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When most people think of IKEA, they think of affordable, sleek, modern furniture that customers assemble themselves. However, three recent tragedies may change the way some of us think about the stylish Swedish furniture company. Three wrongful death cases have been filed against IKEA for the deaths of three toddlers who were crushed when defective dressers fell onto them. The lawsuits, for three separate incidents, were filed in the state court in Pennsylvania. IKEA has agreed to settle the lawsuits, which claim the company was negligent in its manufacturing of the dressers, for $50 million.

Although these recent tragedies are especially disturbing, they are not the only wrongful death lawsuits filed against IKEA for defective furniture. In fact, there have been a total of seven deaths linked to the company’s unstable furniture. Further, new evidence shows that IKEA may have known about the risk of death. If you have been injured by a defective product, contact a Boston injury lawyer today.

In the cases involving the three toddlers, IKEA initially denied blame, arguing that the parents were at fault for not properly anchoring the dressers to a wall. The manufacturer’s assembly instructions did, indeed, include this last step. However, the court ruled in favor of the victims’ families, saying that consumers commonly ignore instructions to anchor furniture to a wall. Although this last step may provide better stability, a reasonable person wouldn’t think that ignoring it would result in the death of a child. User error is certainly taken into account in defective product cases, however, it can only go so far. In the above cases, a warning to anchor the dresser was not sufficient to insulate the company from liability.

Massive IKEA Recall

Earlier this year, nearly 30 million IKEA dressers were recalled because they didn’t meet safety and stability standards. In addition to the recall and the large settlement, IKEA is increasing efforts to raise awareness about the importance of furniture anchoring through its “Secure It” program. If you’ve been injured by a defective product, contact a MA injury lawyer today.

The Four Elements of a Defective Product Liability Claim

If you have suffered personal injury or property damage because of a product, you may have a defective product liability claim. To win your case, you must prove that the elements below existed:

  • You were injured or suffered a loss as a result of using the product
  • The product was defective
  • The product’s defect directly caused your injury
  • You were using the product for its intended use

If any of these elements did not exist, you may have a difficult time winning a defective product lawsuit. With the help of a skilled defective product attorney, however, your chances of a successful lawsuit are dramatically improved. Defective product liability is a complex area of the law; find an attorney who has extensive experience in this specific area. Continue reading

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More and more employers are using workers’ contracts to quietly strip workers from bringing lawsuits against them. In one of the most recent, and highest profile examples, Uber drivers have effectively signed away rights to sue the transportation-technology giant. Uber’s workers’ agreements have included an arbitration clause since at least 2013, which says that drivers must resolve legal disputes through arbitration rather than bring a lawsuit against the company. However, the impact of this clause hasn’t been particularly evident until recently, when a federal appeals court ruling put a potential $100 million class action settlement at risk.

In 2014, two California-based Uber drivers alleged that the company violated federal credit reporting laws. Both drivers filed lawsuits. In 2015, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that Uber could not force the plaintiffs into arbitration, calling it “procedurally and substantively unconscionable, and therefore unenforceable as a matter of California law.” Of course Uber appealed this decision, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel overturned the ruling. As a result, the plaintiffs in the cases above will be forced into arbitration, removing their option for a class action lawsuit. This decision also impacts multiple pending lawsuits, and inevitable future lawsuits, against Uber. If you’re concerned about a workers’ contract you have signed, or are considering signing, contact a skilled MA lawyer today.

Hundreds of Thousands of Uber Drivers May be Affected

Last year, Uber agreed to pay a $100 million settlement, which would have been spread out to about 400,000 drivers in Massachusetts and California. But the settlement was rejected for being too small; the drivers could have won more than $850 million at trial. If Uber files a motion to apply the Ninth Circuit ruling to the pending case above – which it likely will – its success will mean that only drivers who opted out of the arbitration will be eligible for a payout. This would effectively exclude all but a few thousand of the 385,000 drivers included in the class action.

