The Massachusetts family of Sean Lavalle, the Brookfield teenager who sustained second- and third-degree burn injuries on his right thigh during a 4th of July fireworks event at the beach on Walker Pond says that the exhibit, held by the Walker Pond Association, was handled by nonprofessionals.
Lavalle and his parents David and Brenda Brown says that friends invited them to attend the July 4 event, which is an advertised event that has taken place on the at Walker Pond for the past several years. Some 200 people were at the event.
According to David Brown, one of the men in charge of lighting the fireworks was drinking beer while igniting the explosives. At one point, the man reportedly stumbled, dropping the road flare he was using to light the fireworks onto a batch of explosives. It was at this point, Brown says, that one of the explosives flew up one of Sean’s pant legs.
Brown took Sean, who was on fire, to the pond to extinguish the flames. He says that he and his wife asked people to call 911, but most people ignored their requests. Sean was eventually transported by golf cart to the parking lot, where his wounds were treated, before he was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center. Brown says that the Association restarted the fireworks display before Sean left for the hospital.
Sean has already undergone several (and there will likely be more) skin graft procedures. Police that are conducting the investigation say Walker Pond Association has not been very helpful. Law enforcement officers also say that there is no record showing that Walker Pond Association obtained the license that is required to hold a fireworks event.
Family not getting satisfaction after Fourth of July accident, Telegram.com, July 28, 2008
Fireworks-Related Injuries, CDC.gov
Related Web Resource:
Massachusetts Fireworks Laws
If you or someone you love was injured during a fireworks exhibit, you may be entitled to personal injury compensation if another party’s negligence caused the injury accident. Fireworks can lead to burn injuries, blindness, scarring, disfigurement, lacerations, contusions, and foreign objects in the eyes or elsewhere in the body. Please call our Massachusetts burn injury law firm for our free consultation with one of our Boston personal injury attorneys.
Contact Altman & Altman LLP today.