by

In Massachusetts, the family of Winston Napier, a 55-year-old Clark University Professor that committed suicide inside his St. Vincent Hospital room last month, is wondering why he wasn’t under close watch even after he had threatened to commit suicide.

Worcester police are also wondering why they were never told of his death. The police and the Worcester district attorney’s office have subpoenaed the hospital for Napier’s medical records. According to Massachusetts law, police must be informed of any deaths that occur in any city, even if suicide is the cause of death.

On May 12, Clark University Police Chief Stephen Goulet contacted Worcester police and asked them to check on Napier. Police found Napier at his apartment. He was unable to answer the door and he appeared “confused.”

He was transported to St. Vincent Hospital and a CT scan was performed. Napier was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma and underwent emergency surgery. His family believes the injury occurred several weeks prior when he was struck by a pizza delivery door while riding a bicycle. The impact caused him to hit the door and fall onto the floor. The pizza delivery driver did not see Napier as he opened the door.

Following the emergency surgery, a nurse at St. Vincent Hospital said Napier’s behavior appeared off. He reportedly made a suicidal gesture with a knife on May 15 and was placed under 24-hour observation. A psychiatric evaluation was ordered.

The family claims that the evaluation never took place and Napier was taken off the watch. ON May 16, Napier hung himself from the shower. He was then reportedly resuscitated and placed on a breathing machine. He was declared dead on May 18.

The hospital says that they notified the medical examiner and the Department of Public Health. Police say they cannot properly investigate the death scene because Napier was removed from the scene and his room had been cleaned.

Medical care providers are supposed to ensure that hospital patients get the proper medical care and attention. Failure to provide that care can be grounds fora medical malpractice claim or lawsuit.

Clark professor’s death probed, Telegram.com, June 2, 2008
Clark mourning the loss of popular scholar, Telegram.com June 1, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Winston Napier
Continue reading

by

The estate of Danielle Tarsook, the daughter of a Beverly, Massachusetts retired police officer, is suing three Beverly cops for $10 million. They are accused of failing to stop her suicide. The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Boston in federal court last month.

The lawsuit alleges that on May 18, 2005, Capt. John DiVincenzo and Detectives Richard Ganey and David Richardson breached procedures and engaged in acts of omission when they responded to a 911 call from Danielle’s boyfriend, who reported that she was threatening to commit suicide.

The three men picked up Danielle and drove her to Beverly Hospital. They then turned Danielle her over to her father, then-Sgt. Dennis Tarsook, in the Beverly Hospital parking lot instead of taking her directly to the hospital the way they should have. Danielle, 19, committed suicide in her apartment later that day.

Continue reading

by

In Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts, three people who were injured on March 25 when a runaway freight train hit an MBTA commuter train in Canton, have filed a personal injury lawsuit against the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., CSX Transportation, and Cohenno Inc.

150 people were hurt in the accident that happened after a shipping depot allegedly neglected to secure a freight car on its property, causing it to escape from the yard, roll onto the Stoughton rail line, and strike the rush hour train.

Some 120 people had already filed claims against the MBTA, and this is the first personal injury lawsuit. The plaintiffs are Easton resident Vickie Beaulieu, Stoughton resident Jennifer Kimbrel, and Canton resident Mary Ellon Gleason.

Continue reading

by

In Newton, Massachusetts, eleven National Transportation Safety Board investigators are examining the Green Line Trolley that rear-ended another train yesterday. The deadly Massachusetts train accident left an MBTA operator dead, seriously injured seven passengers, and had emergency medics treating five other people at the crash scene for cuts and bruises. Some other passengers that had left the accident scene on their own checked themselves into hospitals later.

The train operator, 24-year-old Boston resident Teresa Edmonds, died at the accident scene. Rescue workers finally managed to remove her body from the train wreck about 7 hours after the crash.

The Massachusetts train collision occurred around 6pm during rush hour on Wednesday when a two-car outbound Green Line train ran into another two-car train that was stopped at a red light signal. Both trains were leaving Boston.

About 200 people were on both trains at the time of the collision. A number of passengers were thrown from their seats.

The federal investigators are here to analyze the condition of the signals and the track, the performance of dispatchers and trolley operators, and the emergency response.

The Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Safety Analysis says 951 people died and over 11,000 others got hurt in the 14,355 train accidents that occurred in 2002.