Compulsory arbitration is typically bad for the little guy and good for the company – in this case, Uber. In fact, arbitrators have a hidden motivation to be gentle with the big fish because large businesses are often involved in disputes and will continue to have a need for arbitrators. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that big companies can benefit from hiring arbitrators who typically decide in their favor.

The arbitration clause in Uber’s workers’ contract is intended to protect the company from being sued by its drivers for injuries and property damage. For example, if a driver hits a pedestrian because she was looking at the Uber app to determine her next ride’s location, she can’t sue Uber for damages. If you’ve been injured in any type of accident, work-related or not, contact a Boston injury lawyer today. Continue reading

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Cases involving doctors, hospital staff, patients and administrators defrauding the federal government out of large amounts of money through healthcare scams are, unfortunately, almost a monthly occurrence. Medicare fraud results in higher healthcare costs for everyone, and it is estimated that the government loses billions of dollars every year as the result of fraud.  Multi-million dollar, and in sometimes over $1 billion, cases are publicized by government enforcement agencies – such as The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) and their targeted strike force teams – to try and inform the public about these schemes and serve as a warning to others who may try to perform similar unscrupulous acts.

Generally speaking, there are three main types of Medicare fraud – all of which involve either an individual or collective of co-conspirators falsifying official government documents with their own best interests in mind, usually at the expense of patients, the government or other healthcare professionals. The three main types of Medicare fraud are:

Phantom Billing

Phantom billing occurs when a hospital, treatment center or other kind of healthcare facility bills Medicare for services, drugs, treatments or any billable item that the patient did not knowingly authorize or did not receive. The fraudster may bill Medicare for a test that the patient did not require, and did not even undergo. In this type of fraud, the patient is not aware that the unauthorized billing is taking place.

Patient-involved Billing

In this form of fraud, the patient or patients are actually in on the scam. They will provide their Medicare information and then knowingly falsify claims that the healthcare provider makes about their treatment, usually for financial or medical-related kickbacks.

Upcoding and unbundling schemes

“Upcoding” schemes involve the healthcare provider pretending that a patient needs more expensive treatments and services than actually necessary by falsifying the Medicare billing codes. “Unbundling” refers to when a healthcare facility splits a series of tests or procedures into individually-billed items, which results in higher Medicare costs than if the tests or procedures were billed as a “bundle.”

The government does not play around with Medicare fraud

The United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Attorney General’s Office, the Office of the Inspector General and the United States Department of Justice combined resources in 2007 to create task forces specifically designed to go after all types of Medicare fraud in the country. They are based out of Florida, California, Michigan, Texas, New York, Louisiana and Illinois. These task forces, in accordance with their parent government agencies, relentlessly pursue fraud and have garnered some impressive results. According to their data, the task forces have found over 1,500 criminal actions, leading to 2,185 indictments and a grand total of nearly $2 billion in recovered money. Continue reading

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The 2016 holiday season is in full swing. For all the wonder, joy and excitement that comes with it, so too does potential hazards to your health (and your bank account). There are a more than a few ways to be injured, or negatively affected, even in the most wondrous of wintry worlds.

As you navigate winter wonderlands, go riding in one-horse open sleighs, or even make a trek to the North Pole to see what this Santa fellow is all about, please be wary of these five potential hazards this season.

1. Perilous conditions

The biggest holiday hazard could be nothing else for us New Englanders. With the unparalleled good of the holidays comes the brutal beginnings of another northeastern winter.  Whether it’s black ice and snow causing deadly conditions on the roads and highways, frosted stairs and sidewalks providing a slipping hazard, or snowfall causing dangerous roof cave-ins and ice dams, the weather conditions of the holiday season alone provide enough dangers to fill up emergency rooms across the region.

Always make sure that you have road-worthy tires on your vehicles (winter tires if you can afford them), that your brakes are in order and that your headlights are functional. Always exercise extra caution and go slow when the weather turns for the worse.

