Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

The Supreme Judicial Court has thrown out a 125-year old ruling that allows there to be a distinction between snow and ice conditions caused by nature and those that accumulate artificially. In a unanimous Massachusetts slip and fall ruling, the state’s high court said that effective immediately (and retroactively to pending lawsuits) it will no longer be reasonable for a property owner to allow ice or snow to accumulate on a walkway even if either got there by natural means.

The court’s decision comes in the Massachusetts slip and fall lawsuit filed by Emanuel Papadopoulos against Target and Weiss Landscaping, the snowplow company it hired to clear snow and ice from in Liberty Tree Mall. Papadopoulos was involved in the Danvers slip and fall accident in 2002 when he slipped on snow that had turned into ice in the parking area.

While lower courts had ruled in favor of the defendants as a result of the distinction between “artificial” and “natural” ice, which holds that property owners are not violating their duty of care when they don’t remove natural accumulations of ice and snow, the Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling now paves the way for Papadopoulos’s Massachusetts slip and fall lawsuit to go back to a lower court for reconsideration.

Common kinds of slip and fall injuries:
• Bruises
• Scrapes
• Broken bones
• Fractures
• Hip injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Resulting health complications

Boston, Massachusetts Slip and Fall
Boston slip and fall injuries can be excruciatingly painful and costly to treat. You may have grounds for a Boston premises liability case.

High court changes rules on slip-and-fall lawsuits, Boston.com, July 26, 2010

SJC upends 100 years of slip-and-slide law, Boston Business, July 26, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Slip and Fall, Nolo

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

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A construction worker hurt his back and fractured his ribs on Monday during what is being described as a Shrewsbury slip and fall accident through the roof of an AutoZone that is under construction. The victim is employed by M&M Drywall of Georgia, a subcontractor for this job.

The worker fell 15 feet during the Massachusetts construction accident. According to Shrewsbury Fire Chief James M. Vuona, who is quoted on Telegram.com, the man fell after lifting a piece of plywood that was covering one of the openings of the auto parts store’s unfinished roof.

Vuona says that the Massachusetts fall accident may have happened because the surface that the worker was standing on was wet—either from dew or rain. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into the Shrewsbury construction accident.

Boston, Massachusetts Construction Fall Accidents
Fall accidents from roofs, skylights, cranes, scaffolds, and other elevated heights are a common cause of serious injuries to construction workers. Construction falls can lead to traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, paralysis, coma, and even death. While an employer is supposed to pay Massachusetts workers’ compensation benefits for work injuries and deaths, disputes sometimes can arise, and this is where an experienced Boston workers' compensation law firm can help you. There also may be third parties who should be held liable.

There are safety measures that must be in place to protect construction workers from getting hurt in a fall accident. For example, the roof of a structure under construction must be finished to a degree where it is safe enough for workers to go on it. Also, workers must be equipped with the proper protection and safety procedures must be abided by.

Man injured in job accident, News Telegram.com, July 13, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Falls, OSHA

Construction Safety, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Continue reading "Construction Worker Injured During Massachusetts Slip and Fall Accident Through Roof" »

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" »

SSnow and ice on the ground are not only a danger to motorists, who must drive even more carefully to prevent their vehicles from slipping and sliding so they do not become involved in a Massachusetts motor vehicle crash, but also the ice and slush can prove a danger to people walking on sidewalks, driveways, in parking lots or on wet store floors. This it is why it is so important for cities, business owners, homeowners, and other property owners to clear ice and snow from their premises.

If a Boston slip and fall accident happens, not only is there a possibility that the victim can get seriously hurt—broken bones, hip injuries, back injuries, spinal cord injuries, neck injuries, joint injuries, and traumatic brain injuries are not uncommon—but the premise owner may find that he/she has become a defendant in a Massachusetts slip and fall lawsuit. Granted, Massachusetts landowners are not obligated to clear snow or ice that naturally accumulates on their property. However, if a defect exists that, along with the snow or ice, contributed to causing the Boston premises liability accident, the injury victim may have grounds to sue.

Slip and Fall Accidents
Property owners are not supposed to allow any hazard to remain on their property that can cause slip and fall, trip and fall, or step and fall accidents. Other offending fall accident dangers include spilled liquids or foods, floors that have been just mopped with water/cleaning liquid but have yet to dry, stairwells that lack handrails, uneven surfaces, exposed cables or power cords, item that are left on the ground, cracks on the floor, torn carpeting, loose floorboards, and inadequately lit stairwells.

A slip and fall hazard is a premises liability. If you were injured because a property owner was negligent, you have three years to file a Boston slip and fall lawsuit against the liable party.

Massachusetts slip and fall accidents can take place anywhere. It is important that you get medical help as soon as possible and that you or someone else takes photographs of the accident site while the evidence is still intact.

