Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

March 16, 2009

Surgical Fires Can Be Grounds for Massachusetts Medical Malpractice

According to the Emergency Care Research Institute, out of the 50 million medical operations that take place in the US, about 600 of them result in accidental surgical fires. The outcome can be catastrophic for the patient, who may sustain serious burn injuries.

According to the Bostonchannel.com, one woman sustained second- and third-degree burns on her face, eyes, nose, mouth, and back when a surgical fire broke out while she was undergoing a tracheotomy. Her injuries prevented her from eating, walking, or talking. Meantime, in Massachusetts, there has been one surgical fire since 2007.

Surgical Fires
Surgical fires occur when oxygen is flowing and a spark is created by a surgical tool that can cause anything flammable to catch fire. If the flammable item is close to the patient, it can cause the nasal canula or mask to ignite as if it were struck by a blowtorch. This may explain why these fires appear to have a greater chance of happening during neck and head procedures that require heat, air, and fuel to be in close proximity.

According to safety advocates, there are ways that operating room fires can be prevented. The patient or doctor may opt for less or no oxygen to be used during the procedure. Non-alcohol based skin preparations can also be used.

According to Surgicalfires.org, some of the fuels that are often encountered during surgical procedures include:

• GI tract gases • Human hair • Alcohol • Degreasers • Tinctures • Gauze • Adhesive tape • Sponges • Surgical gowns and masks • Ointments • Paraffin • Anesthesia components • Gloves • Smoke evacuator hoses
The hospital and surgical team are required to make sure that a surgical patient is not exposed to any hazards before, during, or after a surgical procedure that can cause injury or death. Failure to exercise this duty of care can be grounds for a Massachusetts medical malpractice lawsuit.

Surgical Fires Rare, But Catastrophic, WCVBTV, March 16, 2009
Surgical Fire

Related Web Resources:
Fires during surgeries a bigger risk than thought, Boston.com, November 7 2007
Medical Malpractice Overview, Justia Continue reading

March 11, 2009

Following Deadly Boston Fire Truck Accident Caused by Brake Failure, City Fire Department Criticized for Poor Fleet Maintenance

by Altman & Altman

An outside inspection of the Boston Fire Department’s 44 fire trucks found that the department practices shoddy fleet maintenance across the board. Some of the deficiencies noted by the report:

• Not enough driver training.
• Vehicle abuse or misuse.
• Weak vehicle specification when determining how to handle and care for specific models and makes.
• Inadequately defined procedures and polices for repairing, maintaining, and procuring Boston fire trucks.
• Failure to complete adequate daily truck inspections.
• Poor maintenance records.
• Poor preventive maintenance.
• Allowing firefighters without the proper training and knowledge to maintain the department’s trucks.

The review comes following a deadly Boston fire truck accident last January that killed one firefighter. The fire truck’s brakes malfunctioned, which caused the truck operator to lose control of the vehicle as it flew down a hill, striking a Mission Hill apartment building. Maintenance records show that the brakes on the vehicle had not undergone an inspection for almost a year, even though the fire truck manufacturer suggests that they are inspected every 90 days.

Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser agreed with the report’s findings and is working to hire a professional fleet manager as well as licensed mechanics. He requested the review following the fatal truck crash. The findings in the 19-page report come from interviews with firefighters, fire department officials, union officials, and a review of documents related to maintenance and costs.

Boston firefighters that are injured on the job are entitled to Massachusetts workers’ compensation benefits.

Boston fire chief: Hire civilian mechanics, Boston Herald, March 11, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Review slams Boston Fire’s ‘loosey-goosey’ approach to firetruck maintenance, Boston Globe, March 11, 2009
Crash survivors fault the brakes, Boston.com, January 11, 2009
Maintenance Practice Assessments for the Boston Fire Department
Continue reading

March 9, 2009

Massachusetts to be Sued for Wrongful Death of Couple Murdered by Convicted Killer Tavares

by Altman & Altman

The families of Brian and Beverly Mauck have notified the state of Massachusetts that it is going to be one of the defendants that will be sued for the couple’s wrongful deaths. The Maucks were shot to death on November 17, 2007 by convicted murderer Daniel J. Tavares, Jr.

Tavares, 42, had been released from prison four months before the Maucks’ murders. Tavares, who is mentally ill and has a drug addiction problem, had just finished a lengthy prison sentence for murdering his mother with a carving knife when he was set free. At the time, he was facing new assault charges and a prosecutor had warned that he might flee.

According to the families’ wrongful death attorneys, the state of Massachusetts failed in its duty to protect others from Tavares, who is an “incredibly severe danger.” The couple’s estates also plan to sue a number of Massachusetts public safety officials, as well as the Worcester district attorney’s office, the Department of Correction, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, and the state police. The families are accusing the defendants of negligence in the way they handled Tavares’s release.

