Personal Injury

March 28, 2013

More Adult Motorists than Teens May Be Texting While Driving, Finds New Survey

According to a survey conducted by AT & T, 49% of the adult motorists that participated said the have texted while driving. Compare that to 43% of teen drivers that were asked in another survey in 2012. 98% of all respondents said they know that distracted driving is unsafe.

Multitasking is never beneficial while behind the steering wheel of the car. At Altman & Altman, our Boston personal injury lawyers represent clients who suffered serious injuries because of a distracted driving. Texting, talking on the cell phone, reading, surfing the Internet, and sending emails while driving can lead to catastrophic Massachusetts car crashes.

Per the At & T report, which is part of its “It Can Wait” campaign to get drivers to stop texting while behind the wheel, the number of motorists that text appears to be going up instead of down. Out of every 10 respondents, six of them said they didn’t text while driving three years ago. Meantime, 40% of those that do text while driving admit that this is an actual habit rather than a rare occurrence.

February 25, 2013

Ex-Inmate’s Family Files Essex County, Massachusetts $2M Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Jail

by Altman & Altman

In Salem Superior Court, the loved ones of former inmate Jeddy Darryl Warner is suing the Essex County jail for Massachusetts wrongful death. According to the plaintiffs, the jail allegedly kept Warner from taking the medications that he needed for several days. Now his family is seeking $2 million in damages.

Warner had been suffering from gastrointestinal stromal tumor, which is a rare form of cancer that he as diagnosed with while serving time in a New York prison for check fraud. After having surgery and getting additional care at hospitals located close to where he was being detained, Warner was paroled and transferred to Massachusetts. However, a few years later, he was behind bars again, then later on probation, and again back in custody in 2010.

Per the Essex County, MA wrongful death complaint, when Warner’s sister attempted to ensure he received his medications, she was notified that he was only allowed to get drugs that came from the jail and not through any outside sources. One drug that he needed, in particular, but could not get was Gleevec. Several days after he was allegedly deprived of this needed med, Warner was discovered unconscious on the jail infirmary floor and placed on life support for several days.

February 7, 2013

1999 Springfield, MA Police Brutality Case Gets New Hearing to Determine Damages

by Altman & Altman

More than 13 years after a Springfield cop allegedly beat a convenience store owner and her adult kids, the Supreme Judicial Court has ordered a new hearing to determine how much the city and Officer Ronald Boykan owe Lucy Jones and her family. Jones claims that Boykan entered her store in 1999, forced his way into a private area and arrested her two kids before brutality physically assaulting the three of them.

Following their arrests, Bokyan was ordered to take part in sensitivity training while Jones’ kids, William S. Owens Jr. and Nicole N. Jones , were exonerated of all criminal charges. The three of them contend that not only did they sustain emotional and physical injuries from the Springfield, Massachusetts police brutality incident, but also they lost their store.

A Hampden Superior Court made a default judgment in 2004 and ordered the city of Springfield to pay the victims $1 million-he then reversed himself, tossing the ruling out, and the state Appeals Court went on to reinstate it.

However, now, Massachusetts highest court says that the lower court’s original assessment of how much the family was owed, which it determined according to the representations made by the plaintiff’s attorney, was not adequate. Justice Margot Bostford said that it is the judge’s duty to fairly make sure that there is a reasonable basis of fact behind the amount of damages decided.

Massachusetts Police Brutality
Excessive police violence is a violation of one’s civil rights and it can cause serious injuries and even death. Common forms of excessive use of police force can include physical assault, verbal abuse, false arrests, threats, blackmail, sexual assault, sexual abuse, racial profiling, and intimidation. Even if the police officer didn’t intend to be brutal but merely used to much force, if you or your loved one was injured, you may have grounds for a Massachusetts police brutality case.

