Articles Posted in Children’s Injuries

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The Donald McKay elementary school on Cottage Street in East Boston was evacuated Thursday because of “smoke conditions.” Staff members were already leading students out of the building when firefighters arrived to discover the source. The smoke was apparently coming from the basement. No injuries have been reported, and students will remain at the East Boston Early Education Center, the place to which they were evacuated, while the firefighters investigate.

Source: The Boston Globe, 700 East Boston elementary school evacuated due to ‘smoke conditions’

Inhalation of smoke can cause a variety of injuries. It can seriously damage the body, particularly the respiratory system, by causing asphyxiation, chemical irritation, and other respiratory complications. Coughing, difficulty breathing, throat irritation, fainting, vomiting and nausea are among the many symptoms of a smoke inhalation injury. These types of injuries might not be apparent for days. Aside from the elderly, the persons most vulnerable are those who are under the age of 11.

At Altman & Altman LLP, we are particularly sensitive to injuries involving children. We feel that when our young ones suffer avertable injuries as a result of negligence, it’s our responsibility to achieve justice.

If you or your child has suffered an injury, we would be glad to help you.
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World Against Toys Causing Harm Inc., a Boston nonprofit, has identified the 10 toys it the marketplace that it considers to be the worst in terms of hazards they pose to kids. The list is out just in time for the holiday shopping season.

Our Boston personal injury law firm wants to remind you that if your son or daughter was injured by a toy that malfunctioned or was defective in some way, you may have grounds for Massachusetts products liability case against the manufacturer, seller, distributor, and/or another liable parties.

Included in WATCH’s 2010 List of Most Dangerous Toys:

• Spy Gear Split-Blaster: WATCH warns users not to aim toy at face or eyes and to only use the darts that come with it. Can cause eye injuries.

• Supasplat Splatblaster: Can cause facial, eye, and other impact injuries. Use glasses that come with the toy. However, the glasses are just a toy and do not provide real protection. Do not aim at or close to an animal or another person.

• Buzz Magnets: Small magnets can prove fatal if swallowed and they get stuck in the intestine.

• Kung Fu Panda Sword of Heroes: Sword can cause impact injuries.

• Ballzillion Tug Boat Play Center: This is a toy and not a flotation device. Don’t use near a pool. Can cause injury or death.

• My First Mini Cycle: Do not use near or on a hill, sloped driveway, staircase or swimming pool. Users risk head and other impact injuries. Kids should use a helmet.

• Pull-Along Caterpillar: Pull string can pose a choking hazard.

• Animal Alley Pony: Long, fiber-like hairs can come off easily and may pose an aspiration or ingestion hazard.

• Big Bang Rocket: May cause hearing damage if used too close to the ears.

• Walkaroo II Aluminum Stilts: Don’ use close to swimming pools, stairs, uneven surfaces, or steep inclines. Falling from the stilts can cause head or other impact injuries.

Toys are made specifically for kids. There is no reason why they should be dangerous enough to cause serious injuries or death to a child. Unfortunately, ever year, there are children who are hurt because a toy or another consumer product proved unsafe for use, malfunctioned, or did not come with the proper warnings.

10 Worst Toys, WATCH

Related Web Resources:
Boston-Based Consumer Watchdog Announced 2009 List of 10 Most Dangerous Toys, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, November 20, 2009
Recalls and Product Safety News, Consumer Product Safety Commission
SafeKids USA
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Happy Halloween! With more children than normal likely to be wandering through the residential streets of Boston after dark tonight, there are steps that motorists can take to avoid striking a young ghoul or witch walking on the road, including:

• Don’t pass stopped vehicles. There may be a young trick or treater getting out of the car or crossing the street.
• Don’t talk on the cell phone or text while driving.
• Drive slowly.
• Look out for kids that might suddenly run into the middle of the road in an attempt to cross it.
• Remember that not all young children know the rules of the road. Yield the right of way to young kids.
• Don’t drive drunk.
• Obey traffic laws.

If your child was injured in a Boston pedestrian accident while trick or treating, you may have grounds for a Boston injury case.

Steps that parents can take to help their kids avoid becoming involved in a Boston traffic crash:

• Teach them how to safely cross the street.
• Supervise them while they trick or treat.
• Choose costumes that are bright enough for motorists to see at night. You can also give your kids a flashlight or place reflective tape on their costumes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, kids have a four times greater chance of getting struck by a car on Halloween than during the rest of the year. Meantime, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that Halloween is one of the three days of the year when pedestrian injuries and deaths are at highest risk of occurring.

There may be more than one party who should be held liable for your child’s Boston injuries to a minor case. It is important that you start exploring your legal options as soon as possible.

Recovering from a Boston pedestrian injury can be tough-especially for young kids. In addition to the actual injury and the resulting physical pain, there also may be emotional trauma sustained as a result of getting hit by a motor vehicle. Medical and recovery expenses can take their toll on the family.

