Articles Posted in Personal Injury

In Massachusetts, a Taunton woman is suing the city of Taunton and police officer Robert Kramer for personal injuries she sustained from an alleged police brutality incident. In her federal lawsuit, Celine Kaye is seeking unspecified damages for broken ribs, facial fractures, and emotional trauma. She claims Officer Kramer violated her civil rights when he engaged in police brutality, and she is accusing the city of Taunton of neglecting to properly supervise him.

Kaye contends that on August 2007, while watching police officers arrest her daughter’s boyfriend, Kramer beat and kicked her after telling her to go back into her home. The attorney for the city of Taunton disputes Kaye’s claims, maintaining that Kramer is one of the city’s best police officers and that he did not use excessive force on the plaintiff.

Police Beatings

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration are trying to determine the cause of last Thursday’s deadly plane crash that killed all 49 people onboard the plane and another victim on the ground. Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed into a Buffalo, New York home before bursting into flames. This is the first deadly aviation accident involving a commercial airliner in the United States in over two years.

Two areas of focus for investigators appear to be the icing on the plane and the aircraft’s autopilot. Right before Thursday’s plane crash, other aircrafts in the area reported icing problems. Now, some people are questioning whether the plane should have been on autopilot in such icy conditions, especially as some experts believe that activating a plane’s autopilot can make it hard for pilots to gauge the seriousness of icing conditions.

Just this December, the NTSB talked about how ice, as little as ¼ inches, can have a deadly effect on a pilot’s ability to handle the plane. The NTSB also explained that while activating the plane’s autopilot can minimize the impact of the plane’s icing, it could cause pilots to becoming too confident. The agency suggests activating the plane’s de-icing systems as soon as icing occurs. Also, according to CBS News, turboprop planes are involved in the majority of ice-related accidents. However, on Monday, an NTSB member cautioned about assuming that icing is what caused the plane crash until the investigation was complete.

Another factor that is under investigation is the pilot experience of Capt. Marvin D. Renslow, who had just completed training on a Dash 8 less than three months before. Renslow had accrued 110 hours in the turboprop’s cockpit-compared to Capt. Cesley Sullenberger, the pilot who was able to land US Airways Flight 1949 on the Hudson River in January, who had logged in some 20,000 hours.

Commercial Airline Accidents
Any kind of deadly aviation accident is always a catastrophe-and one that is further magnified when there are multiple victims. The more deaths there are, the greater the numbers of family and friends that will undoubtedly be impacted by the losses. If you’ve lost a family member in a plane crash, you may be entitled to wrongful death compensation.

Pilot Experience Eyed In Flight 3407 Probe, CBS News, February 17, 2009
Continental Flight 3407 reported ‘significant icing’ before crash that killed 50, The Buffalo News, February 17, 2009
Icing Played Down in Buffalo Crash, New York Times, February 19, 2009
50 Dead in Plane Crash Near Buffalo, N.Y., The Street, February 13, 2009

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Continental Airlines

National Transportation Safety Board
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Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the Continental Airlines jet crash that occurred last Saturday as it took off from Denver International Airport. The plane accident took place a little after 6pm as the Boeing 737 was speeding down an airport runway.

Investigators say that an unusual ratting sound can be heard on the cockpit’s data recorder. They also confirm that the plane’s pilots tried to abort the takeoff to prevent it from veering off the runway.

The plane ended up skidding off the runway, shearing off its tires as it slammed into the ravine. As the jet’s fuel tanks began leaking, a fire started.

All passengers and crew members aboard the jet survived the aviation accident. Over three dozen people, however, were injured, as they scrambled out of exit doors to escape. 2 people reportedly sustained critical injuries. Fortunately, no one suffered burn injuries.

The plane’s copilot says the jet began veering away from the center of the runway as it was reaching a speed of 103mph. The plane’s captain, who sustained serious back injuries and fractures, has yet to be interviewed about what happened.

According to The Flight Safety Foundation, over 1/3rd of all plane accidents involve planes taking off from a runway. Plane accidents can often result in catastrophic injuries and serious emotional trauma for those who survive.

Investigators: Pilots Aborted Takeoff, Wall Street Journal, December 23, 2008
At Least 38 Injured In Denver Plane Crash, CBS News, December 20, 2008
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Plane Accidents, Justia
National Transportation Safety Board
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The US Coast Guard has released the latest statistics involving boating accidents in Massachusetts and throughout the United States.

Statistics Include:

• 685 boating fatalities throughout the US in 2007.
• 9 of these deaths occurred in Massachusetts, where 36 boating accidents occurred.
• There have been at least 6 Massachusetts boating fatalities so far this year.
• There have been 101 boating accident deaths in the state over the last 10 years.
• A total of 5,191 recreational boating accidents occurred throughout the US in 2007.
• 3,673 people suffered injuries in these accidents.

Massachusetts Environmental Police Capt. George Agganis says that while the exact number of deaths may vary from year to year in the state and throughout the US, the causes of boating fatalities tend to stay the same and include:

• Drunk driving • Driver inattention • Speeding • Careless or reckless operation of the vessel
More Boating Accident Facts from the US Coast Guard Study:

• The cause of death of over 2/3rds of all boating accident deaths is drowning.
• 90% of the victims were not wearing life jackets when they died.
• Alcohol is a main factor in 21% of all boating deaths.

Safety instruction key to fewer boat fatalities, Telegram.com, August 22, 2008
Accident Statistics, US Coast Guard

Related Web Resources:

Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mass.gov
Massachusetts Boats, DMV.org Continue reading

A group of Massachusetts teenagers that say Nantucket police officers applied “excessive force” when arresting them without probable cause have filed a federal lawsuit. Troy Sullivan, Nicholas Phillips, David Loveberry, Adeane Watty, and Terrance Johnson, ages 13 to 18 and all African-American, say they were riding their bikes on August 8, 2007 at around 10:30 at night in Nantucket when Police Officer Taylor Noll told them to “move to the other side of the street.”

The teenagers say that they asked why the police officer did not ask the Caucasian tourists and workers that were there to move also. Noll then requested police backup and all the police officers that were on the island responded. A number of them reportedly chased the teenagers, with one cop ordering the boys to get on the ground. Officers Michael Nee, Richard Aprea, and Briand Ketcham then jumped on three of them and forced them onto the ground.

13-year-old Terrence Johnson’s shoulder became separated during the incident. Troy Sullivan fell of his bike after Officer Nee hit him with his police car. In front of a crowd, the five teenagers were restrained, frisked, and according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, illegally arrested.