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A brawl between two truck drivers, one fatality, two multi-car collisions, a car fire, and series of fender benders slowed morning traffic for commuters on different freeways in Eastern Massachusetts.

Massachusetts State Police say that two tractor-trailer drivers were reportedly involved in a physical altercation on the side of the road on Route 295 S at the 1B exit in North Attleboro. The fight reportedly occurred after a car fire on Route 95 caused traffic to stall. By the time police arrived at the scene, however, the fight was already over.

On 495N in Andover, one person died in a three-motor vehicle collision. State police are also reporting a series of minor collisions on Route 95 in North Attleboro, Mansfield, and Foxboro. More motor vehicle crashes also occurred in Chelmsford on Route 93, while a tractor-trailer rollover slowed traffic on Route 97 in Georgetown. Another three-car collision occurred on the Masspike eastbound in Framingham.

If you were injured or sustained serious property damage in a motor vehicle collision anywhere in Massachusetts, you should speak with a Massachusetts personal injury attorney immediately.

Steps To Take If You Are In A Motor Vehicle Crash In Massachusetts:

• Stop your vehicle.
• Pull off to the side of the road.
• Notify police of the accident so that they can arrive at the scene and file a report.
• If you are injured, allow medics to assist you at the scene.
• Get the contact and driver’s information of the other drivers involved in the crash.
• Get the contact information of any witnesses.
• Write down as many details as you can about the accident.
• Contact your insurance company right away.
• If you sustained serious injury or property damage, contact a Massachusetts personal injury attorney.

You have three years from the time of the accident to file a car accident lawsuit in Massachusetts.

Breakdown brawl, crashes stall Monday morning commute, Boston Herald, January 28, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Limitations of Personal Actions, General Laws of Massachusetts
Motor Vehicle Accident Statistics
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Calais Weber and Cecilia Chen, both 17, are now college students studying in Massachusetts. Calais is a Wellesley College undergraduate, while Chen studies at Harvard. The two students are also burn injury survivors of a chemistry experiment gone bad when they were high school students at Western Reserve Academy, a private boarding school in Ohio.

This month, the two students and their families settled their personal injury lawsuit with the school for $18.9 million. Weber and her family received $13.1 million, and Chen and her family received $5.8 million.

46% of Weber’s body sustained burn injuries. She became very depressed after the accident and considered committing suicide. She has had at least 16 surgeries to treat her injuries so far and says she was unrecognizable to herself after the accident.

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Battat Inc. are recalling 125,000 Battat Magnabild Magnetic Building Systems due to concerns that if young children swallow more than one of the magnets, they may experience intestinal blockages or perforations or even die.

Two sets are affected by the recall: the 180-piece Magnabild Magnetic Building System (BB1431H) and the 293-piece Magnabild Magnetic Building System (BB1502H).

So far, no injuries connected to these toy items have been reported. There have, however, been 16 reported incidents of the smaller magnets falling out of the building pieces.

An earlier recall in March 2006 involving a different magnetic building set brand highlights the hazards that magnetic toys can pose to young children. That recall, involving, all 3.8 million Magnetix Magnetic Building Sets by Mega Brands Inc. was issued after one child died and 34 others were injured.

Magnetic toys can become dangerous to a child if he or she swallows more than one magnet. Once in a child’s intestine, the magnets can be drawn to one another, which can result in blocks or perforations that can be deadly. Young children and toddlers who are prone to put things in their mouths are at highest risk of serious injuries.

In 2007, the CPSC named magnets as one of the five hidden home hazards. Over eight million magnet toys have been recalled since 2005.

Toy manufacturers are supposed to make sure that their toys will not cause injury or death to children. When a defect in the products or in the product design causes serious harm, the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer may be held liable through products liability claims and lawsuits.

Battat Toy Magnet Sets Recalled in the U.S., Reuters, January 23, 2008
New recall of magnetic toys highlights warning on dangers, Consumer Reports.org, January 24, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Magnetic Dangers, Washington Post, April 20, 2007
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
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Dubbed Boston’s “most dangerous intersection,” the corner of Walk Hill Street and American Legion Highway has been the scene of 97 motor vehicle accidents in four years. Residents in the area think that this calculation is on the low end and they call the busy intersection “Kamikaze Way.”

The most recent major vehicle collision at the intersection occurred last December between an SUV, another motor vehicle, and an MBTA bus. Seven people were injured.

The intersection, located in Roslindale, is nestled in between a nature preserve, a cemetery, and strip malls. Neighbors, however, say that the intersection is a popular location for late-night drag races.

