Premises Liability

October 6, 2011

$7.7M Boston Personal Injury Verdict Awarded to Boiler Repairman Burned by Defective Water Heater

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

September 20, 2011

Last 9/11 Wrongful Death Lawsuit is Settled After Boston Family Offers Details of Alleged Security Deficiencies at Logan International Airport

by Altman & Altman

10 years after terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes on September 11, 2011, the family of Mark Bavis has settled their wrongful death lawsuit. Bavis, 31, died when United Airlines Flight 175 hit the World Trade Center. The wrongful death complaint, filed by Bavis’s Boston family, was the only lawsuit over the 9/11 terrorist attacks that hadn’t yet been resolved.

Bavis’s loved ones had held back on settling their complaint, which they filed in 2002, because they wanted to go to trial and hold defendants United Airlines and Huntleigh USA, the security company in charge of the checkpoint at the Boston airport, publicly responsible. Attorneys for the Bavis family have said the gross negligence is what allowed five terrorists to get onto the United airplane. Last week, they submitted a compendium detailing their evidence about the alleged security failures on that tragic day.

Both defendants, however, contended that the shouldn’t be held liable for not being able to prevent a terrorist assault that even the federal government couldn’t have predicted or made plans to prevent. They have said that United’s security system was implemented at the direction of the government and was never designed to stop the 9/11 attacks. The compendium was a response to their motion to have the case dismissed.

The Bavis family believes that the details provided in their compendium achieves their goal of holding United and Huntleigh USA publicly accountable However, Bavis’s twin brother, Michael Bavis, says that the “only reason” a settlement was reached was that “rulings and manipulations of the law” impairs his family’s ability during a trial to tell what happened. The terms of the wrongful death settlement are confidential.

Massachusetts Wrongful Death
If someone you love died because of what you feel was negligence on another party’s part, you may have reason for filing a Boston wrongful death lawsuit against them. The defendant doesn’t need to have been the direct cause of your loved one’s death, but may have acted or failed to act in a way that allowed the death to happen.

Family and United Airlines Settle Last 9/11 Wrongful-Death Lawsuit, NY Times, September 19, 2011
Bavis family settles 9/11 lawsuit, Boston.com, September 19, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Logan International Airport

September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2011

More Blog Posts:
Wrongful Death: Family of 9/11 Victim Claims Security Screeners at Logan International Airport Did Poor Job, Boston Injury Lawyer, June 21, 2011
Massport Asked to Be Released from Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed by Family of Man Killed Aboard United Airlines Flight 175 on 9/11, Boston Injury Lawyer, July 7, 2011
Boston’s Logan Airport Is Scene Of Mystery Passenger And Pending Warrant, Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog, March 22, 2010 Continue reading

September 12, 2011

Boston Fall Accident Through Building Shaft Claims Woman’s Life

by Altman & Altman

The woman who fell nearly five through stories through a building skylight on Saturday has died. According to fire officials, the South Boston fall accident happened early in the evening. One of her friends called 911 for help.

Rescuers that arrived at the scene included members of the Boston Emergency Medical Services and the Boston Fire Department. The frenzied rescue operation went on for over an hour before the victim was located.

The woman, who was in her 20’s, had fallen from the roof, which was on the seventh-story ,and through a blind shaft before landing on the third floor of the Summer Street building. Rescuers had to cut through walls to find her.

She was pronounced dead at the Boston injury accident scene. After the woman’s body was found, two of her friends were transported from the area in an ambulance.

Boston police are trying to determine both how the group got onto to the roof and how the woman fell through the shaft.

Roof Falls
If you or someone you love was injured or killed in a Boston fall accident on someone else’s property, you may have reason for filing a Massachusetts premises liability case. Property owners can be held liable if their negligence contributed to allowing a Boston injury accident to occur on their premise. For example, if people are able to get on a roof, but standing on it without supervision can prove dangerous, then should the entryways have been locked so no one could get on top of the building without permission? Or, if people are allowed onto a building’s roof, then did the property owner ensure that all proper safety measures were implemented so that the risk of someone falling off was kept minimal?

Woman dies after fall through building shaft, My Fox Boston, September 10, 2011
Woman dead after fall from roof, Boston.com, September 11, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Proving Fault in Accidents on Dangerous or Defective Property, Nolo

More Blog Posts:
Emerson College Student Dies in Boston Roof Fall, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, April 19, 2011
Boston, Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against MIT and Delta Upsilon Fraternity for Student’s Fatal Fall, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, September 28, 2010
Massachusetts Fall Accident: Burlington Deck Collapse Injures Six, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, September 17, 2010 Continue reading

September 10, 2011

Boston Playground Accidents Can Cause Serious Massachusetts Child Injuries

by Altman & Altman

Is the playground where your child goes to play safe? Surprisingly, about 15 kids a year die in playground accidents, which is why it is so important that these play areas are properly maintained. It doesn’t matter whether the playground is a public area or in a school, a mall, or inside a local McDonald’s. Playground owners must make sure that equipment and rides are safe to sue and that there are no hazardous conditions that could cause serious child injuries or deaths.

