Wrongful Death

March 21, 2014

Families of Asbestos Workers Awarded $12.5M in Mesothelioma Case

This week, a New York Supreme Court judge jury awarded $12.5 million to the families of several workers who developed cancer after they were exposed to asbestos-containing materials. The victory at the end of the four month trial provides a sense of relief to the family of three New York tradesmen after watching their loved ones lose their battle the notoriously brutal disease. Though asbestos is carefully monitored and outlawed now, not much was known about the dangerous material commonly used for fireproofing and insulation when it was widely used until it was banned in 1989.

Since then, numerous studies have been conducted to determine the correlation between exposure to asbestos-containing materials and the rare cancer known as Mesothelioma. A study about early detection of the illness published in PLoS One, a respected science journal, states that, “…mesothelioma is an aggressive, asbestos-related pulmonary cancer that is increasing in incidence. Because diagnosis is difficult and the disease is relatively rare, most patients present at a clinically advanced stage where possibility of cure is minimal.” The disease has a vicious reputation as being extremely painful and difficult to treat. Because the illness attacks the lungs, air flow is disrupted and the patient is most often reduced to the confines of his or her bedroom as loved ones look on helplessly.
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March 19, 2014

Cell Phone Use Under Reported in Car Accidents, Causing Drivers to Underestimate Safety Threat

by Altman & Altman

Making the road safer for drivers and pedestrians alike remains a primary concern for lawmakers and first responders in the United States, but unlike seat belts, child car seats, and drunk driving, the mission to curb distracted driving due to cell phone use is difficult to enforce. The Washington Post reports that 28% of accidents are caused at least in part by talking or texting on a cell phone. However, according to a new infographic published by the National Safety Council, the actual data is more than likely much higher than the official report. The National Safety Council argues that cell phone use in fatal accidents is grossly under reported.

Officially, there were 350 fatal car accidents involving cell phone use in 2011. While 350 incidents may appear rather insignificant relative to a country of 317 million people, the National Safety Council believes that the absence of data regarding cell phone use poses a threat to public safety. When data is skewed or under reported, it causes the risk to appear less substantial than it may actually be, minimizing the impact on the decisions of the driver.
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February 27, 2014

Boston Wrongful Death Lawsuits Accuses Ex-New England Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez in 2012 Shooting

by Altman & Altman

The families of two men have filed $6M Boston wrongful death lawsuits against Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end. Their loved ones, Daniel Abreu, 28, and Saffiro Furtado, 27, were riding in a BMW in July 2012 when they were fatally shot. They plaintiffs contend that Hernandez fired the weapon from his car into the vehicle carrying the two men. Two other people in the vehicle with the victims survived the drive-by shooting.

Court documents unsealed last month showed that police have suggested that Hernandez may have been the one to pull the trigger in the Boston double homicide. In a June 2013 warrant used to search a Toyota linked to the 24-year-old and seen at the crime, the authorities said they believed there was “probable cause.” CNN has reported that a grand jury is examining whether he was involved in the incident.

Meantime, Hernandez remains behind bars. He is being held on weapons and first-degree murder charges in the fatal shooting of Odin Lloyd, who was a friend of his. The ex-NFL player has pleaded not guilty.

February 22, 2014

8-Year-Old Killed in Gardner, MA Injury Accident Involving a Falling TV Set at an Elementary School

by Altman & Altman

Colby O’Brien, 8, died earlier this month after he was struck by a television set that fell on him. O’Brien and his twin sister were watching Toy Story 2 during an afterschool program at Elm Street Elementary School in Gardner when the tragedy happened.

An investigation is pending to determine exactly what happened to cause the Massachusetts falling objects accident. However, one parent whose child attends the school said that the TV sets used at the school are typically the “big, old fashioned boxy” type and they are usually placed on metal carts.

Witnesses who were there when the Gardner injury accident happened at the school said that they didn’t see the television fall on O’Brien. After hearing a bang, they turned to find the boy on the floor with the TV on him.

February 12, 2014

$10M Lowell, MA Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in 1969 Murder of Tewksbury Teen

by Altman & Altman

The family of John J. McCabe is suing three men for his Massachusetts wrongful death. McCabe, a 15-year-old Tewskbury boy, was murdered in 1969 after he was kidnapped, tied up with his mouth and eyes taped shut, and left in an empty Lowell field. He died from asphyxiation because the ropes that bound his legs and hands to his neck strangled him as he tried to escape. Now, his family wants $10M from the three men who were responsible.

