Personal Injury

February 3, 2015

Selfies by Pilot May Have Played a Role in Deadly Plane Crash, Says NTSB

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, a pilot’s propensity to take selfies while operating an aircraft likely played a part in causing the small plane crash that killed him and his passenger in Colorado last year. The government agency issued its full probable cause report this week, saying that evidence shows that distracted piloting may have been a key factor in the fatal aviation accident.

The Cessna 150 crashed just four minutes after taking off on May 31, 2014. The pilot was Amritpal Singh. NTSB investigators said they discovered a GoPro camera among the wreckage. The camera had stored various recordings of the pilot and different passengers taking selfies with their cell phones. Camera flash function was used in certain instances during take off periods up through to flight times. Even though none of the videos found on the GoPro were taken during the flight that killed Singh and his passenger, investigators say that the pilot may have been taking selfies that night, too. They believe that this distracted him, resulting in spatial disorientation and loss of control.

Federal Aviation Administration regulations bar commercial pilots from using personal wireless communication devices or laptops for personal use while on the flight deck during aircraft operation. Pilots, however, are allowed to use cameras during the flight, just not cell phone cameras.

January 22, 2015

Westford, MA Ski Accident Leads to Fatality

by Altman & Altman

A 44-year-old woman has died after she fell from a ski lift at a resort last month. Olga Filkin was riding up to a drop point on a ski slope when she fell at least twenty-two feet to the ground. She was transported to the ski resort’s first aid room where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy report shows that Filkin’s death was accidental.

U.S. ski lift operators are upheld to a high standard of care when it comes to the operation, maintenance, and use of lifts. While the majority of ski lift accidents take place while a skier is loading or unloading from a lift, falls from lifts also happen. Skier error, operator error, ski lift malfunctions, and inadequate maintenance are a few of the common causes of chair lift accidents. High winds may also cause ski lift incidents.

In Massachusetts, please contact our Boston ski lift/resort accident lawyers at Altman & Altman, LLP if you or someone you love was injured in a lift accident or in another kind of accident at a ski resort. Other common causes of injuries at ski resorts and ski lodges include:

January 6, 2015

Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against the City of Framingham, Police Officer May Proceed, Says Judge

by Altman & Altman

US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV says that the Massachusetts wrongful death case filed against Framingham Police Officer Paul K. Duncan may proceed. Duncan shot Eurie Stamps Sr. by accident in 2011 while the older man was unarmed and face down on a kitchen floor. According to Stamp’s estate, Duncan used excessive force when he shot the retiree.

The tragic accident took place during a drug raid at Duncan’s home. Duncan and the SWAT team he was with were executing a search warrant at the time based on allegations that Stamps’ stepson and others were selling crack cocaine out of the residence.

The police officer’s weapon discharged after he tripped inside a dark hallway, killing Stamps, who had no criminal record and was not a suspect in any crime. Also, the older man reportedly had done nothing to suggest that he wasn’t going to cooperate with police officers nor did he appear to pose a threat to anyone there.

December 29, 2014

Jockey Files Boston Injury Lawsuit Against Suffolk Downs After Sustaining Horse Racing Injuries

by Altman & Altman

Andria Terrill, a jockey who sustained serious injuries when racing a horse at Suffolk Downs in 2013, is suing the East Boston track. She got hurt when the 3-year-old horse she was riding stumbled as it was heading out of the gate.

According to the Boston Globe, Terrill, then 30, fell off, losing consciousness and landing on the track. She sustained multiple fractures to her skull. According to her Massachusetts injury lawsuit, she continues to suffer balance issues, headaches, dizziness, problems with focusing and concentrating, and emotional instability. Now, she claims, that she won’t be able to race again.

Terrill is blaming Suffolk Downs contending that racing officials did not enforce Massachusetts’s safety helmet standard for jockeys. Because of this, she says that she did not wear the type of helmet that would have protected her from her injuries. She wants the racetrack to pay her $1.3 million for her Boston personal injuries, including loss of earnings.

November 13, 2014

$1.2 Million Massachusetts Personal Injury Lawsuit Blames Pumpkinfest for Man’s Health Issues

by Altman & Altman

Dwayne St. Marie is suing the organizer of Pumpkinfest for Massachusetts personal injury. St. Marie claims that loud music and smoke from the yearly festival in 2011 caused him to suffer a major cardiac incident. He is seeking $1.2 million in compensation.

At the time of the 2011 Pumpkinfest, St. Marie resided in an apartment overlooking the festival site in Turner Falls, MA. He says that smoke from a vendor under his home and the music playing at the event caused him to suffer a migraine headache while weakening his respiratory and cardiac systems. St. Marie blames organizer Michael Nelson or the festival volunteers for putting a food vendor with exhaust vents in a spot where there were upper-story residences.

In his response, Nelson is seeking to have the Massachusetts injury case dismissed. He claims that St. Marie’s health issues are results of the plaintiff’s own negligence, which he believes is more than any negligence on the defendant’s part. St. Marie is seeking $39,288 for medical costs, $951,913 for lost income, and $250,000 for unspecified damages.