If your child got hurt while playing at a playground, you may want to speak with a Boston injury lawyer to find out whether you have a case. Common playground hazards:

• Inadequate supervision • A poorly designed playground area • Blacktop, asphalt, concrete, soil, packed earth, soil, or grass surfaces

August 16, 2011

Boston Slip and Fall Accidents in Stores Can Lead to Massachusetts Injury Lawsuits

by Altman & Altman

As our Boston injury lawyers have written in the past, Massachusetts slip and fall accidents can cause serious personal injuries for those involved. Hip fractures, back injuries, spinal injuries, and traumatic brain injuries, and even death can result. It is the responsibility of property owners to make sure that there are no slick, slippery, or wet surfaces/floors on their premises than can cause someone to slip and fall.

Four common types of Boston slip and fall accidents:

• The typical “slip and fall,” which involves someone losing traction, slipping on a surface, and falling.
• The “step and fall,” which involves a person falling into a hole or stepping into another type of defect on the flooring/another type of surface and falling.
• The “stump and fall,” which involves an individual stumbling over an obstruction on the ground and falling.
• The “trip and fall,” which can occur when someone trips over an object and falls.

Slip and fall accidents can occur anywhere. Today, however, our Boston premises liability lawyers today would like to report on a number of recent US slip accidents lawsuits over incidents that occurred in stores.

Last month, a woman filed a slip and fall accident case against Walmart. Jennifer Lombrana says she got hurt last March when she slipped and fell in a puddle of water on the ground close to the girls’ clothing section. In another premises liability lawsuit, Crystal Lewis is suing a Family Dollar store for injuries she says she sustained in 2009 when she slipped and fell on a slippery substance that had been left on the store floor. A third woman, Leslie Douglas, is suing Kroger because she says she slipped and fell on water that left on the ground in the grocery store in 2009. Douglas says that she injured her hand, shoulder, and hip.

Storeowners must make sure that any wet/slippery surfaces are wiped/mopped dry right away. In the event that it will take some time before the floor is no longer wet, employees must post warnings to notify people that the ground is slippery. Even if the area where the wet surface is located isn’t frequented by a lot of traffic, you never know who could end walking through the area. The slip hazard must be removed to decrease the chances of injury.

Kroger blamed for slip and fall, Ultimate Pasadena, August 11, 2011
Family Dollar

Kroger

Related Web Resources:
Slip and Fall, Nolo
Premises Liability Overview, Justia

More Blog Posts:
Boston Slip and Fall Accidents Usually Require the Attention of an Experienced Injury Attorney, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, January 26, 2011
Winter Weather Tests Massachusetts Slip and Fall Ruling by SJC, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, December 23, 2010
Supreme Judicial Court’s Massachusetts Slip and Fall Ruling in Lawsuit Against Target Ruling Dissolves Distinction Between Unnatural and Natural Ice and Snow Accumulations, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, July 26, 2010 Continue reading

July 29, 2011

Boy Dies Following Shrewsbury Drowning Accident at Summer Camp

by Altman & Altman

Aaditya Basrur, who was critically hurt after almost drowning in a Shrewsbury, Massachusetts swimming pool accident, has died from his injuries. Basrur, who was rushed from St. John’s High School to the hospital on July 14, was attending the Camp Saint John summer day camp for kids. He died a few days after the incident.

At the time of the Shrewsbury near drowning accident, Basrur was taking part in an “open swim” with about 40 kids in the outdoor pool. Administrators say that there were lifeguards on duty.

School superintendent Joseph Sawyer later issued a press release about Basrur’s death. The young boy had just finished first grade at Paton Elementary School.

Massachusetts Swimming Pool Accidents
With drowning accidents a leading cause of death for young children, it is important that swimming pool owners and those charged with supervising swimmers exercise the necessary precautions to prevent drownings and near drowning accidents from happening. Even if someone is lucky enough to survive a Boston drowning accident, he/she may have been deprived of oxygen for long enough to be left with a traumatic brain injury.

Young kids can drown in swimming pools, hot tubs, inflatable pools, and on the beach, which is why it is important that they are not allowed in the water without proper supervision. Private pool owners should make sure that their pools are properly fenced in or covered when not in use so that no one can get in without their consent. Public pool owners should also make sure that access to the pool is restricted during off hours. In addition to lifeguards, easy access to an emergency phone, and making sure there is adequate rescue and safety equipment nearby, swimming pool owners should make sure that the pool is free of debris so that if someone does drown that he/she is easily visible. Just recently, the body of a woman who drowned in a Fall River public pool went undetected in the water for two days. No one saw her through the “cloudy” water.