2. More traffic means dangerous traveling

A simple and unfortunate fact of modern life is that you are much more likely to get involved in a vehicular accident when there are more people on the roadways. With the craziness of the holiday shopping season, people flock to stores, malls and outlets like moths to a flame. People also travel more during the holiday season to visit relatives and loved ones.  The added traffic will certainly cause much frustration, but it can also cause harmful and deadly accidents when combined with poorer visibility (since it gets dark earlier) and dangerous road conditions from snow and ice. Always exercise defensive driving tactics and keep alert!

3. Online scams

The allure of online shopping is obvious. It’s convenient, simple, and oftentimes the best deals can actually be accessed from your computer chair rather than a mall kiosk. However the simplicity and accessibility of online shopping has also opened up a door for scammers, identity thieves and cyber attackers intent on stealing your personal data for their own benefit.  Always be wary of offers that seem too good to be true (you are NOT the one millionth customer and you did NOT win a free iPad), never give our your personal or financial information to strange websites, and always use your instincts to avoid places and situations that just feel fishy.

4. Decoration complications

Who doesn’t love a beautiful light display or a jolly inflatable Rudolph adorning the roof ? Decorations are part of the magic of the holiday season, but they can also spell disaster for the decorators. Lights need strung to rooves, which puts you at risk of a serious fall. Christmas trees with old, incandescent lights are potential fire hazards. Somebody may have negligently secured their tree to their car, causing it to spill onto the road in front of you and make you crash.

5. Holidays lead to more alcohol consumption

For some people, the holiday season is the time to be merry. And what gets people merrier than a little spiked eggnog? Unfortunately, an abundance of holiday parties also leads to an abundance of intoxicated driving, which only makes the wintry conditions more dangerous. Never drink and drive! Besides, it’s cold outside. Wouldn’t you rather stay the night by the fireplace? Continue reading

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Accidents can happen to anyone, anywhere. Whether you’re injured in a slip and fall, a motor vehicle accident, or as a result of medical negligence, you may be wondering if you should file a Massachusetts personal injury claim. The information below can help you determine how to move forward. Step one is to consult with an experienced injury lawyer; without skilled counsel, your chances of success are limited. If you’ve been injured in any type of accident, contact a Boston injury lawyer today.

Did Negligence Play a Role in Your Injuries?

Simply defined, “negligence” is careless behavior that results in an accident. This accident can cause property damage, bodily injury, emotional trauma, or all three. If a store owner fails to wipe up a spill because she wanted to enjoy her cup of coffee, and a customer slips and falls, the store owner is likely to be found negligent, and thus, liable for any injuries suffered as a result.

But How Do You Prove Negligence?

In most injury cases, five elements must be present to prove another’s negligence. These are:

  • Duty: In the above example, the store owner had a duty to her customer. The customer didn’t require an invitation to enter the store or browse the aisles. The store was open to the public and the store owner should have reasonably expected that any customer could walk in at any time. On the other hand, if a homeowner fails to wipe up a spill on the kitchen floor and a thief breaks in and slips on the spill, the homeowner is not likely to be found liable as he or she owed no duty to the thief.
  • Breach of Duty: In the above example, the store owner breached her duty to the customer because she failed to act as a reasonable person would in fulfilling the duty owed to the customer.
  • Cause in Fact: Also known as the “but-for” test, this element of negligence shows that, but for the store owner’s actions, the customer would have avoided injury.
  • Proximate Cause: If the customer breaks a hip in the slip and fall accident, the customer will likely be awarded damages for this injury. If, however, the customer was unable to pick up her son from school that day due to the injury, and her son was injured in a bicycle accident on the way home from school, these injuries will be outside of the “proximate cause” of the defendant’s negligence. Even though the bicycle accident wouldn’t have occurred, but for the neglected spill, its proximity to the harms at issue does not qualify it to be part of the lawsuit.
  • Damages: Finally, without actual damages, you don’t have much of a lawsuit. If the customer slipped and fell in the spill, but suffered no injuries, the customer will experience no damages as a result of the accident. Damages can include pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost wages, and property damages.

