Articles Posted in Personal Injury

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A 21-year-old man sustained third- and second- degree burns in a Springfield, MA injury accident involving a leaf blower and a lit cigarette. Javier Rivera was reportedly using the machine when gas spilled onto his arm while it was being refueled.

At the time, Rivera and another man were using the leaf blower. Rivera’s arm ignited when one of them lit a cigarette.

Depending on the specifics of what happened, Rivera may have grounds for filing a Massachusetts personal injury lawsuit. For instance, if the gas spilled out of the leaf blower because of a product defect, then he may be able to pursue a Massachusetts products liability case against the manufacturer. Another possible reason for a defective product lawsuit would be a failure to warn of dangers involved with using the leaf blower and not providing instructions for proper and safe use. Also, if it was Rivera’s companion that lit the cigarette then this could be grounds for a Springfield personal injury case against him.

Massachusetts Personal Injury
To prove negligence in a Springfield injury case, the plaintiff must show that another party was negligent. Because Massachusetts is a comparative negligence state, if a victim contributed to his/her own injuries, then the amount he/she can receive is lowered by the percentage of responsible attributed to the claimant-unless that percentage of negligence is 51% of greater, in which case a plaintiff cannot receive any compensation.

There may be more than one party who should be held liable. If so, each party would be held responsible for part of the damages that would be proportionate to the percentage of fault allotted. Massachusetts’ joint and several liability rules, however, lets a plaintiff sue one person for all damages. If the plaintiff wins the case then that party can sue the others that are at fault for repayment.

Javier Rivera of Springfield suffers 2nd, 3rd degree burns in leaf-blower accident, MassLive, November 21, 2011
Springfield man burned in leaf blower accident, Boston Herald, November 22, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Burns, Medline Plus
Products Liability, Nolo
More Blog Posts:
$7.7M Boston Personal Injury Verdict Awarded to Boiler Repairman Burned by Defective Water Heater, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, October 6, 2011
Massachusetts Products Liability: CPSC Recalls More Pourable Gel Fuels Following Burn Injuries and Two Deaths, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, September 9, 2011
Salem Premises Liability: 93-Year-Od-Woman Seeks Damages for Burn Injuries from Scalding Bathwater, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, May 25, 2011 Continue reading

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Maury Paulino is suing the city of Boston and four of its police officers for Massachusetts police brutality. He recently filed his federal lawsuit in US District Court.

Paulino, then 19, contends that the cops beat him in November 2009 because he had used his cell phone to record them disciplining his friend. At the time, his friend was being released from the police station in Roxbury and had gotten into a verbal altercation with one officer.

Paulino says that not only was he charged with violating Massachusetts wiretapping laws, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assault and battery, but also one cop kneed and punched him and used pepper-spray on his face. Meantime, the other police officers allegedly just stood by.

Paulino’s Boston personal injury lawyers maintain he was never aggressive or threatening toward the police officers and he did not interfere with their activities. In his Massachusetts police brutality complaint, Paulino notes a federal appeals court’s ruling that it is not illegal to record police officers while they are doing their job. Also, a clerk magistrate has since dropped the illegal wire tapping charge against Paulino, who was acquitted of the other criminal charges during his trial. He is suing the city of Boston for allegedly failing to properly discipline and supervise its cops.

Paulino says that his injuries included a scalp laceration, neck abrasions, and bleeding from his nose, mouth, and lips. He is seeking monetary damages.

Meantime, the Boston police have said that since 2010 its officers have been trained to know that it is not illegal to openly and publicly record them as they do their job.

Police officers must uphold a certain code of conduct. This includes not employing more force than necessary at any time and definitely not abusing the right to exert force by using it to intimidate, scare, or bully others.

Many people don’t realize that police brutality does happen and that this is both against the law and a violation of one’s civil rights. There may be legal remedies available allowing the victim to obtain Boston personal injury recovery for the harm that they have suffered.