Jones v. Boykan

$1 million award to Lucy Jones of Springfield in convenience store beating case sent back by high court for new hearing, MassLive, February 6, 2013

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

More Blog Posts:
North Andover Wrongful Death Lawsuit Involving Worcester Man Subdued by Police in Traffic Stop is Settled for $1.6M, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, November 19, 2012
Westport Cop Settles Case Alleging Bristol County, Massachusetts Excessive Use of Force, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 9, 2011

Boston Police Brutality Alleged in Federal Lawsuit Filed by Man Who Recorded Friend’s Arrest, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, November 8, 2011 Continue reading

January 21, 2013

Boston Spinal Cord Injury Lawsuits Can Help Victims and Their Families Cope with Expensive Medical Expenses

by Altman & Altman

At Altman & Altman, LLP, our Boston spinal cord injury lawsuits represent victims and relatives that wish to seek damages from the parties responsible for what happened. SCIs are very serious injuries that can cause serious medical conditions, including paraplegia, quadriplegia, deep vein thrombosis, movement and sensation loss, urinary tract issues, bowel management issues, bedsores, circulatory issues, respiratory issues, muscle tone problems (flaccidity, spasticity, and atrophy), depression, severe pain, and even death. This is not the type of case that you want to handle without experienced legal help.

Common causes of SCIs:

• Car accidents • Fall accidents • Violent crimes • Gunshot injuries • Sporting accidents • Construction accidents • Getting hit by (or striking against) something

January 9, 2013

Ferry Crash in NYC Injures at Least 50

by Altman & Altman

A high-speed ferry that collided into a Manhattan dock today left at least 50 people with injuries-CNN says that number of injuries is closer to 85. Two of the victims were critically hurt, with one sustaining a serious head injury from falling down the boat stairs. The vessel had been transporting over 300 commuters. When the crash happened, dozens of them were tossed to the deck, and against walls, windows, and seats.

The ferry accident occurred at around 8:45am as the boat was pulling into the dock. The impact of the crash caused the boat’s hull to rip open. Per a witness who is quoted in a Boston Globe/AP story, a ferry employee had been telling her that the captains of the boat had complained that the vessel was difficult to maneuver.

The ferry is a catamaran that was constructed in 2003 and it was scheduled to undergo a huge mechanical overhaul in mere months. The National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to the boating accident site.

December 31, 2012

New Year’s Eve is the Deadliest Time of Year for Boston Pedestrian Accidents

by Altman & Altman

According to the journal Injury Prevention, New Year’s Eve is when people are most at risk for becoming involved in a fatal pedestrian accident. One reason for this is that while inebriated individuals might choose to walk rather than drive, drinking too much alcohol still impairs one’s physical abilities, judgments, and reflexes regardless, making one more prone to involvement in a traffic crash. One option for avoiding such risks might be to take a cab. Another alternative is staying over at wherever you plan to celebrate.

That said, there are Boston pedestrian accidents that occur on New Year’s Eve because a motorist was distracted, multitasking, texting while driving, talking on a cell phone, or drunk. Please contact Altman & Altman, LLP to request your free case evaluation if you were involved in a Massachusetts traffic accident that you believe was caused by another party.

No one wants to start or end the year involved in any type of collision, but it can happen. Because the state follows modified comparative negligence system, an injured party can recover Boston injury compensation compensation as long as his/her fault in causing the incident was 50% or less.

December 19, 2012

Massachusetts Wrongful Death/Personal Injury Lawsuit Blaming Lax Supervision at Gillette Stadium for Drunken Driving Crash Will Go to Trial

by Altman & Altman

Nearly four and a half years after a Massachusetts car crash killed two friends and injured a third on the night of the 2008 New England County Music Festival, a Norfolk Superior Court judge says that the families’ Foxborough, MA persona injury/wrongful death lawsuit can go to trial. The defendants had sought to have the case dismissed.

The catastrophic crash occurred after the three women, 24-year-old Norton resident Nina Houlihan, 19-year-old Mansfield resident Alexa Latteo, and 20-year-old Milton resident Debra Davis drank alcohol at the Gillette Stadium parking lot during the music event. They later crashed their car into a tree about a mile away from the site.

