Drowning Accidents

May 31, 2012

Toddler Found Dead After Drowning

An 18-month-old boy was found in a lake behind his Worcester home after wandering away from his mother and slipping out the back door. The boy managed to exit through a door in the family’s living room that had been left ajar, and he was found unconscious in the water only minutes later. His mother noticed his disappearance and had called 911 to report him missing when her friend found him face-down near the shoreline of Indian Lake, which the home abuts.

The toddler was carried into the backyard where the mother and friend then began attempts to resuscitate him. Several neighbors heard the mother’s screams and also called 911. However, police and ambulances arrived shortly thereafter and rushed the boy to a nearby hospital where he was ultimately pronounced dead.
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April 27, 2012

35 Pool Portable Deaths Involving Kids Under Age 5 Reported Every Year, Says CPSC

by Altman & Altman

With the weather expected to warm up in the coming months, many kids are eagerly awaiting the day when they will be able to rush out and jump in the pool. While swimming is a lot of fun, it can also be dangerous, and our Boston injury lawyers have helped children and their families recover compensation for injuries and deaths resulting from a Massachusetts drowning.

While grownups can often anticipate the risks involved for kids when swimming in a regular pool, hot tub, or beach, portable pools can be just as dangerous. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it receives reports of about 35 child swimming deaths involving kids younger than 5 in portable pools every year. That’s 11% of all pool drowning deaths for that age group.

It is the responsibility of the person who owns or oversees a pool to make sure that the kids using it are safe. It doesn’t matter whether it is a small blow-up pool or one that can contain thousands of gallons of water. It takes just a few inches of water for someone who has submerged his/her face in it to drown. A child who survives a Boston drowning accident may be left with a traumatic brain injury, severe disabilities, or other injuries.

Child drownings can happen when the pool is inadequately supervised. This may mean that there wasn’t an adult present that knew how to swim at the pool or the portable pool containing water was left easily accessible to kids when no grown ups were around. Placing a cover on the pool, fencing it in with a barricade high enough that children can’t get in, or locking up the portable pool are some ways to prevent accidental drowning.

Drowning is Silent: Portable Pools, CPSC, April 24, 2012

Unintentional Drowning: Fact Sheet, CDC

More Blog Posts:
Massachusetts Swimming Pool Death: State Report Released on Woman’s Fatal Fall River Drowning, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, April 12, 2012

Boy Dies Following Shrewsbury Drowning Accident at Summer Camp, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, July 29, 2012

13-Year-Old Nearly Drowns in Falmouth Swimming Pool Accident at Holiday Inn, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, July 21, 2010 Continue reading

April 20, 2012

Massachusetts Swimming Pool Death: State Report Released on Woman’s Fatal Fall River Drowning

by Altman & Altman

The Department of Conservation and Recreation has issued its final report on the 2011 Fall River, Massachusetts swimming pool accident death of Marie Joseph. The 36-year-old woman, who could not swim, drowned in the state-run pool. Because the water was so dirty it was two days before her body was discovered.

Authorities blamed bad decisions by pool employees for the tragic accident and they have said that Joseph’s death was preventable. Also, the water in the pool failed to meet Massachusetts standards that day and it shouldn’t have been open for use.

The state is recommending that better pumps and pool equipment be provided at the Fall River facility and the pool depth be lowered from 12 feet to 5 ½ feet. Changes will also be made to other state-run pools to enhance user safety. For example, another 10 pools will be updated and their depths reduced to just over five feet. There will be more lifeguards, and security cameras with motion detectors will be added. Staff will also have to undergo more extensive training.

Joseph drowned after going down a water slide. The DCR has decided to suspend the use of water slides at all of its pools. It will also improve visibility checks.

DCR Commissioner Edward Lambert believes that one of the reasons Joseph drowned is that the pool had depended too heavily on seasonal staff. Moving forward, full-time employees from an aquatic and waterfront safety division will replace these employees. All state-run pools will also safety regulations and rules posted by them.

Our Boston drowning accident lawyers represent the families of children and adults injured or killed in accidents in swimming pools, hot tubs, and Jacuzzis. We have filed Massachusetts premises liability and products liability lawsuits against negligent parties, as well as inadequate supervision cases against those that failed to do their job in monitoring the pool or spa.

In final report on Fall River drowning, DCR unveils plan to improve safety at state-run pools, Boston.com, April 20, 2012

State releases final investigative report on Fall River pool drowning, Herald News.com, April 20, 2012
Pool Chief: Woman’s Drowning Was Preventable, WCVB TV Boston, April 20, 2012

More Blog Posts:
Massachusetts Swimming Pool Accident: Drowned Woman’s Body Was Concealed by “Cloudy” Water for Two Days, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, June 30, 2011
Truro Man’s Family to Sue Provincetown for Man’s 2008 Massachusetts Drowning Death, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 14, 2010
13-Year-Old Nearly Drowns in Falmouth Swimming Pool Accident at Holiday Inn, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, July 21, 2010 Continue reading

April 16, 2012

Massachusetts Had Lowest Pediatric Death Rate in 2009, Reports CDC

by Altman & Altman

According to a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state of Massachusetts had the lowest pediatric death rate among all the US states in 2009 at 4 child deaths per 100,000 kids (age 19 and under). The national average for that year was 11 deaths/ per 100,000 children. The CDC has published its findings in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

CDC principal deputy director Ileana Arias says that one reason for Massachusetts’ lower child death rate is that the state has taken pains to address child injury prevention, including developing policies and programs to promote children’s safety. In 2008, the state passed a law mandating that all kids under the age of 8 use a booster seat when riding a car. Following a 2006 law that toughened up requirements for teens seeking to earn their driver’s license, teenage driver deaths declined by 75%.