Boston man says he was beaten for recording police, Boston Herald, November 2, 2011
Man arrested while video recording Boston police officers files lawsuit, Boston Globe, November 2, 2011
Boston Police Department

More Blog Posts:
Westport Cop Settles Case Alleging Bristol County, Massachusetts Excessive Use of Force, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 9, 2011
Massachusetts Personal Injury: Two Women Sue Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office Over Dog Attack by K-9, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, May 27, 2011
Wrongful Death: Parents of Easton, Massachusetts Man Fatally Shot by NY Police Officer File Lawsuit, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, April 23, 2011 Continue reading

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In Middlesex County Superior Court, a jury awarded a boiler repairman $7.7 million for his Boston burn injuries that he sustained while on the job. The defendant in the case was the Falmouth condominium complex where the victim had been doing work on an industrial water heater.

The worker sustained burns to 50% of his body in November 2008 when the heater, which was supposed to be depressurized and empty, emanated steam and very hot water. The repairman was treated at a burn unit for a few weeks and he had to undergo four skin graft procedures. He also developed PTSD because of the work accident and was not able to go back to work.

According to the Boston personal injury complaint, the boiler had been inadequately maintained. The heater tank’s gauges indicated to him, as had the condo manager, that was empty, the pressure had been released, and it was ready to be repaired.

The condo complex had tried to settle the Falmouth personal injury lawsuit for $200,000.

Work Injuries
You may not be able to pursue damages from your employer for injuries sustained on the job, but third parties that played a role in causing your work accident can be held responsible for your Boston personal injury. In addition to receiving Boston workers’ compensation benefits from your employer, you may also be entitled to civil damages. There is no reason why you shouldn’t receive both.

It is important that you file your Massachusetts workers’ compensation claim right away so that you can start receiving benefits as soon as possible. You can also start working with a lawyer right away to start exploring other legal options.

The outcome of this Massachusetts injury case is an example of why you shouldn’t settle right away because you may be entitled to receive so much more for the harm that you suffered.

Workers’ Compensation, Massachusetts
The International Society for Burn Injuries


More Blog Posts:
Family that Obtained Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Over 2005 Plum Island Construction Accident Wants Newburyport Wrongful Death and Injury Recovery, Boston Injury Lawyer, April 11, 2011
Salem Construction Accident at Massachusetts Courthouse Last Summer Caused by Wrong Screw, Boston Injury Lawyer, January 19, 2011
Repairman Loses Consciousness 14 Feet Underground in Septic Pump Chamber, Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyer, October 5, 2011 Continue reading

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A Winthrop woman was killed on Saturday night in a Hull, Massachusetts boating accident. Regina Mosher sustained a fatal brain injury when she fell off the powerboat she was in a passenger in after it struck a moored sailboat.

The driver of the powerboat, Lloyd W. Thompson, is charged with negligent homicide and drunk driving. The 39-year-old Winthrop man has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. While Thompson has admitted to consuming alcohol, he says that he didn’t have more than two or three drinks. Police did retrieve an empty wine box, wine glasses, and beer bottles from his vessel.

The Massachusetts boating accident took place close to Hull’s Spinnaker Island. 10 people were riding in the powerboat that Thompson, who is vice commodore of the Winthrop Yacht Club, was steering. He claims he didn’t notice the sailboat until the last moment and that he tried to avoid colliding with it. He also says that he did not see the channel markers prior to the crash. Police, however, say that following the collision, Thompson exhibited slurred speech and his eyes appeared glassy.

There were several passengers on the boat. A second woman who also was thrown during the Massachusetts boat crash was treated at a hospital.

Massachusetts Boating Accidents
Injuries during boating accidents can happen and a Boston injury lawyer can help you figure out whether you have reason for filing a civil case. Drunk driving, operator negligence, operator inexperience, boat malfunction, boat defects, overcrowded vessels, no flotation devices, sinking boats, falls overboard, carbon monoxide poisoning, boat crashes, and personal watercraft accidents are some of the reasons why boating accidents happen.