Continue reading

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Drivers who earn money chauffeuring commuters for the ride-sharing services Lyft and Uber will undergo much more comprehensive background checks, starting Jan. 6, that have been hailed as the most stringent in the country.  Every current driver and those who apply to become drivers for the ride-hailing services will be put through a state criminal background check and an additional check of their driving records. The goal is to have every driver checked out by Apr. 3. The agreement was reached by the Massachusetts Legislature and signed by Governor Baker in late November.

Governor Baker expressed his intention to create a “national standard,” not just for these two companies, but for any ride-hailing services that may pop up in the future as well. The background checks will be conducted by a new division under the authority of the Department of Public Utilities, and will ensure that the driver is not a registered sex offender. The requirements will also mandate two checks of the driver’s driving records per year.  The background checks are to be split up, one check being made by the individual company and another check being made by the state. At this point, these regulations are still written as “voluntary” measures to help ensure better passenger safety.

A major point of contention is that the new regulations do not mandate fingerprinting for Lyft and Uber drivers, which all cab drivers must undergo in Boston. Some insist that fingerprint records are the easiest and most effective form of background check. Lyft and Uber both maintain the efficiency of their current protocols, despite each having their share of incidents involving crimes committed by their drivers.

Sharing a car with a stranger can never be totally safe

There is a certain degree of trust that you place into a stranger when you climb into their vehicle and take off on a destination. A driver may come up totally clean on a background check, have no prior driving incidents or any indication of being dangerous, and then proceed to commit a crime or injure a passenger. This is an unfortunate reality of dealing with human beings in any facet of life.

While there is no comprehensive record on just how many violent or potentially-tragic accidents and incidents have occurred at the hands of ride-sharing service drivers, it is safe to assume that it is a real risk simply given the number of interactions daily and the services’ rapid growth across the nation.

These new regulations simply aim to make it more difficult for a bad person to earn the trust of a company and gain access to potential victims, which is a good thing. However, one should always be wary of their surroundings and remain aware of themselves when utilizing any service that places you in the care of a stranger. Continue reading

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Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has been ordered by a Texas federal jury to pay out over $1 billion in punitive and compensatory damages after a lengthy trial ultimately decided in the favor of six plaintiffs who claimed to have suffered severe consequences after being fitted with J&J’s “Pinnacle” hip implants, which are manufactured and distributed by Depuy Pharmaceuticals.  The Pinnacle hip implants are a type of implant that utilizes metal-on-metal components, meaning the artificial hip ball, socket and shaft pieces are all made of metal; usually a combination of titanium, nickel, cobalt and/or chromium. In many cases before, including about 93,000 different hip implants also distributed by Depuy and J&J, the metal-on-metal implants have been observed to cause serious health consequences for some users.

Why are these hip implants potentially dangerous?

Metal-on-metal hip implants have been observed to corrode over time and use, releasing microscopic pieces of metal into the patient’s blood stream, which can cause a type of blood poisoning known as metallosis.

Signs of metallosis can include:

  • General skin hypersensitivity that results in rashes
  • Cardiomyopathy (heart complications)
  • Sensory changes such as complications with vision or hearing
  • Depression or other unusual mental changes
  • Kidney complications
  • Thyroid issues such as a throbbing, painful neck, weight gain, fatigue or feeling cold constantly

Aside from these symptoms, the implants can degrade to a point where they can actually break, slip or otherwise malfunction, causing potentially horrible consequences. The plaintiffs in this case also specifically cite suffering from bone and tissue death as a result of the implants.

What if I have a metal-on-metal hip implant?

If you or somebody you love has received a metal-on-metal hip implant from any of these companies:

  • Depuy
  • Stryker
  • Smith & Newphew
  • OMNI
  • Biomet

Then do some research into the type of hip implant was given. It may very well be one of the hip implants that has been subsequently recalled, and may explain health problems that have emerged after the hip installation.  In the case of J&J and their most recent legal scandal, they plan to appeal the decision and maintain that they are not liable for the pain and suffering their devices have caused. The jury disagreed, and felt that J&J and Depuy did not do enough to warn patients of any potential risks associated with the hip implants. Although the enormous sum of over $1 billion will likely be reduced by the courts, the message to the huge companies is clear: you are not untouchable.