Our Boston injury lawyers handle Massachusetts injuries to a minor cases. We represent children and their families with civil lawsuits against negligent product manufactures, automakers, physicians, property owners, pet owners, and other liable parties.

Per the CDC’s report, nationwide car crashes comprised close to 50% of the 9,143 pediatric injury fatalities that occurred 2009. Although this figure is still too high, it is a significant decline from the number of child car crash deaths that took place a decade ago. That said, child injuries continue to be the number one cause of children fatalities.

The CDC says that the rates of child fatalities caused by infant suffocation while sleeping and teen poisoning deaths (many from prescription drug overdoses) have gone up. However, there has been a decrease in the number of deaths from fall accidents, drownings, and fires/burn injuries. Unknown causes was cited as the reason for 1070 child deaths in 2009.

Massachusetts Child Injury Cases
We know how devastating it can be to see your child suffer because someone else was reckless/careless. Sometimes, the negligent party may be a company or an individual you do not know. We also represented clients with Boston wrongful death cases or personal injury claims against a relative or a friend.

Massachusetts leads nation with lowest rate of accidental deaths in children, Boston.com, April 16, 2012
Vital Signs: Unintentional Injury Deaths Among Persons Aged 0–19 Years – United States, 2000–2009, CDC
Safe Kids USA

More Blog Posts:
Johnson & Johnson Sued in Wrongful Death of Toddler Who Took Children’s Tylenol, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, January 11, 2012

Boston Child Injuries: Do Some Toys Cause Hearing Problems?, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, December 26, 2011

Boston Playground Accidents Can Cause Serious Massachusetts Child Injuries, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, September 10, 2011 Continue reading

July 29, 2011

Boy Dies Following Shrewsbury Drowning Accident at Summer Camp

by Altman & Altman

Aaditya Basrur, who was critically hurt after almost drowning in a Shrewsbury, Massachusetts swimming pool accident, has died from his injuries. Basrur, who was rushed from St. John’s High School to the hospital on July 14, was attending the Camp Saint John summer day camp for kids. He died a few days after the incident.

At the time of the Shrewsbury near drowning accident, Basrur was taking part in an “open swim” with about 40 kids in the outdoor pool. Administrators say that there were lifeguards on duty.

School superintendent Joseph Sawyer later issued a press release about Basrur’s death. The young boy had just finished first grade at Paton Elementary School.

Massachusetts Swimming Pool Accidents
With drowning accidents a leading cause of death for young children, it is important that swimming pool owners and those charged with supervising swimmers exercise the necessary precautions to prevent drownings and near drowning accidents from happening. Even if someone is lucky enough to survive a Boston drowning accident, he/she may have been deprived of oxygen for long enough to be left with a traumatic brain injury.

Young kids can drown in swimming pools, hot tubs, inflatable pools, and on the beach, which is why it is important that they are not allowed in the water without proper supervision. Private pool owners should make sure that their pools are properly fenced in or covered when not in use so that no one can get in without their consent. Public pool owners should also make sure that access to the pool is restricted during off hours. In addition to lifeguards, easy access to an emergency phone, and making sure there is adequate rescue and safety equipment nearby, swimming pool owners should make sure that the pool is free of debris so that if someone does drown that he/she is easily visible. Just recently, the body of a woman who drowned in a Fall River public pool went undetected in the water for two days. No one saw her through the “cloudy” water.

Mass. boy critical after near drowning at day camp, Boston.com, July 15, 2011
Schools react to the loss of Aaditya Basrur, counseling to be available to students, The Daily Shrewsbury, July 19, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Unintentional Drowning: Fact Sheet, CDC
Camp Saint John, Saint John’s High School

More Blog Posts:
Massachusetts Swimming Pool Accident: Drowned Woman’s Body Was Concealed by “Cloudy” Water for Two Days, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, June 30, 2011
Truro Man’s Family to Sue Provincetown for Man’s 2008 Massachusetts Drowning Death, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 14, 2010 Continue reading

June 30, 2011

Massachusetts Swimming Pool Accident: Drowned Woman’s Body Was Concealed by “Cloudy” Water for Two Days

by Altman & Altman

According to authorities, the body of Maria Joseph went undetected for two days in a Massachusets public pool even as swimmers continued to use it. It wasn’t until Tuesday evening that teenagers saw her floating body in the Vietnam Veterans Swimming Pool in Fall River.

Joseph, 36, had gone swimming with a family on Sunday. After colliding with her friend’s 9-year-old son as the two of them went down a swimming pool slide, she wasn’t seen again.

CNN says that the pool is 12-feet at its deepest part. A health inspector who looked at the pool on Tuesday reported that its water was “cloudy.” It can sometimes take a couple of days for a decomposing body to rise to the surface.

August 14, 2010

Truro Man’s Family to Sue Provincetown for Man’s 2008 Massachusetts Drowning Death

by Altman & Altman

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
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