Man pleads not guilty to fatal boat crash, Boston.com, September 13, 2011
Woman killed in boating accident off Hull, skipper faces charges, Patriot Ledger, September 12, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Boating Accident Statistics, US Coast Guard
Boating Accidents, Justia

More Blog Posts:
Capsized Boat Leaves One Dead, Boston Injury Lawyer, November 15, 2010
US Coast Guard Reports 9 Massachusetts Recreational Boating Accidents in 2007, Boston Injury Lawyer, September 24, 2008
9-Year-Old Massachusetts Girl is Seriously Injured in Boating Accident on Indian Lake, Boston Injury Lawyer, July 23, 2007 Continue reading

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The family of an ex-Andover High School Student are suing the town, two teachers, and EF Travel Inc., which is an agency located in Cambridge, for Massachusetts personal injury. The plaintiffs contend that the ex-student was raped during a school trip abroad in 2008 when she was 16.

In their Andover personal injury complaint, the victim is accusing the defendants of not properly monitoring the students during the European trip and of family to prevent them from consuming alcohol on the evening of the alleged rape. They are also accusing the teachers, Brian Shea and Josephine Goldin, of stopping the girl from calling police and failing to get her medical help after the alleged sex assault.

The plaintiffs say that the alleged rape occurred in a Germany hotel on the last night of the trip. Because the students knew when the teacher-chaperones were going to check on them that night, they planned their drinking party for after. The alleged victim, referred to as Jane Doe, was among those who got drunk and she claims that this was when a male student from another school restrained and sexually assaulted her.

Jane Doe says that when Goldin and Shea were notified of the alleged rape, they made her stand in front of the accused attacker and other students and questioned her about what happened and whether she’d been drinking. It wasn’t until she returned to the US and told her parents about the sexual assault that the police were contacted. A medical exam at a Boston hospital showed that she was the victim of nonconsensual sex. Also, The Massachusetts Department of Social Services, which conducted an investigation into the matter, says that Jane Doe’s allegations are credible.

If your son or daughter sustained serious injuries while under the supervision of another adult, group, organization, or institution, you may have reason for filing a Boston personal injury lawsuit not just against the person that caused the injury, but also against the party that was supposed to be responsible for safeguarding your loved one’s safety during that time and/or had the duty to prevent such an incident from happening.

Many Boston sexual assault victims don’t realize that they may be entitled to civil damages for the harm that they’ve suffered. In addition to serious personal injuries, there also may be psychological and emotional damage from such a violation.

Ex-student’s suit faults Andover High teachers in alleged rape on Europe trip, Boston.com, August 22, 2011
Girl sues Andover High teachers over alleged rape on European field trip, Eagle Tribune, August 21, 2011

More Blog Posts:
Cape Cod Sex Abuse: Woman Sues Camp Attended by US Senator Scott Brown, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 18, 2011
Ex-Children’s Hospital Boston Pediatrician Sued for Boston Medical Malpractice and the Sex Abuse, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, February 17, 2011
Boston Sexual Assault: Former High School Basketball Coach Faces Criminal Charges for 1976 Rape, Boston Injury Lawyer, April 18, 2011 Continue reading

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A Massachusetts personal injury settlement has been reached in the federal lawsuit between Westport Police Officer Francis Napert III and Berkley resident Carl Conforti over the alleged use of excessive police force. Under the terms of the agreement, Officer Napert will pay Conforti $50,350.

Per court records, on January 30, 2010, Napert, who was off-duty at the time, apprehended Conforti, a 46-year-old paraplegic in a wheelchair, who was going through a Westport neighborhood to gather fallen tree branches so he could heat his sister’s home. Napert, who was wearing civilian clothes and following him in a pickup truck, identified himself to Conforti as a cop and told him that he was watching him because he was making his way slowly through the neighborhood and peering into people’s residences.

Conforti asked Napert for police identification and that is when the latter allegedly started yelling at him, forced him to the ground, broke his glasses, and arrested him. Witnesses say that Conforti, who had wires in his chest after undergoing tracheal resection surgery, called for help. The criminal charges of disorderly conduct, larceny of wood, and resisting arrest that had been filed against Conforti were later dropped.

The Westport police say that the decision to settle was one done for practical reasons and not because they believe that Napert did anything wrong.

Boston Police Brutality
The use of unnecessary and excessive physical, verbal, or emotional force by a cop when dealing with members of the public is an abuse of authority and power, which can be grounds for a Boston personal injury lawsuit alleging Massachusetts police brutality. Excessive use of police force is also a violation of the victim’s civil rights.

