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Nearly a dozen of the world’s largest automakers were sued last week in a civil suit by U.S. consumers alleging they knowingly withheld the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning in more than 5 million vehicles that were equipped with keyless ignitions. The suit claims that the companies concealed the risk faced by drivers whose cars had the equipment, and 13 deaths resulted from the dangerous switches.

Keyless ignitions have become wildly popular in newer model cars, for their convenience and modern appeal, as they lets a driver start a vehicle by pushing an on-off button, instead of inserting a key, once the vehicle senses the presence of a nearby electronic fob.

According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles, carbon monoxide is emitted even when drivers exit their vehicles after taking their electronic keys with them. Most drivers, according to the suit and Reuters, believe their engines shut off, however 28 plaintiffs said this mistaken assumption causes serious, sometimes fatal injuries to those who inhale the gas (most often passengers). Carbon monoxide can also be emitted when vehicles are left in garages that are attached to homes, posing a hazard to occupants inside. The plaintiffs also alleged that the vehicles greatly reduce in resale value because of the defect.

The companies named in the suit include BMW, including Mini; Daimler’s Mercedes Benz; Fiat Chrysler; Ford Motor Company; General Motors Company; Honda, including Acura; Hyundai, including Kia; Nissan, including Infinity; Toyota, including Lexus; and Volkswagen, including Bentley.

According to Reuters, the plaintiffs are alleging that automakers could have helped to prevent the 13 deaths and numerous injuries, by installing an inexpensive feature to automatically turn off unattended engines. The suit states that GM and Ford even took steps to patent a shut-off feature. To date, 27 complaints have been logged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over safety concerns with keyless ignitions.

“The automakers had actual knowledge of the dangerous carbon monoxide poisoning consequences of vehicles with keyless fobs that lack an automatic shut-off,” the complaint said, according to Reuters. The lawsuit seeks class-action status and a ruling that will require automakers to install automatic shut-off features on all existing and future vehicles that are sold with keyless ignitions. The lawsuit also seeks compensatory and punitive damages for victims affected by the safety issue.

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With the baseball season in full swing—pun intended—and football season just beginning, fan safety at stadiums continues to be heavily scrutinized. THREE sports-related incidents have made headlines in the past week alone as the debate for greater fan safety regulations continues to heat up.

Monday night’s Red Sox-Yankees game saw some serious drama in the stands as Brian McCann’s bat slipped out of his hands and hit a female fan near the Boston Red Sox dugout in the seventh inning. This is the third sports-related injury to occur at Fenway Park this summer.

In addition, Boston Globe’s Travis Anderson reported this week that Brookline resident Stephanie Taubin, 46, is suing Red Sox principle owner John Henry for injuries she sustained after being struck by a foul ball last year during a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Taubin and her attorneys are alleging Henry was negligent and failed to take adequate measures to ensure the safety of his fans. Taubin’s complaint stated that she was in an area above home plate, known as the EMC Club, in June 2014. Protective glass protecting that area had, at the time, been removed because of renovations, leaving the area (and fans) more susceptible to being hit by foul balls. Taubin was struck by a foul ball and subsequently suffered serious injuries including facial fractures and neurological damage, The Boston Globe reported. She incurred a substantial amount of medical expenses, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity, according to her lawsuit.

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Employment discrimination occurs when an employee is treated unfairly based on factors unrelated to job performance. It is illegal to use an individual’s race, gender, age, religion, disability, or sexual orientation against him or her with regard to hiring, firing, workers’ compensation, and eligibility for disability. These laws are federally regulated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In Massachusetts, the Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) enforces these laws. Any assumption made by an employer based on generalizations or stereotypes violates a variety of equal opportunity acts and is cause for a potential discrimination claim.

Harassment

The EEOC defines harassment as any form of uncomfortable and unwelcome behavior based on race, color, religion, gender, age (40 or older), nationality, disability, or genetics. The basis of a harassment charge stems from two elements:

1. The plaintiff must tolerate the offensive behavior as a condition of employment.
2. The severity of the offensive behavior creates a hostile work environment.

In addition, it is unlawful to use harassment against any employee to keep him or her from testifying or disclosing any necessary information in a legal proceeding.

Harassment claims can be filed against a supervisor, agent of the employer, coworker, or non-employee. The person being harassed may not necessarily be the plaintiff. Any employee exposed to consistent offensive behavior may file. Continue reading

An alleged rape that took place off of the Stonehill College campus in Easton, Massachusetts has left one young woman still seeking justice. According to reports filed by Boston attorney Wendy Murphy, the unnamed victim has decided to file a Title IX complaint against the university in relation to events that took place in February of this year. The victim, a Stonehill student, believes her rights to an equal education were violated following the incident.