Mass. boy critical after near drowning at day camp, Boston.com, July 15, 2011
Schools react to the loss of Aaditya Basrur, counseling to be available to students, The Daily Shrewsbury, July 19, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Unintentional Drowning: Fact Sheet, CDC
Camp Saint John, Saint John’s High School

More Blog Posts:
Massachusetts Swimming Pool Accident: Drowned Woman’s Body Was Concealed by “Cloudy” Water for Two Days, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, June 30, 2011
Truro Man’s Family to Sue Provincetown for Man’s 2008 Massachusetts Drowning Death, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 14, 2010 Continue reading

July 7, 2011

Massport Asked to Be Released from Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed by Family of Man Killed Aboard United Airlines Flight 175 on 9/11

by Altman & Altman

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.

June 30, 2011

Massachusetts Swimming Pool Accident: Drowned Woman’s Body Was Concealed by “Cloudy” Water for Two Days

by Altman & Altman

According to authorities, the body of Maria Joseph went undetected for two days in a Massachusets public pool even as swimmers continued to use it. It wasn’t until Tuesday evening that teenagers saw her floating body in the Vietnam Veterans Swimming Pool in Fall River.

Joseph, 36, had gone swimming with a family on Sunday. After colliding with her friend’s 9-year-old son as the two of them went down a swimming pool slide, she wasn’t seen again.

CNN says that the pool is 12-feet at its deepest part. A health inspector who looked at the pool on Tuesday reported that its water was “cloudy.” It can sometimes take a couple of days for a decomposing body to rise to the surface.

June 29, 2011

Avoid Massachusetts Fireworks Accidents this 4th of July

by Altman & Altman

With Independence Day just a few days away, our Boston injury lawyers would like to remind you to be careful if you happen to find yourself around or near fireworks. These manufactured explosives can be very dangerous and may cause serious injuries.

The US Consumer Products Safety Commission reports that thousands of people are injured in fireworks accidents each year. That said, it is illegal for anyone but licensed professionals to use fireworks in Massachusetts. If you are at someone’s home or at a private exhibit and you are injured in a Massachusetts fireworks accident, do not hesitate to contact our Boston personal injury law firm immediately.

Contrary to popular belief, even smaller fireworks, such as sparklers can cause injuries. Serious fireworks-related injuries may include:

June 21, 2011

Wrongful Death: Family of 9/11 Victim Claims Security Screeners at Logan International Airport Did Poor Job

by Altman & Altman

A hearing over the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of United Airlines Flight 175 passenger Mark Bavis is scheduled for this week in federal court. The Bavis family’s complaint is the last unresolved wrongful death case over the 911 terrorist attacks.

Bavis was one of the passengers aboard the United flight when terrorists flew the plane into one of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001. According to court documents that have just been released and were obtained by the Boston Herald, Bavis’ loved ones are claiming that the security screeners at the Boston international airport didn’t even know how to identify Mace and that some of them had such a hard time speaking English that they couldn’t do a proper job of screening passengers.

The plaintiffs want to know how 10 terrorists were able to get through Logan to hijack United 175 and American Airlines Flight 11 . Also, they are claiming that the general manager for the security company that was manning the gate was not aware that a federal alert had been put out warning that Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network were targeting US passenger jets.

The majority of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks have either settled out of court through a congressional fund established for loved ones that has paid over $7 billion or with the resolution of their wrongful death complaints, which have resulted in about $500 million in settlement compensation.

The Bavis family have refused to settle their wrongful death case outside of court. They want to prove that United and other defendants were grossly negligent in letting the hijackers get on the plane. Boeing and the security company that ran the checkpoint at Logan International Airport on September 11, 2001 are two of the other defendants.

Massachusetts Premises Liability
If inadequate security or other acts of negligence caused you or a loved one to get hurt at an airport, you may have reason to file a Boston premises liability case. If you believe that someone working for or affiliated with the airport could have prevented an accident that took place in the air from happening, you may have grounds for a Boston injury case.

Suit: 9/11 Logan screeners ‘unaware’, Boston Herald, June 21, 2011
Among 9/11 Families, a Last Holdout Remains, New York Times, September 10, 2010
September 11 Victim’s Family Files Wrongful Death Suit, WCVB TV Boston, June 21, 2011

More Blog Posts:
Union Doesn’t Want Two Inspectors Linked to Auburn Escalator Accident Death Fired, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, June 13, 2011
Salem Premises Liability: 93-Year-Od-Woman Seeks Damages for Burn Injuries from Scalding Bathwater, Boston Injury Lawyer, May 25, 2011 Continue reading