Latteo, who had been driving, died from her Foxborough, Massachusetts motor vehicle accident injuries, as did Milton. Houlihan survived with injuries. She and the Davis family later filed a civil case against Kraft Group, which owns the stadium, as well as several affiliated entities, including security firm TeamOps LLC, NPS LLC, and FXP LLC. The friends reportedly were tailgating “all day” at the Stadium even though they didn’t have tickets to the event.

December 17, 2012

A Decrease in Massachusetts Highway Deaths Doesn’t Mean Boston Car Drivers Get to Be Less Vigilant

by Altman & Altman

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of US highway deaths in 2011 went down to their lowest level since 1949 at 32,367 fatalities-a 1.9% drop from last year. The 2011 decline is a continuing trend over the last six years, which has lead to a 26% drop in traffic deaths since 2005.

In this state last year, Massachusetts traffic fatalities went down from 347 deaths in 2010 to 337. Nationwide, other significant 2011 statistics included:

• A 4.6% drop in the number of light truck and passenger car occupant deaths.

December 12, 2012

Consumer Watchdog Asks FDA to Inspect Pharmacies after Meningitis Outbreak from Framingham, MA Pharmacy

by Altman & Altman

We blogged last month about the nationwide outbreak of meningitis that originated in a Framingham, MA compounding pharmacy.

A consumer watchdog organization, Public Citizen, is now asking the Food and Drug Administration to re-inspect over a dozen specialty pharmacies with records of violations. Public Citizen sent a letter to the FDA on Thursday calling for the agency to re-examine 16 compounding pharmacies that received warnings from the FDA between 2003 and 2012.

Public Citizen decried what it says is the FDA’s recurring failure to follow up on warning letters to pharmacies. “By not fully investigating what could potentially be deadly violations of the law, the FDA is disregarding its primary purpose, which is to protect the lives of citizens,” said Dr. Michael Carome, Deputy Director of Public Citizen’s health unit.

The fungal meningitis outbreak that has killed 36 people and made ill more than 500 has been linked to contaminated pain injections from the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, MA.

The FDA inspected the New England Compounding Center three times before the outbreak and issued a warning letter in 2006, according to Congressional investigators. The letter addressed numerous violations, such as repackaging FDA-approved drugs into smaller doses and mass producing drugs without prescriptions.

Public Citizen wants the FDA to look into warning letters sent to pharmacies in 15 states for a number of violations, including: producing drugs from non-FDA approved ingredients, making copies of already approved drugs, and making compounds without a prescription from a doctor.
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December 10, 2012

MBTA Fires “Inattentive” Driver Involved in Boston Train Crash

by Altman & Altman

The MBTA has fired the driver of a Green Line train that recently collided with another train, sending numerous riders to the hospital.

The reason for the termination is that the driver was “inattentive” at the time of the crash, said MBTA General Manager Jonathan R. Davis.

Davis said the driver was “solely responsible” for the accident. The driver had worked another, non-MBTA job from midnight to 8:00 a.m. before starting his MBTA job at 11:00 a.m., approximately an hour before the crash. The MBTA has not released the name of the driver or a description of the second job.

MBTA rules do not specifically prohibit employees from working additional jobs, but by not having sufficient rest before reporting to work, the driver was unfit for duty, violating MBTA policy, said Davis.

“Because of his alarming disregard for customer and employee safety in performing his duty as a Green Line operator, today he was fired,” Davis said at a news conference prior to a regularly scheduled meeting of the state transportation board. “The conclusion is he was inattentive to his duties as a Green Line operator, resulting in a collision with the other vehicle.”

The driver reported to investigators that he did not fall asleep while operating the train, said Davis. Investigators were unable to determine if that was in fact the case, said Davis.

The collision between two Green Line trains at the Boylston Street station occurred just before noon on Thursday, injuring tens of people. The train was entering the station when it rear-ended another train that had stopped on the platform.

37 people were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries. “People went flying, got their knees banged up. It was pretty hectic,” said one rider.

None of the trolleys were damaged in the crash and the station opened in time for the evening commute.
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