Speeding during the day reportedly occurs frequently-as drivers try to beat traffic lights before they turn red. Crossing the intersection is considered by some to be a life threatening experience and some residents say that the sounds of cars colliding several times a day is not uncommon.

For years, residents have been asking Boston officials to improve the intersection. But a disagreement between the state of Massachusetts and the city of Boston on how to make the improvements had delayed the process.

Last year, the Boston Transportation Department began implementing its own improvements, securing its own funding without the help of the Massachusetts Highway Department. Since the project began, Turn lanes have been added, traffic lights are being replaced, roads have new surfaces, curb roads have been heightened, and new bike lanes and street lanes are being added. The project will cost the city of Boston $9 million.

The Boston Police Department has extra troopers patrolling the area to keep drivers on their best behavior while crossing the intersection. Boston Police Captain Frank Armstrong, however, says that the 30mph speed limit sign on American Legion is poorly lit at night.

State and city officials are supposed to make sure that streets, avenues, freeways, intersections, turn lanes, curb roads, traffic signs, and traffic lights are in the safest working condition possible to minimize the chances of a Massachusetts traffic accident occurring.

If your accident occurred because the design of an intersection is faulty, a traffic sign was not working properly, or any other reason that could have been avoided had state or city officials taken the proper steps to ensure that conditions of the road where your injury collision occurred were safe and in proper working order, you may be able to file an injury claim or lawsuit against Massachusetts or the city where the accident occurred.

Help on way for city’s most dangerous intersection, Boston.com, January 22, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts 2006 Five Percent Report, FHWA Safety
Boston Transportation Department
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Kenneth McClain, a Denver, Colorado resident, has filed a personal injury lawsuit because he says that the artificial butter flavoring on microwave popcorn gave him bronchiolitis obliterans, also called “popcorn lung.” He filed his lawsuit against Kroger Company, Inter-American Products Inc., and Dillon Companies Inc, which owns the King Soopers grocery store.

McClain would eat two bags a day. He is the only consumer who has been diagnosed with “popcorn lung,” which can sometimes develop in factory workers involved in the testing of microwave popcorn.

Ingesting flavoring chemicals is believed to be one cause of bronchiolitis obliterans. People with this type of lung damage have problems breathing because their lung’s airways have been destroyed.

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An 87-year-old man from Norfolk County is the third elderly person to die in connection with drinking contaminated milk. Health officials are citing Whittier Farms, a dairy located in Massachusetts, as the source of the tainted milk. The other two people who died were also elderly men, ages 78 and 75. They were both Worcester County residents.

The three men had listeriosis, which is a bacterial infection that can be contracted from drinking tainted milk and raw foods and certain processed foods that are not properly cleaned or prepared. Two other listeria cases also being linked to the contaminated milk from the dairy involve pregnant women. One woman, 34, miscarried. The other woman, a 31-year-old Middlesex County resident, had the infection but delivered a healthy baby.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes listeriosis as a “serious infection that can be caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.” Symptoms of listeriosis can include muscle pains, fever, diarrhea, nausea, balance problems, neck problems, confusion, and convulsions.

Newborn babies, pregnant mothers, the elderly, and other adults with weakened immune symptoms are the ones most susceptible to contracting listeriosis. A pregnant woman with listeriosis can end up miscarrying, delivering prematurely, or delivering a stillborn baby.

The contaminated milk from Whittier Farms is believed to have come from the dairy’s Shrewsbury plant, just 35 miles from Boston. Health inspectors are examining the dairy’s cooling and bottling machinery to try and determine the source of the contamination. Whittier Farms is family owned and operated and is known for delivering people’s milk in glass bottles to their doorsteps.

Some 2,500 people are afflicted with listeriosis every year, with 500 of these people dying from the infection.

Manufacturers and producers of food products must ensure that their food products are properly processed or prepared. If failure to do leads to injury or death, the injured party or surviving family members can have grounds for a products liability claim or a wrongful death lawsuit.

Bacteria-Contaminated Milk from Massachusetts Dairy is Blamed for 3 Deaths, Miscarriage, FoxNews.com, January 8, 2008
Listeriosis, CDC.gov
Infection tied to tainted milk kills a 3d man, Boston.com, January 8, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Whittier Farms
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In Massachusetts, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Paul Chernoff is suing the state of Massachusetts and Norfolk County for the injuries he sustained when he slipped and fell on the steps of the Norfolk County Courthouse in Lowell in 2004. The commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Norfolk County Commission, and the Division of Capital Asset Management were named as the parties held liable for not making sure that the building was maintained properly.