At Altman & Altman LLP, we feel the same way. No company, regardless of how big or how valuable, is above the law or above the moral standards and ethics that all medical device manufacturers, distributors and parent companies must adhere to. The responsibility to properly protect patients is far too great to accept anything less than perfection.  J&J and Depuy’s lengthy list of lawsuits proves that something is not right with these implants. This case was just one of over 8,000 similar lawsuits surrounding the hip implants, meaning this is not an anomalous problem, but more likely a design flaw which, again, is simply unacceptable. Continue reading

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A Florida-based event company, Walker International Events, has momentarily ceased all of its business and has been fined $24,000 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after an investigation revealed multiple safety failures led to two deaths and multiple injuries when a tent collapsed in New Hampshire during a circus act in August of 2015.   In total, there were 14 total serious violations of workplace safety that were found as a result of the OSHA investigation. Primarily, the company most egregiously decided to go forward with their outdoor circus act, despite imminent and well-established thunder storms raging through the area.

The storm ultimately played a large role in the tent’s collapse, as did the company’s failure to properly set up the tent to adhere to OSHA’s workplace safety standards.

The fine and subsequent closing of the company (pending the creation of new safety regulations and standards) will do nothing to console those affected by the tragedy that claimed the lives of a child and their father and injured dozens more onlookers.

OSHA regulations exist to prevent these tragedies

No matter how unconventional or unexpected the setting, workers in America are put into dangerous situations every day, including circus workers and performers. These workers are all supposed to be properly protected by their employers, who are responsible for adhering to safety standards that ensure the workplace is as hazard-free as possible.  By choosing to ignore severe weather warnings and not properly constructing their tent, Walker International Events is complicit in the two deaths and dozens of injuries that resulted as a result of their negligence. In addition to the immediate implications this has for them financially and for their business, they will be liable for civil lawsuits from those affected by the incident as well.

All employers must take great care to not put their employees, or any civilians such as those coming to see a circus show, into any undue risk of injury or death. Failure to ensure this safety is simply unacceptable, and Walker International Events is learning that the hard way. Continue reading

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When multiple vehicles are involved in an accident, whether 3 or 103, determining blame can sometimes be challenging. Liability depends on what – and / or who – caused the accident, and if factors such as bad weather, speed, or alcohol played a role. In many multi-vehicle collisions, experts must recreate the accident through a process called accident reconstruction to determine who is to blame.

The vast majority of motor vehicle accidents are caused by negligence, and many multi-vehicle accidents are caused by multiple counts of negligence. For example, if car A is speeding on wet roads and hydroplanes, crashing into car B, it seems logical that car A is at fault. But what if car B failed to see car A approaching because car B’s driver was texting? As a result, car B crashes into car C. If the driver of car C is injured and claims to have seen the driver of car B texting while driving, the driver of car B could be partially liable, even though the initial accident was caused by car A. Determining fault in a multi-vehicle collision can be an extremely complicated process, especially when large pile-up accidents occur. If you’ve been injured in an auto accident, contact a Boston injury attorney today.

In multi-vehicle accidents, drivers at the front are often asked how many bumps they felt. In a three-car collision, for example, if the front driver felt one impact, it is likely that the rear car is at fault. However, if the front driver felt two impacts, it is more likely that the middle car hit the front car, then the rear car hit the middle car, causing the second impact. In this case, the middle car will likely take the blame. However, the rear car – and even the front car – can be liable under certain circumstances.

How Does Accident Reconstruction Work?

Following a multi-vehicle accident, accident reconstruction experts are often called in to examine the evidence, including the number of “bumps” felt by vehicles at the front of the accident, and witness statements. In addition, experts will use police reports, photographs of the scene and damages, and statements from the drivers to determine fault. If multiple people are found liable, the next step is to figure out who pays, and how much each person is responsible for. Contact a MA auto accident lawyer today.

