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A horrible escalator accident in Jingzhou, China, a province in Hubei that has approximately 5 million citizens, has left a young woman dead as she put herself in the way of danger in order to save the life of her son. 31-year-old Xiang Liujuan was at the AZG Mall in Jingzhou enjoying a Sunday shopping trip with her son when they unknowingly stepped onto an escalator that had a panel loose at the top landing strip. The loose panel had been discovered just a few minutes earlier by mall employees—but none of them warned customers of the safety issue. No one was contacted in order to fix the problem, and the employees did not place a safety barrier around the escalator to prohibit anyone from stepping onto it. These simple steps could have prevented a young child from losing his mother so early on in life.

Officials in Jingzhou that are investigating the matter have stated that they believe human error is to blame for this terrible accident taking place. Video surveillance of the tragedy has been released and clearly depicts how Xiang Liujuan had little to no time to react to what was happening. Xiang Liujuan is shown lifting her son up once they reach the top of the escalator in order to allow him to exit the mechanism safely. As she goes to lift him up however, the loose panel collapses underneath her. Xiang then falls into the opening gap, but somehow manages to keep her upper body above the structure—just long enough for her to push her son into the arms of mall employees who witnessed the accident unfolding and ran over to help. The boy is whisked away to safety by an employee while two others work toward pulling Xiang Liujuan from falling completely into the escalator. Their efforts were sadly unsuccessful however, when after just a few seconds Xiang falls into the hole that opened up beneath her feet. Continue reading

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A North Carolina man was charged with the death of a woman from Hudson after an accident that took place in May. Following his hearing in Central District Court on Monday however, he was released on personal recognizance. 62 year old Gary Shray from Oriental, North Carolina has described the occurrence that claimed 24 year old Sarah Ewing’s life as a “freak accident”.

The accident took place on May 14th of this year in Worcester’s Kelley Square. Gary Shray, a truck driver, was operating an 18 wheeler vehicle for Ocean Star Transportation (based out of East Hartford, Connecticut) when he pulled over onto the side of Millbury Street in order to let a firetruck pass by him. Once the firetruck had passed him, Shray had attempted to take a right turn onto the Interstate 290 ramp when his vehicle hit the curb and proceeded to knock over a stop sign and a street lamp. Sarah Ewing and a 25 year old male identified as Joseph Meszaro of Oxford, who was a friend of Ms. Ewing, jumped forward in order to avoid being struck by the falling street lamp. It was at this time that Sarah Ewing became wedged in the wheels of Gary Shray’s 18 wheeler truck.  She would later succumb to her injuries, but the extent and severity of these injuries has not been disclosed. Her friend, Joseph Meszaro, suffered injuries to his feet and is still currently in recovery from these wounds.

Gary Shray tested negative for alcohol and drugs upon investigation into the matter. He maintains that it really was an accident, and he expressed remorse and grief about what has happened. “You know, I am truly sorry.” He did not provide any further comments regarding the accident and later requested a court-appointed lawyer for his hearing at Central District Court this past Monday. Continue reading

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Law enforcement officials in Chattanooga, Tennessee believe they are on their way to developing a system to determine whether or not motor vehicle drivers are maintaining a safe distance from the bicyclists they share the road with. And while there are still a few key factors that need to be worked out in order to provide this security on a massive scale, police officers in Chattanooga think they are on the right track.

Safe passing laws are in effect in most states across the country, but bicycle safety activists feel that even though these laws are in place, they aren’t necessarily enforced to a degree that ensures safety or accurately reprimands the dangerous drivers who violate these laws. Police officers have indicated that it becomes difficult for them to precisely determine who is guilty of this encroachment. Officers who ride their bikes on the job have said that while yes, they are able to understand when a motor vehicle is riding too closely to them, that they aren’t swift enough to track down the culprit and pull them over when on their bicycles. Police will then have to provide an additional motor vehicle to accompany the bicyclist cop on their route in order to appropriately apprehend an individual that has committed this passing law violation. Since 2007, Chattanooga law enforcement officers have said that they had not even enforced this law until recently, when Chief of Police in Chattanooga, Fred Fletcher, decided that something concrete needed to be done.

Chief Fletcher had previously worked in Austin, Texas as a liaison to the bicycle community that thrives there. He said that based off of this experience, he was able to acquire knowledge and understanding of how to best protect cyclists who take to the streets every single day. The police officers of Austin, Texas are specifically trained to identify the appropriate amount of length that should be maintained at all times between motor vehicles and their bicycle counterparts. This designated length of 36 inches can be hard to observe at an exact figure, but Chief Fletcher says that officers can use their common sense to distinguish between what looks about 36 inches and what looks much closer than that. He has said that if an officer on a bike can reach out and touch the car in question—they’re driving too close. Continue reading

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The popular furniture design company IKEA is issuing a safety alert to all customers who have purchased their MALM chests and dressers when they subsequently discovered that these items are extremely susceptible to tipping over if they are not properly anchored. Recently, there have been two separate incidents in which the items in question have fallen over onto children and killed them from the impact. Reports show that in February of 2014 a 2 year old child from Pennsylvania became pinned between a MALM 6 drawer chest and his bed when the item fell over on top of him. Another incident occurred in June of 2014, this time involving a 23 month old child from Washington in which a MALM 3 drawer chest tipped over. Both of these deaths could have been prevented if the items were properly secured—a fact that until now had not been made abundantly obvious to customers. This type of manufacturing negligence and defective product design can have fatal consequences. If you have been a victim of the IKEA call a Massachusetts injury attorney to fully understand what rights you may have.