Prosecutors accused Walter Shelley, 61, Edwards Alan Brown, 60, and Michael Ferreira, 59, of kidnapping McCabe after the cold case was cracked in 2011. The three men, then 17, 18, and 16, resprectively, allegedly abducted McCabe because he flirted with Shelley’s girlfriend.

Although the friends swore a secrecy oath, Brown confessed a few years ago and testified against the other two men in exchange for a manslaughter plea and no time in jail. While Shelley was convicted of first-degree murder, Ferreira was cleared of the charge last year. Because of a Supreme Judicial Court ruling two months ago deciding juveniles cannot receive a life prison sentence without parole, Shelley, who was a teenager at the time of McCabe’s murder, is expected to get a lifetime prison sentence with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

January 31, 2014

Massachusetts Car Crash Involving Mattress Leaves Woman Dead

by Altman & Altman

State police are looking for a dump truck driver accused of dropping and leaving a mattress on Route 128 yesterday. The incident resulted in a Massachusetts rear-end crash that resulted in one fatality. The victim, Framingham resident Frida Litvak, was taken to Lahey Clinic were she was declared dead.

The traffic crash, which occurred close to the Burlingame Mall, occurred at about 3p EST when Litvak, in a Toyota Corolla, stepped on the breaks abruptly to avoid striking the mattress. The 56-year-old woman’s car then rear-ended by a Toyota Tundra pickup moving at a high speed. In the Boston Globe, her sister Galina is quoted as saying that if Litvak hadn’t stepped on the brakes even more people could have been involved.

Also injured in the traffic crash was Charlton resident Andrew Lawendowski, with minor injuries.

January 14, 2014

Two Franklin, MA Children Suffer Fatal Entrapment, Suffocation in Hope Chest

by Altman & Altman

Two siblings died on Sunday after they became entrapped in an old hope chest. Lexi Munroe, 8, and Sean Munroe, 7, were pronounced dead at the hospital. Police say that the Franklin, MA entrapment incident appears to be accidental. Autopsy reports are pending.

The family had purchased chest secondhand over 10 years ago. Lane Furniture, a company that has recalled millions of hope chest over the years due to safety concerns, made the hope chest. Heritage Home Group now owns Lane Furniture.

According to the Associated Press, there were multiple relatives, including an adult, in the home when the Franklin, MA suffocation accident happened. The chest was located next to a TV that had its volume turned up.

January 9, 2014

Waltham Woman Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Massachusetts DCF Over Toddler’s Fatal Abuse

by Altman & Altman

Andrea Rizzitano is suing the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families for the wrongful death of her great-nephew. In her lawsuit, the Waltham woman says the state agency failed to protect Kadyn, 13 months, from his mother, who later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of the boy.

Autopsy results indicate that the child died from blunt-force trauma. He also suffered from contusions of the liver, stomach, and colon, as well as internal bleeding.

Rizzitano claims that the DCF repeatedly disregarded warnings that Kadyn’s mother, Christina Hancock, was neglecting and abusing the child. Just two months before his death the boy was admitted to the ER wit a broken arm. A doctor even filed a 51A complaint alleging abuse. While the child was temporarily removed from his home, he was eventually returned to his mother.

December 23, 2013

Ex-New England Patriots Player Aaron Hernandez is Sued in Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawsuit

by Altman & Altman

Ursula Ward, the mother of the Dorchester man that ex-New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is charged with murdering, is suing the former pro athlete for Massachusetts wrongful death. She filed her complaint in Bristol Superior Court last week.

Ward’s son, Odin Lloyd, was found last summer close to Hernandez’s home in North Attleborogh. The 27-year-old had been shot multiple times in the face.

In the criminal case, prosecutors say Hernandez planned and executed the slaying. The 24-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, as well as to related weapons charges. Two other men pleaded not guilty to being accessories to the killing.

November 5, 2013

Massachusetts Wrongful Death Settled Reached in 2008 Foxboro Car Crash After Gillette Stadium Concert

by Altman & Altman

The family of Debra Davis has reached a Foxboro, MA wrongful death settlement with Kraft Group over the tragic traffic crash that happened after a concert at Gillette Stadium in 2008. The terms of the deal are confidential.

Davis, a 20-year-old Milton woman, and her friend Alexa Latteo, a 19-year-old Mansfield resident, were killed when the vehicle that Latteo was driving on July 26, 2008 crashed into a tree after the New England Country Music Festival. Both women died in the Foxboro car crash. A third woman riding in the rear seat survived with serious injuries.

Davis’s parents claimed that the stadium’s security was so lax that underage drinkers were able to consume alcohol in the parking lot even though they didn’t have tickets to attend the event. (A policy had been specifically implemented at the stadium in 2007 to deter such behavior.)