. We can also determine whether there are any negligent third parties.

80 people in Massachusetts died of workplace injury in 2007, Associated Press/Boston Herald, April 29, 2008

80 work fatalities in state last year, Boston.com, April 29, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health

Read the Report "Dying for Work in Massachusetts" (PDF)

Massachusetts AFL-CIOhttp://www.altmanllp.com/lawyer-attorney-1226007.html

Blake said that the jury that awarded the judgment had engaged in misconduct and that the court made procedural mistakes. The appeals court, however, said that it did not find any evidence of jury misconduct or that the trial court had made errors. It did, however, find that the $30 million award was “excessive” and cut the judgment in half.

If Bakley’s estate does not agree to the new award amount, there will be a new trial to determine wrongful death damages.

Blake was tried for Bakley’s 2001 shooting death, which took place outside Vitello’s, a restaurant that she and Blake frequented. The two of them have a daughter named Rose, now 8.

Blake said that he left his wife in the car while he went back to the restaurant to get his gun that he left at the restaurant table. Blake said that he carried a gun with him and had hired a bodyguard to protect Bakley, who he thought was being followed.

Blake says he returned to the car and found his wife had been shot. She was pronounced dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital. Blake was arrested and charged with her murder nearly one year after her death.

One of Blake’s more famous roles as an actor was the television detective named Barretta on the television show with the same name. He has been acquitted of all criminal charges.

If someone you love has died because of the negligent, reckless, or criminal actions of another party, you may be able to sue for wrongful death damages. The best way to determine if you have grounds for a case is to contact a Boston, Massachusetts wrongful death lawyer.

Financial recovery could include pain and suffering, loss, future financial support, medical and funeral costs, and other related-damages.

Court cuts Robert Blake's wrongful death judgment, Reuters, April 26, 2008

Actor Blake Appeals Wrongful Death, ABCNews.com

Related Web Resources:

Robert Blake Timeline, People/CNN