Investigation begins into fatal crash on Green Line, Boston.com, May 29, 2008
Trolley operator dies after collision in Newton, Boston.com, May 28, 2008
Eight injured in Green Line train crash in Newton, Mass., The Daily News Tribune, May 28, 2008

Related Web Resources:

MBTA

National Transportation Safety Board
Continue reading

by

In Massachusetts, Steven J. Huard, a prisoner at the Middleton jail in has filed a $9.9 million personal injury lawsuit in federal court against the Massachusetts State Prison System, the Middlesex sheriff, other Massachusetts officials, and several doctors.

Steven J. Huard says that jail officials have denied him the proper medical care ever since he began serving his 5-6 year prison sentence. Huard began serving time in prison after he was convicted of assault and battery and resisting arrest charges in 2005.

Huard says he has had chronic health problems since 1989, when he was diagnosed with liver disease. He also sustained a spinal cord injury and bulging discs in 2002. In 2004, he sustained more injuries in a car crash. He also fractured his right hip and ribs when he fell from the roof of a two-story building in 2005. He underwent hip surgery and was told by the surgeon to use a cane, as well as undergo physical and rehabilitation therapies.

Continue reading

by

The Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration says that the owners of the Salem Harbor Power Station failed to protect three workers that died when a faulty boiler ruptured at the plant on November 6, 2007. Following its investigation into the deadly work accident, OSHA says that it found 10 serious safety violations at the plant, owned by Dominion Energy New England, including a failure to enter or inspect the area where the blast occurred for the past several years.

Engineer Phillip Robinson, rookie Mathew Indeglia, and mechanic Mark Mansfield were killed when the Unit 3 boiler tubes broke-enveloping them in steam with a temperature that was close to 600 degrees.

Dominion Energy New England officials say they will dispute the claim that they failed to protect the company’s employees from getting hurt or killed on the job. A Dominion official says that an inspection found that the cause of the boiler explosion was an undetectable defect in an old weld that joined two pipe pieces.

OSHA has ordered Dominion to pay $46,800 in safety violations, and more fines may be pending. The company says that the majority of the violations have been remedied.

OSHA says that is essential that Dominion identify and eliminate any dangers to workers and take the necessary steps (including conduct proper maintenance and inspections), to prevent future leaks.

Other fines that may be pending include $4,500 for improperly storing compressed gases in cylinders and $6,300 for failing to inspect the “dead air space” area of the coal-fired boiler that ruptured.

The surviving family members of the victims are considering filing a Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit against Dominion.

OSHA finds Salem plant failed to protect men who died, Boston.com, May 15, 2008
Salem Harbor Resumes Operation After 2007 Plant Catastrophe, an Industrial Info News Alert, Marketwire.com, April 25, 2008
Workers In Salem Plant Explosion Die From Injuries, WBZTV.com, November 7, 2007
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Continue reading

by

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that the greatest number of deadly accidents involving 15-passenger vans take place from June through August each year. The NHTSA issued its latest report this month.

According to the NHTSA, 31% of deadly 15-passenger van rollovers happen during this time because the summer holidays are a busy time for travel.

Data shows that the more people and cargo there are in a 15-passenger van, the greater the chances of a rollover accident. 50% of 15-passenger van fatalities in 2006 happened when the vans were loaded to full capacity. Other common causes of 15-passenger van fatalities include tire problems, driver inexperience, and failure to use a seat belt.

On a positive note, the number of 15-passenger van deaths declined between 1997 and 2006-the period of time that the new NHTSA study encapsulates. There were over 100 15-passenger van-related deaths in 1997 and less than 60 in 2006.

15-passenger vans continue to be one of the motor vehicles most likely to be involved in a rollover accident. A major reason for this is that the vans are designed in a way that the rear of the van, when fully loaded with passengers and cargo, tends to become weighted down. These vans are also designed with what is called a high gravity center that gets heavier the more people are in the vehicle. 15-passenger van accidents can lead to many injury victims-especially in rollover accidents.

Nation’s Top Vehicle Safety Official Urges 15-Passenger Van Users to Drive with Caution this Summer, NHTSA, May 12, 2008
Fatalities to Occupants of 15-Passenger Vans, 1997-2006, NHTSA (PDF)

Related Web Resource:

15-Passenger Van Safety Hazard Information

NHTSA Action Plan for 15-Passenger Van Safety
Continue reading

by

The US Chemical Safety Board says that the 2006 chemical explosion in Danvers, Massachusetts could have been avoided if ink manufacturer CAI Inc had implemented the proper safety measures at its factory.