Halloween Driving Safety Tips, Progressive.com
Keeping Kids Safe on Halloween, Minnesota Safety Council (PDF)

Keep Your Pirate, Ghoul, or Ghost Safe on Halloween, Kingstowne.Patch.com

Related Web Resources:
Pedestrian Safety, SafeKids
Educating Child Pedestrians, WalkingInfo Continue reading

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With car crashes as the leading cause of teenager deaths, this week has been designated “National Teen Driver Safety Week.” The theme for this year is distracted driving, which is no surprise considering that teen drivers are the ones at highest risk of becoming involved in a distracted driving-related accident.

Other common causes of teen driving accidents:
• Driver inexperience • Speed • Immaturity and impatience • Forgetting to wear a seat belt • Drunk driving
• Drowsy driving • Drugged driving • Driving at night
Teen drivers that are negligent or reckless while driving can easily become involved in a Boston, injury accident. It is important that parents work with teens to prevent Massachusetts traffic crashes from happening.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Offers “Rules” that Parents Can Set with Their Kids to Encourage Them to Drive Safely:
• Do not allow your teen to drink alcohol • Make sure your teen is always using a seat belt while driving • Even though texting and cell phone use is banned, enforce this rule with them • Give your teen a curfew time • Make sure that your teen obeys the state’s teen driving laws
According to two studies that came out in the journal Pediatricslast year, parents that are proactive about setting and abiding by boundaries and rules can turn their kids into safer drivers. Per the study, teens with actively involved parents lower their drunk driving risk by 70%, are 30% less likely to use a cell phone, and are 50% less likely to speed. Kids who don’t have their own car and must ask their parents to use a vehicle are 50% less likely to get involved in a traffic crash.

In Massachusetts, the state’s Junior Operator Law prohibits teens under 18 from texting or talking on a cell phone. The law also bars teens from driving between 12:30am and 5am and provides a passenger restriction. A teen that gets caught drag-racing or speeding faces harsh penalties.

It’s National Teen Driver Safety Week (Oct. 17-23), So Talk to Your Kids, Time, October 18, 2010
Strict rules from parents lead to safer-driving teens, USA Today, September 25, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Teen Drivers, NHTSA
Junior Operator License, MassDOT Continue reading

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Fisher-Price Inc. and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission are recalling over 10 million children’s toys because they pose a serious injury risk to kids.

Included in the recall:

• About 7 million Fisher-Price Trike and Tough Trike toddler tricycles: Fisher-Pricea nd CPSC know of at least 10 injury incidents, including six female toddlers who needed medical care after falling on the pretend plastic ignition key, which is located in front of the tricycle seat. A child that sits or falls on or hits the pretend ignition key risks serious injuries, including genital bleeding. 14 models are included in this recall. Another 150,000 tricycles are being recalled in Canada.

• Approximately 2.8 million Fisher-Price toys with inflatable balls:

–Baby Playzone™ Crawl & Slide Arcade™
–Baby Playzone™ Crawl & Cruise Playground™
–Baby Gymtastics™ Play Wall –Ocean Wonders™ Kick & Crawl Aquarium™
–1-2-3 Tetherball™
–Bat & Score Goal™

Another 125,000 of these toys are being recalled in Canada.

The valve of the inflatable ball that comes with these toys for infants can come off and become a choking hazard. There are 46 reports of the valve coming off in the US. During 14 incidents, the valve was discovered in a child’s mouth. Three of the kids started to choke.

• About 100,000 Fisher-Price Little People Wheelies Stand ‘n Play Rampway: If a wheel from one of the cars comes off, it could pose a choking hazard to young children.

• Approximately 950,000 Healthy Care, Easy Clean and Close to Me High Chairs: The pegs on the rear legs of the chairs can cause laceration injuries. The high chairs are also made by Fisher-Price.

There have been 14 reports of such incidents. Seven of the children involved needed stitches. Another 125,000 of the high chairs were recalled in Canada.

Boston Products Liability
Product designers, manufacturers, sellers, and others involved can be held liable for Boston products liability or wrongful death if their product was poorly designed, has a manufacturing defect, came with inadequate operating or assembly instructions, or did not warn about possible dangers and risks associated with using the product. In Massachusetts, a product manufacturer who didn’t do anything negligent can still be held liable if the plaintiff can prove that a product was defective or dangerous enough to cause serious Boston personal injury or death.

The Fisher-Price Recall: More than 10 Million Products, CPSC, September 30, 2010
Fisher-Price recall is complex. Here’s how to sort it out, Christian Science Monitor, September 30, 2010

Related Web Resources:
SafeKids USA

Products Liability, Cornell University Law School Continue reading

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A man who claims he was sexually molested by the headmaster of St. John’s School for the Deaf when he was a student there is suing the Vatican and Pope Benedict for clergy sexual abuse. Terry Kohut, who is deaf, says he was molested and assaulted by Father Lawrence C. Murphy, who was head of the boarding school from 1950 to 1974. Per CNN, Kohut, now 60, is the first plaintiff to sue Pope Benedict for clergy sex abuse.

Pope Benedict, previously known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, used to head the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The CDF was tasked with investigating clergy sex abuse allegations involving minors. Per church records, Murphy molested and raped up to 200 deaf boys.