Unfortunately, it can be virtually impossible to get a police officer or his department to admit that police brutality occurred. Often, unless the incident of excessive use of police force is a blatant one, charges likely won’t be filed against the cop. This doesn’t mean, however, that you cannot hold the police officer liable in civil court and obtain Boston injury damages for the harm that you or your loved one suffered.

Westport officer settles civil rights lawsuit alleging excessive force, South Coast Today, August 9, 2011

Related Web Resource:
Westport Police Department

More Blog Posts:
Massachusetts Personal Injury: Two Women Sue Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office Over Dog Attack by K-9, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, May 27, 2011
Wrongful Death: Parents of Easton, Massachusetts Man Fatally Shot by NY Police Officer File Lawsuit, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, April 23, 2011
Boston Personal Injury Lawsuit Accuses Police Motorcyclist of Assault and Battery in ’07 Marathon Pedestrian Accident, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, February 15, 2011 Continue reading

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According to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a $600,000 Massachusetts personal injury and wrongful death settlement has been reached between manufacturer Kahr Arms and the families of Danny Guzman and Armando Maisonet. Both men were shot by a 9mm handgun outside a nightclub on December 24, 1999. The weapon was stolen from the gun-maker’s factory and later was illegally sold to the assailant in exchange for drugs. Guzman died from his injuries. Maisonet injured his shoulder.

In the families’ Worcester, MA injury lawsuit, the plaintiffs accused the gun manufacturer of negligence, including inadequate security at its manufacturing plant, lack of sufficient inventory controls, and failure to screen employees for a criminal history or drug addiction. They claim that Kahr Arms hired Mark Cronin, who took the gun, even though he had a history of alcohol abuse and drug addiction. Their complaint also said that Cronin had said that guns that didn’t have their serial numbers on them yet were easy to remove from the factory.

He sold the gun to Robert Jachimczyk for cocaine, who in turn sold the gun to Edwin Novas for heroine. Novas is the man charged in the shooting. Cronin pleaded guilty to gun theft, while Novas has yet to be caught. Following the shooting, the Kahr Arms gun was found behind an apartment building close to where the shooting happened. A 4-year-old child discovered the loaded weapon.

Under the Massachusetts injury settlement, 70% will go to Guzman’s family, while 30% will go to Maisonet. The gun manufacturer had sought to have the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that it should be shielded under the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.”

As the outcome of this Worcester wrongful death case shows, sometimes, liable parties are individuals and entities that may not have directly caused a Massachusetts injury or death but whose negligence contributed to it happening.

Gun-maker to pay Brady Center $600,000, UPI, July 26, 2011
Mass. gun-maker to pay $600K in gun-death lawsuit, ABC12, July 26, 2011 Continue reading

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The Massachusetts Port Authority is asking that it be dropped from the wrongful death case filed by Bavis family. Mark Bavis was on United Airlines Flight 175 when terrorists flew it into one of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001.

In their wrongful death case, the Bavis family is claiming that the hijackers were to board the plane undetected negligent security because the screeners at Logan International Airport in Boston were poorly trained and unqualified. Massport has responded with its own filing and claims that it played no part in screening passengers and that it had no “causal connection” to the attacks. The agency says that even if better security could have prevented the planes from being hijacked, passenger screening is the job of the airlines and that they are the ones who subcontract the security companies.

Massport has been dismissed from other 9/11-related wrongful death lawsuits that have named it as a defendant and so far has not had to contribute to any of the settlements paid to families. Lawyers for the Bavis family, however, have continued to argue that the airport does play a part in screening and that Federal Aviation Regulations and United States Federal Aviation Administration had charged Massport with overall security at the Boston international airport.

Continue reading

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Kourtney Lebon and Kimberley Frye are seeking Massachusetts injury damages from the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office. The two women claim that the sheriff’s K-9 attacked them without provocation and they are claiming excessive use of police force. They also contend that Deputy Sheriff (Patrick) Martin and the two Falmouth cops who were with him did not act immediately to stop the dog attack.