The safety board issued its findings today in a final report. Although CAI and Arnel, Inc., a specialty paintmaker both ran the plant, the safety board is holding CAI accountable because the board says one of its employees did not turn off the ventilation system while chemicals were being heated. The employee, however, disputes this finding and says he shut down the heat before leaving for the day.

The report also described the differences that exist between federal and state safety regulations and why these gaps need to be remedied.

Safety board member William Wright said that the CAI should have installed automated safeguards and an alarm system rather than leaving the safety measures to be manually activated by employees that could make mistakes.

The board says that the chemical explosion took place at around 2:46 am.
Fortunately, no one died in the explosion that forced 300 people to evacuate the neighborhood and destroyed 3 buildings and 16 houses. 10 people, however, did sustain minor injuries.

CAI’s attorney is disputing the safety board’s findings. He says that the company’s own investigation (based on computer modeling of the explosion) has reached a completely different conclusion.

Property owners and their insurance companies have filed property damage lawsuits against CAI.

Report: Lack of safeguards led to Danvers plant explosion, Boston Herald, May 13, 2008
Federal report: Danvers 2006 explosion could have been prevented, Boston.com, May 13, 2008
Read the US Chemical Safety Board’s Report (PDF)

Related Web Resources:

US Chemical Safety Report

How they survived, Boston.com, November 28, 2006 Continue reading

by

In Massachusetts, Fall River resident Alyssa Bolduc, is suing Massachusetts State Trooper Allyson Powell for compensatory damages over a strip search that took place during a traffic stop in Dartmouth in March 2007.

Bolduc, 18, says that she and three friends were pulled over because of an unlit headlight. Bolduc says that she had unbuttoned the top button on her pants because she and her friends had just finished eating at the Dartmouth Wendy’s and she was full from her meal.

Although the police stop was for the headlight, Bolduc says that the police officers asked her and her friends if they had drugs or any prior criminal offenses.

Continue reading

by

A report coauthored by the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO found that 80 Massachusetts workers died in 2007 because of injuries sustained while at work or because of work-related illnesses. The report is called “Dying for Work in Massachusetts.”

The most dangerous industry for Massachusetts workers continues to be construction and firefighting. 20 construction workers died while on the job last year, while 9 Massachusetts firefighters died, most of them due to work-related illnesses. Other industries in Massachusetts with a high number of worker fatalities in 2007 are transportation, fishing, utility work, and motor vehicle repair.

Stress on the job reportedly led to six deadly heart attacks. Three of these fatalities were 38-year-old firefighters. 19 worker deaths were caused by fall accidents.

Two 17-year-old construction workers were among 2007’s worker fatalities. A 71-year old mechanic was recorded as the oldest person to die last year due to a worker injury. One telecommunications worker with Verizon was electrocuted and died in Plymouth when his bucket struck high voltage wires.

Some people have expressed worries that certain companies are prioritizing productivity over worker safety. For example, the bucket used by the telecommunication worker that died was not insulated.

Work safety advocates believe that many of last year’s deaths could have been avoided if workers had been given the proper gear, equipment, and training. For instance, the 17-year-old construction worker that died in a fall accident was not using a safety harness when he fell from a Salem church roof last year.

Although Massachusetts workers’ compensation law provides injured workers and their families with financial compensation, the recovery may not cover all expenses and losses.

80 people in Massachusetts died of workplace injury in 2007, Associated Press/Boston Herald, April 29, 2008
80 work fatalities in state last year, Boston.com, April 29, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health

Read the Report “Dying for Work in Massachusetts” (PDF)

Massachusetts AFL-CIOhttps://www.altmanllp.com/lawyer-attorney-1226007.html
Continue reading

Contact Information
Cambridge, MA
Main Office
675 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: 617.492.3000Fax: 617.491.3299Toll Free: 800.481.6199
Boston, MA
1 State St
Suite 2
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: 617.547.1205Toll Free: 800.481.6199
Needham, MA
250 First Avenue 2nd Floor
Needham, MA 02494
Phone: 781.675.2329Toll Free: 800.481.6199

Some Select Cases are referred to other attorneys for principal responsibility

By publishing this information on this Website, the Boston, Massachusetts law firm of Altman & Altman LLP is not claiming to represent any clients or cases mentioned here. The content provided is designed to inform readers and is not intended as legal advice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2025, Altman & Altman LLP
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design