Comparative Negligence or Contributory Negligence?

Some states use comparative negligence to determine what percentage of damages a responsible party will pay, while other states use contributory negligence.

  • Comparative: When the driver is found to be at least 25 percent at fault, any damages recovered will be reduced by that amount.
  • Contributory: When the driver is found to be even one percent at fault, they cannot recover any damages.

In Massachusetts, we have a modified version of comparative negligence. MA uses the 51 percent rule, which means the driver can only recover if they were less than 51 percent at fault. If the driver was 51 percent or more at fault, they cannot recover any damages. In addition, the damages recovered will be reduced by the driver’s share of the blame. For example, if the driver was 15 percent at fault for the accident and was awarded $100,000 in damages, the total payout would be reduced by 15 percent and the driver would receive an award of $85,000. Continue reading

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In some situations, birth injuries and birth defects are unavoidable. However, when the negligence of your doctor, the medical staff, or a pharmaceutical company results in harm to you or your baby, the responsible party should be held accountable for their actions. If you think your baby’s birth injuries may be a result of medical negligence, contact a Boston birth injury lawyer today.

Is a birth defect considered a birth injury?

A: No. A birth defect is a condition that occurs before birth. Birth defects can be related to something that happened before or during the pregnancy, or they can be a result of genetic defects. Birth injuries, on the other hand, occur during the actual delivery process.
When should I sue for a birth injury?

A: If you believe that your doctor’s negligence caused birth injuries to you and/or your baby, you may want to file a birth injury claim. Consider the following example: For days, you couldn’t feel your near-term baby moving. You called your doctor multiple times to explain the sudden lack of movement, but she dismissed these complaints, saying it was “just nerves.” A few days later, your baby was born with Cerebral Palsy due to lack of oxygen to the brain. The cord was wrapped around his neck. In this situation, your doctor may be found liable for negligence.

What is my chance of success with a birth injury lawsuit?

A: Well, it depends on several factors. For starters, some birth injuries and defects are unavoidable. For example, a baby’s collarbone may need to be broken if the birth canal is too narrow to allow the baby’s shoulders to pass through. In a birth injury case, it all boils down to whether the doctor was negligent. Did he or she do what a competent doctor would have done in a similar situation? If the doctor, medical staff, or a pharmaceutical company failed to provide adequate and appropriate care during pregnancy or delivery, you will likely have a successful injury lawsuit.

Are birth injuries common?

A: Currently, in the United States, about five out of every 1,000 babies will be injured during the birth process. Birth defects are present in about seven percent of U.S. births.

If I bring a birth injury lawsuit, what evidence does a jury use to determine if my doctor is liable?

A: Evidence in birth injury lawsuits often focuses on expert testimony and medical records / reports. Typically, expert testimony will come from other doctors who explain why your doctor’s actions did, or did not, fall below acceptable standards of care. If your doctor is a specialist, such as an obstetrician, he or she will be held to a higher standard of care than would a non-specialist.

What are “teratogens” and do they cause birth defects?

A: Over the years, many drugs that were intended to help a woman deal with pregnancy-related issues, were found to cause birth defects. These drugs, known as teratogens, include Delalutin – used to prevent miscarriages, and Bendectin – an antinausea medication.

What is Cerebral Palsy?

A: Cerebral palsy is actually a general term for multiple disorders that affect brain function. It is often a result of lack of oxygen to the baby during delivery, and can be caused by any type of injury to the baby’s brain while still in the womb. Cerebral palsy can cause lifetime mobility and body movement issues, as well as cognitive impairments.

Who receives money in a successful birth injury lawsuit?

A: In almost all cases, any compensation awarded will go to the child. If the child is still a minor, the funds will typically go into a trust. However, parents can also receive compensation for pain and suffering due to emotional distress. Continue reading

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