March 5, 2009

US Supreme Court Upholds $6.7 Drug Litigation Verdict Against Wyeth and Rejects Plea that Federal Approval of Phenergan Pre-Empts Personal Injury Lawsuits

by Altman & Altman

The US Supreme Court has upheld a $6.7 million civil awarded to a woman whose arm had to be amputated after receiving a botched injection of Phenergan, an anti-nausea medication. The woman, Diana Levine, was injured in April 2000 when she went to a local clinic for treatment of a migraine.

The clinic administered the drug, also known as promethazine, to her using an IV-push, which allows for a greater volume of medication to enter her body at a faster pace. Although the needle was supposed to go straight into her vein, it accidentally struck her artery and Levine developed gangrene.

Doctors had to amputate her hand and forearm, which put an end to Levin’s career as a guitarist and a pianist. Not only did she lose a main source of financial livelihood but she began to accrue expensive medical bills. Levine sued Wyeth, accusing the pharmaceutical company of insufficient product labeling. She contended that the drug maker did not provide enough warning about the potential dangers of using the drug.

March 3, 2009

Former Sudbury, Massachusetts Nursing Home Worker Charged With Sexually Molesting Patient

by Altman & Altman

In Massachusetts, a man who used to work at the Sudbury Pines Extended Care nursing home has been charged with sexually molesting a 62-year-old stroke patient while another resident was sleeping in the room. Following the alleged incident, the former nursing home worker, Kofi Agana, was fired from his job.

The alleged Massachusetts sexual assault incident was discovered after another nursing home aide noticed that the victim would act strangely when she was around the 46-year-old worker. Because of her stroke, the victim’s ability to communicate is impaired, but she is capable of saying yes and no and was able to point to different parts of her body to indicate what happened to her.

According to reports, Agana entered the woman’s bedroom in Early February and started rubbing her breast. He is also accused of holding down her arms while he touched her private parts.

Charges against the Massachusetts nursing home worker include one count of assault and battery on a disabled person older than 60 and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a disabled person older than 60. Judge Robert Greco, who set Agana’s bail at $10,000, said allegations have also been made that Agana may have fondled another patient while transferring her to a wheelchair from her bed. No charges have been filed related to that incident.

Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes
Sexual abuse in US nursing homes is a problem. Patients who may be too sick or frail to fight back or report the incident can be easy prey for nursing home workers and other patients.

US nursing homes are supposed to conduct background checks of nursing workers before hiring them to find out if they have a criminal record or were let go or disciplined at another long-term care facility for misconduct.

Nursing home workers are frequently in close physical contact with patients-especially the residents that need help bathing or getting dressed. Turning a patient to prevent bedsores or entering a patient’s room to check on them or provide them with the medical care they need are examples of other scenarios that involve a nursing home worker having easy, physical access to residents.

Sexual abuse, molestation, assault, or rape of a patient by a nursing home worker is nursing home abuse.

Sudbury nursing home aide charged with patient assault, Boston Herald, February 13, 2009
Nursing home employee charged with sexual assault on patient, Wicked Local, February 12, 2009 Continue reading

February 26, 2009

Restoring to Injured Patients the Right to Sue Medical Device Makers

by Altman & Altman

One year after the US Supreme Court ruled that medical device makers cannot be sued for personal injury, products liability, or wrongful death if the Food and Drug Administration had previously approved the device, US lawmakers are taking steps to give back to defective medical device victims and their families the right to sue for damages. In the US Senate, Senators Patrick Leahy and Ted Kennedy intend to reintroduce a bill that they presented last year, while in the US House, Representatives Frank Pallone and Henry Waxman say they will introduce their own bill.

In the US Supreme Court case, Charles Riegel, who was injured during angioplasty surgery when a balloon catheter burst as it was being inserted in his body, had sued medical device maker Medtronic for products liability. His case, Riegel v. Medtronic, went all the way to the US Supreme Court, and in 2008, the Court affirmed a ruling by a lower court to throw out the lawsuit.

Following the Supreme Court decision, hundreds of people who were injured by defective medical devices are finding that they may have no legal recourse to recover damages. Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said that a man who had to have his Medtronic defibrillator removed because it could fail was not allowed to sue the medical device maker for products liability. Other plaintiffs whose defective medical device lawsuits have been thrown out include a man who says he was hurt by a prostate treatment device and a woman who sustained burn injuries from a device she was using to decrease menstrual bleeding.

