Premises Liability

November 5, 2010

Roxbury Man Killed, Teen Injured on MBTA Bus; Riders Call for Better Security

An unidentified 18-year-old was injured and 21-year-old Richard Allen was killed on an MBTA bus on November 2, 2010, the Boston Globe reported. Both were stabbed as the bus traveled down Humboldt Avenue near William Monroe Trotter elementary school. A police spokesperson told the Globe that both Allen and the 18-year-old were reputed gang members and that this was not a random attack. Allen was arrested in June for a Dorchester armed robbery and had a pre-trial conference scheduled for Monday.

This was the third time a person has been killed on an MBTA bus in three years. Later that same afternoon, police had to investigate two Red Line stabbings in which a 17-year-old suffered chest wounds and an 18-year-old suffered hand wounds. Many MBTA riders and Humboldt-area residents interviewed by the Globe called for more security officers and cameras on buses. No security camera was on Allen’s bus at the time of the fatal attack.

Lack of security cameras and failed security systems can give rise to inadequate security personal injury claims. Typically these types of claims involve serious injuries or death from criminal attacks like robberies, assaults, sexual assaults, stabbings or shootings that happened because the owner or operator of a public place negligently failed to keep his premises safe.
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September 28, 2010

Boston, Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against MIT and Delta Upsilon Fraternity for Student’s Fatal Fall

by Altman & Altman

According to The Tech, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s oldest newspaper, the parents of Robert M. Wells have filed a Boston wrongful death lawsuit against MIT and the Delta Upsilon fraternity. Wells, a 22-year-old MIT student, died in 2008 after falling five stories from the DU fraternity and sustaining skull fractures, blunt impact to his head, brain contusions, lacerations, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and other injuries.

Michael and Laura Wells are alleging 26 counts of Suffolk County, Massachusetts wrongful death. They claim that the defendants did not remedy or warn about the condition of Wells’ living quarters, which had a heating system that was hard to control and had just one “unreliable thermostat.” As a result, the DU brothers would open the windows during the winter to regulate the temperature in their bedrooms.

However, per the lawsuit, all of the windows on the upper floor of the fraternity lacked bars, screens, locks, or other safety devices. Wells, a DU brother, fell after opening the window next to his bed.

September 10, 2010

US Home Insurers Spend $412 Million on Dog Bite Costs Annually

by Altman & Altman

The Insurance Information Institute says that US home insurers spent 6.4% more on dog bite costs last year than they did in 2008. Dog bite injuries cost $412 million in 2009-up from $387.2 million the year before-with the average claim costing over $24,000. The number of dog bite claims also went up by 4.8% to 16,586 injury claims.

With more than 4.7 million people becoming dog bite victims every year in the US-close to 900,000 of them will require medical attention-dog bites make up one-third of homeowners’ insurance liability claims. Property and casualty insurer Liberty Mutual Group says that over 50% of dog attacks takes place on the pet owner’s property.

In Massachusetts, dog bite victims may be able to hold the dog’s owner liable for Boston personal injury. This is a strict liability state, which means the pet owner does not have to be negligent to be held financially responsible. Also, the dog doesn’t even need to have attacked anyone else in the past for the owner to be held liable. You will, however, have to prove that you or your loved one (as the injured party) did not provoke the dog and did not trespass on the grounds where the Massachusetts dog attack took place.

Dog Bite Facts
• Dog bite victims are twice as likely to be male than female.
• Dog bites are a leading cause of child injuries.
• 10-20% of dog bite victims were strangers to their animal attackers.
• Younger dogs and male dogs are more likely to bite than older and female canines.
• Chow Chows and German Shepherds are the pure bred dogs most often involved in dog bite accidents.
• Pit Bulls and Rottweilers are the breeds most involved in fatal dog attacks.
• Mixed breed dogs are more likely to attack than pure bread dogs.
• On average, a dog bite victim will spend about 3.6 days in the hospital.

Dog-Bite Costs for Home Insurers Rise to $412 Million, Bloomberg Businessweek, August 18, 2010
Insurance Information Institute

Related Web Resources:
Preventing Dog Bites, State Farm

Preventing and Avoiding Dog Bites, Ussartf.org Continue reading

August 25, 2010

Man Suffers Head and Neck Injuries From Fall Down Fenway Park Stairs

by Altman & Altman

A man fell down a staircase at Fenway Park during a game last week between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. As a result of the fall, the man suffered severe injuries to his head and neck.

The fan fell approximately 14 feet down the staircase located at Gate B at Fenway Park. The man, whose name has not been released by the police, was treated by rescue workers at the scene who removed the injured man from the park on a stretcher. Following the treatment which the fan received at the scene of the accident, he was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for further treatment of the serious injuries he sustained in the fall.