The Massachusetts dog attack occurred on June 9, 2008 after Frye and Lebon and ran into the woods following a multiple stabbing incident occurred at a graduation party they had just attended. It was while they were in the woods that Frye says that the sheriff’s dog attacked her, biting her buttocks. Lebon, who had run away and climbed a tree to avoid getting bitten, claims she too was attacked by the police dog after the officers had persuaded her to come down. She was injured on her left leg.

Lebon and Frye were then handcuffed and held until an ambulance arrived. They were never charged in the stabbing.

Frye and Lebon, who are seeking at least $300,000 in Falmouth personal injury damages, say that their Massachusetts dog bite injuries has resulted in emotional damage and permanent scarring.

Excessive Use of Police Force
Excessive use of police force can be grounds for a Boston injury lawsuit. Police are never supposed to use more force than necessary when detaining or questioning anyone. This includes making sure that a K-9 doesn’t cause unnecessary injury to anyone. Dog bites can be painful, scarring and traumatic. It the responsibility of a dog’s owner/handler keep an animal in check so that it doesn’t hurt people. K-9 handlers are not exempt from this responsibility.

Suit alleges excessive force by sheriff’s K-9, Cape Cod Times, May 25, 2011

Related Web Resource:
Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office

Dog Bite Prevention, CDC

More Blog Posts:
Haverhill Dog Attack: Grandmother and Her Friend are Injured as Two German Shepherds Try to Charge 1-Year-Old in Stroller, Boston Injury Lawyer, May 4, 2011
Massachusetts Dog Attack Involving Two Bulldogs Injures 10-Year-Old Girl, Boston Injury Lawyer, June 10, 2011
Boston Personal Injury Lawsuit Accuses Police Motorcyclist of Assault and Battery in ’07 Marathon Pedestrian Accident, Boston Injury Lawyer, February 15, 2011 Continue reading

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The father of a teenager who was injured three years ago when the homemade bomb he made exploded is suing the store that sold explosive caps to his son boy for Massachusetts personal injury. The defendants in the case are Dee’s Corner LLC, which owns Dee’s Corner Convenience Store in Lynn, and Panaria International, which imports and distributes the “Mighty Popper” product.

Joel Surette was 13 when he bought the explosive caps. He lost the tips of two of his fingers on May 1, 2008 after the device he’d made, using about 100 of the caps, duct tape, and cardboard, went off.

In his Lynn, Massachusetts injuries to a child complaint, Joel’s father, Bernard Surrette, says that store workers told his son that the caps had three times more “explosive material” than other caps, which is why his son chose to buy this particular cap, and that the product (like all fireworks-unless handled by a professional) is illegal in Massachusetts. The elder Surrette’s complaint contends that the store did not exercise reasonable care when it made the Class C fireworks available and should have known that his son might use the fireworks in a manner that could cause him serious harm or injury. He also says that Joel also bought other fireworks that were openly displayed at the store.

Fireworks Can Cause Injuries
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that in the US in 2008, there were approximately 7,000 emergency room visits because of fireworks-related injuries and seven deaths. Children, teens, and males are those most likely to sustain firework injuries. The hands, fingers, legs, and eyes are the body parts most likely to sustain injuries in a fireworks accident. Burns are also common.

If a dangerous product causes injury to you or a loved one-and the product doesn’t warn of the possible risks-or the distributor shouldn’t have been offering the product for sale to consumers-you may have grounds for filing a Massachusetts products liability lawsuit.

Father of Swampscott teen hurt in fireworks blast sues store, ItemLive, April 30, 2011
Suit filed over fireworks sale to boy, 13, Eagle Tribune, April 30, 2011
Fireworks-Related Injuries, CDC

Related Web Resources:
The National Council of Fireworks Safety

More Blog Posts:
4-Year-Old Dudley Boy Dies in Auburn, Massachusetts Escalator Fall Accident, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, March 16, 2011
Boston Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in Toddler’s Fatal North Attleboro Crib Accident, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, January 12, 2011
Alcohol-Infused Whipped Cream: The New FourLoko?, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, December 13, 2010 Continue reading

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