Now, two cardiac specialists are warning that Medtronic’s Sprint fidelis lead, an electrical cable that allows a defibrillator to connect to a patient’s heart, may be failing in patients at a faster rate than what was previously thought and that this rate could increase as time goes by. Over 235,000 people were administered the medical device prior to a product recall and many of these patients are still using them. The problem with the Medtronic device is that it may fail to deliver a necessary, life-saving shock to a patient’s heart or unnecessarily send these jolts to the patient. Findings from this newest study will be published on the medical journal Web site Heart Rhythm next week.

Study Finds More Failure of Heart Device, New York Times, February 23, 2009
Effort Underway to Overturn Medical Device Lawsuit Ban, NewsInferno.com, February 20, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Estate of Riegel v Medtronic, Cornell University Law School
Medtronic
Continue reading

February 24, 2009

82-Year-Old Boston Woman Dies in MBTA Escalator Accident

by Altman & Altman

In Boston, an 82-year-old woman was pronounced dead today at Massachusetts General Hospital after falling on an escalator at the MBTA’s State Street Station. Her clothing reportedly got caught in the escalator.

According to Boston EMS spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan, a “cardiac incident” and the “escalator accident” were both factors in the elderly Boston woman’s death. As of early this afternoon, it was still unclear whether the cardiac incident occurred before or as a result of the escalator accident. Meantime, the Suffolk district attorney’s office, MBTA Transit Police, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety are trying to determine what caused the incident.

This is not the first accident involving an MBTA escalator. Four years ago, a 34-year-old East Boston man died at the Porter Square station when his sweatshirt hood got caught in an opening in the machinery of the escalator. The movement of the escalator caused the opening of his sweatshirt to wrap more tightly around his neck.

In 1995, a 3-year-old Cambridge boy sustained a severe gash to his leg on an MBTA escalator. In 1996, a Beacon Hill man had have his arm amputated after his coat got stuck in the State Street Station escalator.

According to the Executive Office of Public Safety, the escalator involved in today’s deadly accident underwent its last inspection last May and no problems were detected at the time. There have been no reports since then of problems with the escalator.

Escalator Accident Facts
• Thousands of people a year are treated in US emergency rooms because of escalator accidents.
• Examples of potential hazards that can lead to elevator accidents include missing teeth at the top of the escalator and screws coming out of an escalator’s side.
• Common kinds of escalator accidents include fall accidents and entrapment accidents.
• Among the elderly, slip and fall accidents and trip and fall accident are the most common kinds of injury accidents to occur on an escalator.
• Young children is another group that is at high risk of getting hurt on an escalator.

There are many reasons why escalator accidents occur. Defective or malfunctioning escalators is just one reason that escalator accidents happen.

Woman dies in MBTA escalator accident, Boston.com, February 24, 2009
Rate Of Escalator Injuries To Older Adults Has Doubled, Science Daily, March 14, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Danger On The Escalator, CBS News, February 17, 2005
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Continue reading

February 19, 2009

Massachusetts Student Files Slip and Fall Lawsuit Against City of Lynn

by Altman & Altman

In Massachusetts, a former Breed Middle School student is suing the city of Lynn for personal injury. Ralph Ozual’s slip and fall lawsuit, filed in Salem Superior Court, is seeking $100,000 in damages.

Ozual’s complaint contends that on January 14, 2002, he sustained serious personal injuries when he slipped an fell on ice and snow in the Breed Middle School yard while walking from the bus to the school entrance. As a result of the Massachusetts slip and fall accident, Ozual says he sustained permanent injuries, including traumatic injuries to his right ankle and growth plate.

The plaintiff, who was a minor at the time, says that he continues to require costly medical attention and treatment for his injuries. His Essex County slip and fall complaint claims the city of Lynn acted carelessly and negligently and was in breech of a warranty agreement when it allowed such a dangerous condition to exist on the school’s premise.

February 17, 2009

Federal Investigators Probe Cause of Continental Plane Crash That Killed 50 People

by Altman & Altman

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

Related Web Resources:
Continental Airlines

National Transportation Safety Board
Continue reading

February 12, 2009

State Trooper Files Massachusetts Personal Injury Lawsuit Against Taser Manufacturer

by Altman & Altman

In the US District Court in Worcester, a state trooper is suing Taser International, the makers of the Taser stun gun, for $1 million. James Foley, a Grafton resident, says that when the weapon was used on him during a law enforcement seminar on Tasers, the electric currents that went through his body bent a surgical screw that was in his leg. Foley contends that because of exposure to the Taser, he experienced severe pain and suffering, loss of wages, and a diminished earning capacity.

According to Foley’s Massachusetts personal injury lawsuit:

At the Taser X-26 seminar in 2006, attendees were offered the opportunity to have the stun gun used on them so that they could understand how the weapon affects the human body. Foley says he told a Taser employee that he had surgical hardware in his left femur and the worker said use of the device on him would not impact the hardware or cause injury.