Attorney Wendy Murphy is representing the victim in this case, and has called for a federal investigation into the matter following the filing of the Title IX complaint. Her complaint was filed with the Office of Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education on July 30^th 2015. According to the female victim, she was raped on February 15^th at a location off campus by a fellow Stonehill student and athlete. The incident allegedly occurred in the bathroom of a private residence located near the school’s campus. The victim has stated in reports that she did not know the male attacker prior to the sexual assault.

The incident was not reported to campus police until March 29^th, according to Martin McGovern, a spokesman for Stonehill. After receiving the initial report, campus police notified Easton police officials about the assault, and they also provided the victim with contact information for a police detective that could further help her with the issue. However, in an email exchange with Easton Police Chief Gary Sullivan, he had stated that his department does not have information regarding an alleged rape on or around the February 15^th attack reported by the victim. Martin McGovern declined to provide the campus report received for the incident, and the police presence seems to go no further. Continue reading

Despite the powerful storms that rolled through the Northeast Monday and the National Weather Service’s warnings of severe winds and thunderstorms, a circus operator at Walker Brothers International Circus proceeded to host a show at the Lancaster Fairgrounds, in New Hampshire. The decision resulted in more than 30 people being injured and two spectators being killed, when 60 mph winds caused the main tent to collapse.

New Hampshire Fire Marshal Bill Degnan is still scratching his head as to why the operator let the show go on. According to Dengan, the operator had a duty to monitor the weather conditions; the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning at 5:23 p.m. Monday and the show began seven minutes later, with the storm passing through at 5:46 p.m. while more than 100 people were inside the tent.

The victims were identified as Robert Young, 41, and his daughter Annabelle, 8. Degnan said preliminary autopsy showed blunt force trauma as the cause of their fatal injuries. Witness Heidi Medeiros, who was attending the show with her 3-year-old son, said she saw a pole lift out of the ground and then slam in to the bleachers where she and her son had been sitting.

It’s every new parent’s worst nightmare: their newborn baby is injured while in the hospital’s care.

On Tuesday morning, a veteran nurse at Uniontown Hospital in Pennsylvania accidentally dropped a 1-day-old baby while feeding and burping him in the hospital’s nursery. Though the baby suffered from a minimally displaced skull fracture, he is expected to make a full recovery, according to a hospital spokesperson. The hospital is investigating what may have caused the nurse to drop the young boy, but preliminarily suspect that the nurse had become drowsy and fallen asleep, before dropping him.

A hospital spokesperson told to Associated Press that it was unclear to him what shift the nurse was working or how many hours she had been on duty when she dropped the baby. But if it turns out fatigue played a role, the hospital could make changes to prevent similar situations, he said. Continue reading

A customer was injured this morning when a wooden trellis that had been hanging from a supermarket ceiling fell and struck him.

According to the Associated Press and authorities at the scene of the accident, the man was checking out at a Pittsfield Price Chopper, when the 50-pound decoration unlatched and plummeted towards him. A spokesperson for the supermarket chain said that an electrician had been working on a lift near the trellis and had accidently caused the securement cable on the ceiling to snap. Several other decorative trellises were removed as a precaution. Luckily the customer suffered only minor injuries, but was transported to an area hospital as a precautionary measure. Continue reading

A video released last week on Good magazine is sending a chilling reminder to parents of the dangers of child swimming accidents.

According to the CDC, 10 people die each day as the result of a swimming-related accident. Two of those deaths, include children ages 14 and under, the CDC says; drowning accidents are the leading cause of death in children between the ages of 1 and 4. In 2012, there the CPSC reported 364 fatal swimming accidents; the majority occurred in residential swimming pools. In more than 50% of drowning incidences, drowning victims who were not fatally injured required hospitalization and further care for severe brain injuries, long-term disabilities (memory problems, learning disabilities, loss of bodily function, etc.)

Factors Impacting Instance of Drowning

Major League Baseball is having a serious discussion about fan safety after a woman was critically injured last week when she was struck with by a piece of broken bat that had flown into the stands during a Red Sox game.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters on Monday that the league will be “reevaluating where [they] are on all safety issues,” according to SportingNews.com.

In a statement to the Associated Press, the commissioner added, “You have to react strongly to an incident like this, but I think the best word for it is that we’re going to reevaluate where we are on the topic.”

While Manfred said that safety at ballparks has improved since the league conducted a 2008 study of broken bats, which ultimately led to changes in bat regulations. The AP reported that, “shattered bats are down about 50 percent since 2009.”

The commissioner said the league has spent a great deal of time making safety a priority, but this incident has changed the scope of their focus and they will be making more changes to ensure bats are safer. Manfred said that players may also have a say in what changes are made.

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