In Kohut’s sexual assault complaint, Kobut says that the Vatican’s “policy of secrecy” and attempts to cover up the child sex abuse incidents contributed to causing him and others to become Murphy’s victims. Murphy allegedly would walk through the school’s dorm and rape and sexually assault boys in their bed. According to church documents, he also molested and assaulted victims in the church’s confessional.

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Our Boston lawyers have discovered that a 12-year-old boy was airlifted to Children’s Hospital for treatment of the injuries he sustained at the Whitman town pool. At approximately 12:30 on Monday afternoon, the boy reportedly slipped into the pool, striking his back on the pool ladder in the process.

Following the impact, the young boy complained of severe lower back pain and a numb sensation in his lower extremities. The Whitman firefighters that responded to the 911 call were able to stabilize the child in the deep end of the pool before he was airlifted to the hospital.

If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a slip and fall, you may be entitled to financial recovery for your injuries. At the law firm of Altman & Altman, we have recovered millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for personal injury victims. Please contact our firm for a free case evaluation.
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The attorneys at Altman & Altman have learned that a toddler fell from a second story back porch in Lynn this past Sunday. The child was at a Lynn daycare facility when the accident occurred. The toddler is currently in stable condition at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The 22-month-old child was on the back porch of her daycare facility when she fell 15-feet, landing in the driveway. Currently, the Lynn police and the Department of Children and Families are investigating the incident. The operator of the Lynn daycare has agreed to cease all operations of her business pending the ongoing investigation.

If you or a loved one has been hurt in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation through a Boston Personal Injury lawsuit. Please contact the law firm of Altman & Altman to for an initial consultation with an experienced lawyer at no cost to you.

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CPR was performed on a 13-year-old boy on Monday night at the Holiday Inn on Jones Road in Falmouth. The boy nearly drowned while in the hotel pool.

Now that summer is here, the number of drowning and near drowning incidents for the year will undoubtedly go up. It is important that pool owners and supervisors, both of residential and private pools and hot tubs, make sure that the proper safety measures are in place to prevent Massachusetts drowning accidents from happening.

Just this Saturday, 2-year-old twins died in a Lynnfield drowning accident in their own pool. Veronica and Angelina Andreottola appear to have fallen into the water because a retractable cover was not completely covering the pool. Police say the toddlers may have pushed the button for the cover. Their death comes just weeks after state Representative Robert J. Nyman died from an accidental drowning in his own backyard pool.

Pool owners can be held liable for Boston personal injury or wrongful death if their negligence allowed another party to drown, nearly drown, slip and fall, or injure themselves in any other way in or around a pool or a whirlpool. Kids and adults that don’t know how to swim or are prone to certain health complications are at risk of drowning. Adequate supervision, such as lifeguards or an adult that knows how to swim and perform CPR, proper lighting, making sure the pool is clear of debris so that anyone drowning at the bottom can be easily detected, and placing rescue equipment in the pool area are just some of the steps that a property owner can take to decrease the chances that a Boston pool drowning accident will happen. Installing retractable covers, pool fences, and secured gates around the pool area can help.

CPR performed on 13-year-old near drowning victim at Falmouth hotel pool, CapeCodToday, July 20, 2010
Surveillance tape looked at in twins’ drowning, WHDH, July 20, 2010
Legislator’s autopsy determines death was accidental drowning, Boston.com, June 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
CPSC Warns Backyard Pool Drownings Happen “Quickly and Silently”, CPSC
Drowning Facts, YMCA
Unintentional Drowning: Fact Sheet, CDC Continue reading

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Three teenage residents in a Canton Group home had to be taken to the hospital on Friday after they were injured during a group brawl. About six staff members were also involved in the altercation. The home is run by the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center, which is known for using electrical skin shock to discipline students. Police and center officials say these shocks were not used on Friday.

Injuries from the brawl included a broken hip, wrist, and nose. The brawl may have broken out when one of the students ignored a staff member’s instructions that it was time to go to bed. Some of the staffers who were involved in the fight had put on helmets.

Most of the 200 students at the center have autism, behavioral disorders, or intellectual disabilities. About half of them wear electrodes on their skin, which allows staffers to trigger 2-second shocks using a handheld device. The electric shock procedure is sanctioned by the state of Massachusetts.

Earlier this year, the US Justice Department launched an investigation to examine of some of the residential school’s methods. According to a letter signed by over two dozen advocacy groups last year, residents at the center who have state-approved plans giving permission for electric shock as a behavior-control method are given these painful shocks if they interrupt others, stop working for over 10 seconds, whisper, or get out of their seats.

Schools and other facilities responsible for minors under their care can be held liable for Boston personal injury if negligence, carelessness, or recklessness contributes to causing a student, resident, or participant to sustain injuries or die. Physical abuse, neglect, failure to properly supervise, failure to protect, violent disciplinary methods, verbal threats, and failure to remove or repair hazards from the premise are some reasons why a student and his/her family might decide to file a Massachusetts injuries to a minor claim.

3 injured in brawl at group home, Boston.com, June 29, 2010
Feds Launch Probe Of School That Uses Electric Shock, Disability Scoop, February 25, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Judge Rotenberg Educational Center

Types of Personal Injury Damages, Justia Continue reading

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