In a brief statement to the press, the Red Sox reported that a fan was injured in a fall and was treated at the scene before being taken to the hospital. The Red Sox did not make any further comments about the incident.
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August 17, 2010

Gloucester Teen Files Lynn Personal Injury Lawsuit Against MBTA Over Elevator Rape

by Altman & Altman

A 17-year-old girl who was raped in an elevator at the Lynn commuter rail station last June is suing the MBTA for Massachusetts premises liability. She is claiming that inadequate security, poor lighting, and failure by the MBTA to take the appropriate precautions to protect members of the public contributed to her becoming the victim of the violent crime.

Police say that the teenager was waiting to take the train home on a Sunday evening when a man shoved her into an elevator, choked, and raped her. When the elevator doors opened, two people were able to pull the attacker off her. The victim says that the sexual assault lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. Joseph Sarcione, a 23-year-old homeless man was arrested and charged.

According to the plaintiff’s Massachusetts injury attorney, with 23 crimes reported at the Lynn station since January, MBTA police officials knew that the train station could be a dangerous place for patrons and should have done more to prevent the rape from happening. However, Transit Police contends that only one of the crimes prior to the sex assault incident involved any violence.

August 14, 2010

Truro Man’s Family to Sue Provincetown for Man’s 2008 Massachusetts Drowning Death

by Altman & Altman

The widow of Robert J. Martin Sr. a 73-year-old Truro selectman intends to sue the town of Provincetown and the Old Colony Tap bar for his Massachusetts drowning death. Martin’s body was found close to Fisherman’s Wharf on the evening of September 28, 2008.

While the amounts that she plans to seek from the town and the bar have not been determined, Margo Martin did send a demand letter to the town of Provincetown last year seeking $900,000 for its negligence. Margo contends that town workers contributed to her late husband’s Provincetown, Massachusetts wrongful death because they did not try to rescue or revive him when he still could have been saved. According to a police report, choppy seas, high tides, heavy wind, seaweed buildup, poor lighting on the beach, blocked vehicle access, and storm drain construction caused delays in retrieving Martin’s body.

Margo is also accusing the town of inadequate maintenance of its drains, culverts, beachfront, and ditches, which created a safety hazard that also contributed to Martin’s Massachusetts wrongful death. Because the town did not resolve her claim within the six months, she can now file her Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit in court.

As for the Old Colony Tap bar, it reportedly served Martin alcohol on the night that he died. This, even though a family member had previously asked the bar not to serve Martin alcohol because he had started drinking again after years of being sober.

Also, Margo’s Boston wrongful death lawyer says that the bar improperly served Martin two other times. He ended up with a DUI criminal charge after one occasion. After the other time, he fell on his face and got hurt.

Massachusetts Drowning Accident
There are drowning accidents that could have been prevented were it not for other parties’ negligence. In addition to drownings in natural bodies of water, swimming pools, and hot tubs, drowning deaths can also happen during boating accidents, as well as when someone is injured or falls unconscious in a bathtub. Children are at high risk of bathtub drownings.

Report details night of Provincetown drowning, DailyMe, August 5, 2010
Drowning victim’s wife to sue Provincetown, Cape Cod Times, August 10, 2010
Family seeks $900K in Provincetown drowning, Boston Herald, August 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Provincetown.com
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July 26, 2010

Supreme Judicial Court’s Massachusetts Slip and Fall Ruling in Lawsuit Against Target Dissolves Distinction Between Unnatural and Natural Ice and Snow Accumulations

by Altman & Altman

The Supreme Judicial Court has thrown out a 125-year old ruling that allows there to be a distinction between snow and ice conditions caused by nature and those that accumulate artificially. In a unanimous Massachusetts slip and fall ruling, the state’s high court said that effective immediately (and retroactively to pending lawsuits) it will no longer be reasonable for a property owner to allow ice or snow to accumulate on a walkway even if either got there by natural means.

The court’s decision comes in the Massachusetts slip and fall lawsuit filed by Emanuel Papadopoulos against Target and Weiss Landscaping, the snowplow company it hired to clear snow and ice from in Liberty Tree Mall. Papadopoulos was involved in the Danvers slip and fall accident in 2002 when he slipped on snow that had turned into ice in the parking area.

While lower courts had ruled in favor of the defendants as a result of the distinction between “artificial” and “natural” ice, which holds that property owners are not violating their duty of care when they don’t remove natural accumulations of ice and snow, the Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling now paves the way for Papadopoulos’s Massachusetts slip and fall lawsuit to go back to a lower court for reconsideration.

July 21, 2010

13-Year-Old Nearly Drowns in Falmouth Swimming Pool Accident at Holiday Inn

by Altman & Altman

CPR was performed on a 13-year-old boy on Monday night at the Holiday Inn on Jones Road in Falmouth. The boy nearly drowned while in the hotel pool.

Now that summer is here, the number of drowning and near drowning incidents for the year will undoubtedly go up. It is important that pool owners and supervisors, both of residential and private pools and hot tubs, make sure that the proper safety measures are in place to prevent Massachusetts drowning accidents from happening.