September 26, 2014

Framingham, MA Wrongful Death Case Seeks Damage Over Inmate’s Fatal Drug Overdose

by Altman & Altman

The estate of Monique Miller is suing the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department, unnamed deputies, and a corrections officer for her Framingham, MA wrongful death. Miller, a 42-year-old woman with five children, died of a drug overdose while at the MCI-Framingham correctional facility. She was imprisoned over drug and shoplifting charges.

According to her family, Miller snorted heroin while in custody. She was then allowed to remain facedown on the floor of her cell for hours even though she obviously needed medical help. The plaintiffs are accusing corrections officer Nancy Padvaiskas and the other defendants of “deliberate indifference” and violating the prohibition related to unusual and cruel punishment. Their Massachusetts wrongful death case also accuses the sheriff’s deputies of not supervising the prisoners under their care, failing to stop drug use by inmates, and not noticing that there were inmates under the influence of drugs.

During transport for a court appearance last year, Miller and other prisoners snorted heroin while in Cambridge. The drug came from another prisoner, who was also concealing the sedative Seroquel.

September 15, 2014

Massachusetts Man Killed in Golf Cart Accident At Maine Golf Course

by Altman & Altman

A Massachusetts man was fatally injured last week in a tragic golf cart accident at a South Berwick, Maine golf course.

According to police reports and the Associated Press, the victim, who’d been playing at The Links at Outlook, was riding as a passenger in a golf cart when the driver lost control on a downhill portion of the cart path near the 14th hole. Both the driver and the victim were ejected from the cart; the cart then fell on and crushed the victim’s head. The driver received only minor injuries.

The victim is described as a 27-year-old male from Massachusetts. His name, nor were any other details about the accident, was not released. South Berwick Police Chief Dana Lajoie stated that blood was drawn at the scene from both the driver and victim to determine the men’s blood alcohol content.

Assuming that alcohol was a factor in this horrific accident, this situation could fall under the dram shop statute and liquor server liability law. According to Massacusetts General Laws, Chapter 231, Section 85T:

“In any action for personal injuries, property damage or consequential damages caused by or arising out of the negligent serving of alcohol to an intoxicated person by a licensee properly licensed under chapter 138 or by a person or entity serving alcohol as an incident of its business but for which no license is required, no such intoxicated person who causes injuries to himself, may maintain an action against the said licensee or person or entity in the absence of wilful, wanton, or reckless conduct on the part of the licensee or such person or entity.”
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August 21, 2014

Two Young Girls Rushed to Hospital After Yarmouth Swimming Accident at Cape Cod Hotel

by Altman & Altman

Two sisters, ages 9 and 12, were flown to Children’s Hospital in Boston after they were pulled from the bottom of an indoor swimming pool at the Bayside Resort in Cape Cod. Witnesses say that the girls were rescued from the Yarmouth, MA near drowning accident after family members and guests noticed they were in trouble.

An uncle was supposed to be supervising them when the swimming accident happened. There was no lifeguard on duty at the time.

The two girls, who are from New York, were in Yarmouth on vacation. As of Wednesday night, police were reporting that the sisters were in serious to life threatening condition.

August 15, 2014

Former Student Sues Emerson College in Massachusetts Sexual Assault Case

by Altman & Altman

Jillian Doherty is seeking personal injury compensation from Emerson College. She claims that that the college mishandled her Massachusetts sexual assault case. Doherty wants compensation for the emotional trauma she suffered and her hospital bills and tuition. She dropped out of the school earlier this year.

Doherty says she was raped in April 2012 after having consensual sex with a male student after she refused to have anal sex with him. She contends that he forcibly penetrated her. The two of them were intoxicated at the time.

Doherty claims that she waited to report the incident nearly a year later because Emerson did a poor job of informing students about sexual assault and the resources that were available. When the accused provided new evidence and a character letter from someone who wasn’t even involved in the matter at the hearing, Doherty says she was not given a chance to respond. The male undergraduate was cleared in the case. However, following an appeal, the school found him responsible and he was expelled.

August 13, 2014

Back-to-School: Drugs and Alcohol

by Altman & Altman

With the school year only a few weeks away, we can’t help but think about the myriad of cases on schools and school-aged children that we have defended these 50 years at our family-serving legal office. Being parents, we would like to offer some safety advice, with the hope that this new academic year turns out to be an enjoyable and enriching experience.

Recently Gov. Patrick declared a public health emergency in Massachusetts for the rapidly growing opioid addiction rates. From 2000 to 2012, the number of unintentional opioid overdoses rose by 90%. In the state, a person who consumes opioids is three times more likely to die than a drunk driver. Undoubtedly, this has raised concern among parents about the availability of opioids and other drugs at schools and popular places where children come together.

The law aims to limit access to drugs by minors. According to the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, consume or possess drugs, drug paraphernalia including tobacco rolling papers or alcohol within 300 feet of schools, whether public or private, up to secondary school. In 2011 Gov. Patrick tried to reduce this space to 100 feet, though thankfully, without success.

Based on the reported cases in Massachusetts, in 2012 marijuana and alcohol were the most popular drugs among teenagers younger than 18, and also the substances for which they most often sought treatment. Most teenagers start using these substances before reaching high school: the mean age of first alcohol use was 13.2 years, while for marijuana, it was 12.8 years.

How does the law limit access and possession of these substances by minors?
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