Snow and ice removal a matter of safety and liability, The Sun Chronicle, February 10, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Slip and Fall Accidents: Proving Fault, Nolo

Tips to reduce slipping and falling in icy and snowy conditions, Dhhs.Mo.gov

Continue reading "Boston Slip and Fall Accidents are Common Occurrence When Snow and Ice Pose Additional Massachusetts Premises Liability Hazard" »

A Massachusetts wrongful death settlement agreement has been reached between Boston Medical Center and the family of Catherine O’Donnell. The 86-year-old woman died on October 13, 2007 a week after she fell while being readied for transfer from an operating room table to her hospital bed.

O’Donnell sustained a massive head injury during the Boston fall accident. Last year, her family filed a Boston wrongful death lawsuit against the teaching hospital. In their Boston medical malpractice complaint, O’Donnell’s family accused operating room staffers of failing to provide the expected standard of care to O’Donnell and that this resulted in her fatal fall accident. The plaintiffs contend that the medical team was too busy and preoccupied when moving the elderly patient. They also take issue with how they were first told that the hip surgery was a success and were then notified about O’Donnell’s head injury.

Anesthesiologist resident Dr. Carlos Guzman, orthopedic resident Dr. John Pryor, and nurses Ingrid Rush and Harvinder Miller are among the defendants named in the Boston wrongful death lawsuit.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health cited procedural deficiencies as factors leading to O’Donnell’s fall accident. The hospital also determined that the operating staff was not paying full attention when attempting to move the elderly woman and that the removal of the safety belt from her person was not properly communicated between staffers.

Operating room staffers, just like nursing home workers, must exercise the right amount of caution to prevent fall accidents when assisting patients between beds, to their wheelchair, down the hallway, to the bathroom, into the shower, etcetera. Patients who are under anesthesia, unconscious, or not fully lucid for any other reason are usually unable to assist or support themselves during this move and are even more reliant on those around them to ensure a safe transfer or move. Yet the Bureau of Heath Care Safety and Quality says that every year, at least 50% of the 800 medical errors resulting in serious injuries that happen in Massachusetts hospitals involve fall accidents.

Fall accidents can result in serious injuries and may be especially catastrophic for elderly people, whose health may deteriorate as a result.

Family, hospital settle after mother’s fatal fall in operating room, Boston.com, October 14, 2009

Boston Wrongful Death Lawsuit Is Filed After 86-Year-Old Dorchester Woman Sustains Fatal Head Injury In Operating Room Table Fall, Boston Injury Lawyer, January 30, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Boston Medical Center

Hospital Falls Study Suggests Ways to Reduce Risk, Washington University in St. Louis

In Massachusetts, a former Breed Middle School student is suing the city of Lynn for personal injury. Ralph Ozual’s slip and fall lawsuit, filed in Salem Superior Court, is seeking $100,000 in damages.

Ozual’s complaint contends that on January 14, 2002, he sustained serious personal injuries when he slipped an fell on ice and snow in the Breed Middle School yard while walking from the bus to the school entrance. As a result of the Massachusetts slip and fall accident, Ozual says he sustained permanent injuries, including traumatic injuries to his right ankle and growth plate.

The plaintiff, who was a minor at the time, says that he continues to require costly medical attention and treatment for his injuries. His Essex County slip and fall complaint claims the city of Lynn acted carelessly and negligently and was in breech of a warranty agreement when it allowed such a dangerous condition to exist on the school’s premise.

Slip and Fall Accidents
Each year, thousands of people are injured in slip and fall accidents on other people’s premises. Different categories of slip and fall accident include:

Slip and Fall Accidents: A person slips on a floor surface and slides to the ground.

Step and Fall Accidents: Because there is a hole or another type of opening in the ground, someone steps into the gap and falls.

Trip and Fall Accidents: An object or crack or unevenness on the ground causes a person to trip and fall to the ground.

Stump and Fall Accidents: A person stumbles over an object on the ground and falls.

Slip and fall injuries can be excruciatingly painful and take months to recover from. Sometimes, the injuries may be permanent, such as is often the cause with spinal cord injuries or head injuries. Elderly people involved in slip and fall injuries are prone to breaking a hip bone, which could take awhile to recover from or cause their health to deteriorate. If you or someone you love got hurt in a slip and fall accident, you may have grounds for filing a Massachusetts premises liability lawsuit.

Former Breed student sues Lynn, Itemlive.com, February 18, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Proving Fault in Slip and Fall Accidents, Nolo

Preventing Injuries from Slips, Trips and Falls, CDC.gov

Unicef and the World Health Organization say that 830,000 children are killed around the world in accidents. Their report, the World Report on Child Injury Prevention, is the first report to gather all known information on child injuries and deaths around the globe.

The report’s estimates are acknowledged to be broad because so many poor countries are unable to collect many health statistics. The findings also take into account that there are many children who are injured or killed without receiving medical care.

According to the report, the most common causes of fatal child injuries around the world include:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Burn injuries
• Drowning accidents
• Fall Accidents
• Poison

Other common causes of death include murder, serious illnesses, diseases, childbirth, and abortion.