Just this Saturday, 2-year-old twins died in a Lynnfield drowning accident in their own pool. Veronica and Angelina Andreottola appear to have fallen into the water because a retractable cover was not completely covering the pool. Police say the toddlers may have pushed the button for the cover. Their death comes just weeks after state Representative Robert J. Nyman died from an accidental drowning in his own backyard pool.

Pool owners can be held liable for Boston personal injury or wrongful death if their negligence allowed another party to drown, nearly drown, slip and fall, or injure themselves in any other way in or around a pool or a whirlpool. Kids and adults that don’t know how to swim or are prone to certain health complications are at risk of drowning. Adequate supervision, such as lifeguards or an adult that knows how to swim and perform CPR, proper lighting, making sure the pool is clear of debris so that anyone drowning at the bottom can be easily detected, and placing rescue equipment in the pool area are just some of the steps that a property owner can take to decrease the chances that a Boston pool drowning accident will happen. Installing retractable covers, pool fences, and secured gates around the pool area can help.

CPR performed on 13-year-old near drowning victim at Falmouth hotel pool, CapeCodToday, July 20, 2010
Surveillance tape looked at in twins’ drowning, WHDH, July 20, 2010
Legislator’s autopsy determines death was accidental drowning, Boston.com, June 28, 2010

June 30, 2010

Three Teens Injured in Canton Group Home During Brawl

by Altman & Altman

Three teenage residents in a Canton Group home had to be taken to the hospital on Friday after they were injured during a group brawl. About six staff members were also involved in the altercation. The home is run by the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center, which is known for using electrical skin shock to discipline students. Police and center officials say these shocks were not used on Friday.

Injuries from the brawl included a broken hip, wrist, and nose. The brawl may have broken out when one of the students ignored a staff member’s instructions that it was time to go to bed. Some of the staffers who were involved in the fight had put on helmets.

Most of the 200 students at the center have autism, behavioral disorders, or intellectual disabilities. About half of them wear electrodes on their skin, which allows staffers to trigger 2-second shocks using a handheld device. The electric shock procedure is sanctioned by the state of Massachusetts.

Earlier this year, the US Justice Department launched an investigation to examine of some of the residential school’s methods. According to a letter signed by over two dozen advocacy groups last year, residents at the center who have state-approved plans giving permission for electric shock as a behavior-control method are given these painful shocks if they interrupt others, stop working for over 10 seconds, whisper, or get out of their seats.

Schools and other facilities responsible for minors under their care can be held liable for Boston personal injury if negligence, carelessness, or recklessness contributes to causing a student, resident, or participant to sustain injuries or die. Physical abuse, neglect, failure to properly supervise, failure to protect, violent disciplinary methods, verbal threats, and failure to remove or repair hazards from the premise are some reasons why a student and his/her family might decide to file a Massachusetts injuries to a minor claim.

3 injured in brawl at group home, Boston.com, June 29, 2010
Feds Launch Probe Of School That Uses Electric Shock, Disability Scoop, February 25, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Judge Rotenberg Educational Center

Types of Personal Injury Damages, Justia Continue reading

May 14, 2010

Massachusetts Fall Accidents in Cambridge and Brookline Claim Two Lives

by Altman & Altman

Massachusetts fall accidents from elevated heights can lead to broken bones, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and even death. This is why it is so important that property owners, premise supervisors, and other responsible parties make sure that there are no hazardous conditions or situations that can lead to catastrophic falls.

On May 2, Devon Burgess, a former wrestler and all-star lineman for Nauset Regional High School, died when he was injured during a Cambridge fall accident. The 26-year-old was attending a party at an apartment building when he fell off the edge of the flat rooftop.

There was no railing around the sides of the roof. Burgess’s girlfriend says that on the night of the party, a lantern was hung from a tree branch to illuminate the roof edge but that the light may have gone out. She says that Burgess found the branch, which gave way, and that was when he fell. He was killed instantly.

Also that day, Watertown resident Chris Civali, 27, died when he fell from the sliding door located on either the second floor or the third floor of a building. He suffered fatal head injuries. There was no stairwell or balcony on the other side of the door.

Fall Accidents
Unfortunately, fall accidents from elevated heights are not uncommon. If you read the news daily, you will likely see an article about someone who was recently hurt or killed when he/she fell off a building, crane, ladder, staircase, or through a window. This is why it is important that premise owners make sure that the proper safety measures are in place to minimize the chances that a fall accident will happen. Even slip and fall accidents, which usually occur at ground level, can lead to painful, debilitating, and catastrophic injuries.

Former Nauset all-star dies in fall, Cape Cod Online, May 4, 2010 http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100504/NEWS/5040330/-1/NEWS01
Brookline Police: 27-year-old man dies after fall, Wicked Local, May 3, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Premises Liability Overview, Justia Continue reading