In his lawsuit, Chernoff alleges that his slip and fall accident occurred because the county and the state did not repair the cracks in the steps of the court building or add handrails. As a result of the unsafe conditions, Chernoff says that he slipped and broke his left kneecap. Since Chernoff’s accident, new handrails have been added to the staircase.

Slip and Fall Accidents

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In Massachusetts last month, at about 12:30am on, 13-year-old Earman Machado was riding his bicycle next to a friend, who was walking on the shoulder of the road that runs parallel to Route 24, when he was plowed down by a car. The driver of the motor vehicle did not stop at the accident scene.

Instead, Craig P. Bigos, the driver of the car, turned himself in to New Bedford police the next day. He claims he did not intend to hit-and-run and was not aware that he had struck anyone. Bigos said he had been text messaging on his cell phone when his car swerved off the road and hit what he thought was a mailbox. It wasn’t until the following day when he noticed the accident site that he realized that he might have struck someone.

Machado died from serious head trauma caused by the injury accident.

If you are a bicyclist who was seriously injured in an accident involving a negligent car driver, bus driver, motorcyclist, or truck driver, you should contact a Massachusetts bicycle accident lawyer immediately.

Bicycle accidents can lead to serious injuries, such as broken bones, road burns, severed limbs, major internal injuries, spinal cord injuries, head injuries, neck injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and death.

The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute says that:

• 85 million people ride bicycles in the US.
• Of the 773 bicycle fatalities that occurred in 2006, 92% of them involved motor vehicle collisions.
• 50% of the victims were children younger than 15 years of age.
• 2/3 of the deaths were due to fatal traumatic brain injuries.
• Some 540,000 bicyclists are sent to hospitals for treatment following motor vehicle crashes.
• Approximately 67,000 injured bicyclists are treated for head injuries each year.

A good Massachusetts bicycle accident lawyer will know how to properly investigate the accident scene and any evidence that will prove that another party’s negligence was responsible for your injury accident. If your loved one is a bicyclist who died after being struck by a motor vehicle, you are entitled to receive wrongful death compensation.

Fatal hit-run driver was texting, Boston.com, December 29, 2007
Helmet-Related Statistics, Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Laws Pertaining to Bicyclists, The Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition
Massachusetts Bicycle Helmet Law
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Out of the 58 people that died in Massachusetts due to fires in 2007, 11 of these fatalities took place in Boston and 11 of the year’s fatalities occurred in December. The death toll from fire accidents could rise if any of those who survived accidental fires but sustained serious burn injuries end up dying.

While some fire accidents can be caused by personal negligence, such as when a lit cigarette butt is left unattended or a towel is accidentally tossed onto a space heater, there are accidents where injuries can occur because another party was negligent. For example:

• Car accidents • Truck accidents • Motorcycle accidents • Faulty electrical wiring • Fires that are not properly supervised • Plane crashes • Work-related accidents • Defective products • Cooking accident

Accidents involving fires can lead to serious burn injuries that can be very painful and traumatic for the victim. Medical care can be very costly. A burn injury victim may have to undergo multiple surgeries, including plastic surgery, skin graft surgery, and reconstructive surgery. You may have to be treated at a special burn unit.

A person may sustain first-degree burns, second-degree burns, and third degree burns. Some scars and internal injuries may be impossible to heal or recover from.

If your burn injuries occurred because someone else was negligent, there are steps that you can take to sue for personal injury compensation. A Massachusetts burn injury lawyer can assist you.

The American Burn Association says that 500,000 people are treated for burn injuries in the United States every year. 4,000 burn-related deaths occur annually.

Fire Deaths Jumped 32% in 2007, Boston NOW, January 3, 2008
Burn Incidence and Treatment in the US: 2007 Fact Sheet, American Burn Association

Related Web Resources:

Burn Prevention Foundation

Types of Burns, Strong Regional Burn Center Continue reading

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Medtronic Inc. will settle 2682 lawsuits filed by plaintiffs who claim that the implantable biomedical device maker knew that its Marquis line of implanted cardiac defibrillators was defective but didn’t do enough to pull the devices off the market or let patients know there were safer alternatives.

As part of the agreement, Medtronic will settle the cases for $95.6 million and pay $18.5 million in lawyers’ fees. Medtronic, however, says it is not admitting liability or affirming to the plaintiffs’ claims by settling the products liability lawsuits.

In a statement made by Medtronic’s Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management Unit President Pat Mackin affirmed that Implantable defibrillators made by Medtronic are “the most reliable ICD’s ever manufactured.”

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