The United Nations is encouraging governments to require safety measures, such as pool fences and bicycle helmets, that could save thousands of kids' lives each year. The UN Children's Fund and WHO report says use of lifejackets, childproof medicines, window guards, and smoke alarms, could also save many lives.

In the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12,175 children are killed in accidents each year:

• US motor vehicle collisions continue to be the leading cause of death for kids 1 year of age or older.
• Suffocation is the number one cause of death among kids younger than 1.
• Drowning accidents is a leading cause of death for kids ages 1 to 4.

CDC injury prevention chief Ileana Arias says making kids younger than 8 ride in booster sides, passing graduated driver’s license laws in more US states, and barring teens from driving with other teens or at night could save lives.

In Massachusetts and other US states, these lists of common injuries and deaths can be grounds for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits if another party was negligent in causing the motor vehicle crash, burn accident, dog attack, fall accident, suffocation accident, or another injury accident to occur.

Report Sounds Alarm on Child Accidents, NY Times, December 9, 2008

Preventable injuries kill 2000 children every day, WHO, December 10, 2008

Car Crashes, Falls Top List of Accidental Injuries for Kids, US News and World Report, December 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Read the World Report on Child Injury Prevention (PDF)

UNICEF

Continue reading "Leading Causes of Child Deaths Are Also Common Causes of Personal Injuries and Wrongful Deaths" »

Orit Greenberg, an audience member at a taping of the “Oprah Winfrey Show” on December 5, 2006, is suing Harpo Studios for personal injury.

Greenberg says that she suffered serious and permanent injuries when she fell down a flight of stairs during a mad rush by audience members to secure the best seats.

Greenberg is asking for $50,000 in damages. She says that Harpo Studios neglected to control audience members, who were told that they could sit wherever they wanted. The patrons, who had been in a waiting area, “rushed the gate” and pushed and shoved inro each other as they entered the studio.

Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall accidents can lead to serious injuries, including broken bones and head injuries. It is the responsibility of a property or business owner to make sure that there are no conditions on a premise that can allow a person to slip or trip and fall. These types of accidents can be more serious than they sound, and the medical costs and time necessary for recovery can be lengthy.

Slip and fall accidents can be occur because of poorly lit hallways, damaged staircases, uneven sidewalks, debris or liquids left on the floor, and other unsafe conditions that can cause a person to slip and fall.

To prove liability in a slip and fall case, the plaintiff must prove that the owner or manager of the property caused the condition that resulted in the slip and fall accident, knew about the hazardous condition but did nothing to remedy the situation, or should have known about the unsafe condition and done something to fix it.

The statute of limitations for filing a slip and fall lawsuit in Massachusetts is three years from the time of the injury accident. There are certain cases, however, where the plaintiff may have to notify a property owner of the sip and fall accident right away to stay eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit—there may be even stricter notice requirements if your slip and fall accident occurred on a public premise.

Audience member sues Oprah's company after fall down stair, Suntimes.com, March 19, 2008

Slip and Fall/Premises Liability, CBS.com, March 23, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Slip and Fall, Nolo.com

Harpo Productions, Encyclopedia of Chicago

In Massachusetts, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Paul Chernoff is suing the state of Massachusetts and Norfolk County for the injuries he sustained when he slipped and fell on the steps of the Norfolk County Courthouse in Lowell in 2004. The commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Norfolk County Commission, and the Division of Capital Asset Management were named as the parties held liable for not making sure that the building was maintained properly.

In his lawsuit, Chernoff alleges that his slip and fall accident occurred because the county and the state did not repair the cracks in the steps of the court building or add handrails. As a result of the unsafe conditions, Chernoff says that he slipped and broke his left kneecap. Since Chernoff’s accident, new handrails have been added to the staircase.

Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall accidents usually occur because the grounds of a premise are not safe—either because of disrepair, failure to clean up a slippery/condition or pick up debris or objects off the ground, poor lighting, uneven flooring, or other circumstances that could easily have been prevented if the area was properly maintained. Because of the unsafe conditions, a person may slip and/or trip and then fall, sustaining injuries as a result.

In 2001 The National Safety Council named fall accidents as the number one cause of non-fatal injuries requiring immediate medical treatment, with thousands of people getting hurt. Fall accidents, however, can also be fatal—especially when someone drops from a higher level to a lower one. In 2002, some 14,500 people died in fall accidents. Bruises, broken bones, sprains, torn ligaments, dislocated limbs, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, head and neck injuries, are among the injuries that can occur.

Slip and fall injury cases fall under the area of premises liability law, which holds the owner or manager or other person in charge of a property liable for allowing the unsafe conditions that caused the injury accident to exist on the premise.

Slip and fall accidents can occur on private and public premises, including parks, parking lots, sidewalks, outside steps, restaurants, grocery stores, apartment buildings, and office buildings.

Judge slips and sues the county, Daily News Transcript, January 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Slip and Fall Injury Statistics, Safety Today

National Safety Council

Slip and Fall, Nolo.com