Approximately seven million MALM chests and twenty million additional IKEA chests and dressers are going to be included in a repair program that is taking place nationwide, according to a statement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued on Wednesday. IKEA is urging their customers to immediately discontinue use of any children’s 23.5 inch tall dressers or chests as well as any adult dressers or chests that are over 29.5 inches tall if these items are not secured to a wall or sound structure. Continue reading

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Do you have a carbon monoxide monitor in your home? What about your vacation home? In the wake of a carbon monoxide related accident that has left four young people dead—it might be something you need to consider more seriously.

Four young residents of Massachusetts were staying at a family vacation home in Byron, Maine at the Coos Canyon Campground when they were discovered to be unresponsive on Friday night, July 17th. According to preliminary reports by investigators who arrived on scene, the residents visiting the cabin plugged a refrigerator into a backup generator located in the basement of the home and sometime after that, they all went to sleep. This occurred on Tuesday night—and it is presumed that the four victims passed away sometime during that night due to the poisonous, undetectable gas that escaped from the generator. Police responding to the call said that they could not immediately find a carbon monoxide detector anywhere inside of the cabin. They went on to say that if there had been a monitor located anywhere inside the home, it very likely would have saved their lives.

The four victims have been identified as 21 year old Brooke Wakelin from Attleboro, Massachusetts and her boyfriend, 23 year old Keith Norris also from Attleboro, Massachusetts. As well as 18 year old Matthew Wakelin, brother of victim Brooke Wakelin, and his 22 year old friend Deanna Lee Powers, both of whom are from Mansfield, Massachusetts. The father of Brooke and Matthew Wakelin, whose family owns the cabin, made the heartbreaking discovery on Friday when he made the trip up to Maine to find out why he had not heard from his kids since their arrival on Tuesday. Upon entering the residence, Mr. Wakelin discovered the bodies of his daughter Brooke and her boyfriend Keith in an upstairs bedroom, as well as the body of their pet beagle as well. He searched the downstairs bedrooms of the residence and further discovered the bodies of his son Matthew and his friend Deanna in separate rooms. Since the cabin did not have any electricity (which is what led the four victims to use the backup generator in the first place) Mr. Wakelin jumped onto a four-wheeler vehicle and drove immediately to a nearby cabin where he telephoned local police. Continue reading

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An altercation at a Lowell rehabilitation center has resulted in the death of one of the patients that had been admitted there. The direct circumstances surrounding the matter are still under investigation by the local police department and prosecutors assigned to the case. According to preliminary reports provided for the search into what took place, police have found that two patients had engaged in a shoving match that led to the injuries that one of the patients eventually succumbed to. The other patient was not reported to have suffered any injuries from the quarrel.

The Lowell police were called on Sunday to the Lowell Health Care Center, which is located at 19 Varnum Street in Lowell’s Centralville neighborhood, in response to the incident and were informed of the injured party. The patient who has since passed away has been identified as 56 year old Anthony Mazzurco. Mazzurco reportedly fell and hit his head on the floor during the confrontation and ensuing shoving match. After police arrived on scene, Mazzurco was initially transported to the nearby Lowell General Hospital/Saints Campus. However, he was transported to Tufts Medical Center sometime following his admission at Lowell General Hospital/Saints Campus, and was subsequently pronounced dead at Tufts Medical Center on Sunday night. The extent and severity of his injuries was not made immediately available.

No charges have been filed yet against the additional patient involved in the incident—therefore his name is not being announced publicly. Since the investigation into the confrontation is still active however, there is no definitive word yet on whether or not this will continue to be the case. Continue reading

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A vehicle crash occurred just shortly after 2:00 AM on Wednesday, July 15th which resulted in the injury of three men who were riding motorcycles at the time of the accident. The three men were hit by an additional motor vehicle. The driver of that vehicle that struck the three motorcyclists was said to have been traveling the wrong way down interstate I-495. The driver, 69 year old Hilda L. Szala of Riverside, Rhode Island, was allegedly traveling south on the northbound lane of the highway near an overpass in Norton. Preliminary reports provided by the state police indicate that Szala was driving under the influence of alcohol when the accident took place.

State police has additionally indicated that they had previously received well over 40 calls from other motorists complaining of a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction down the highway prior to the accident involving the three motorcyclists.

The accident resulted in serious injuries to all three motorcyclists that were hit by Hilda Szala’s 2003 Toyota. One of the victims, a 38 year old man from Brockton, Massachusetts, was thrown from his 2006 Suzuki motorcycle and has sustained life-threatening injuries. State Trooper Matthew Guarino, who is investigating the incident, said in a statement that the 38 year old victim was transported to Rhode Island Hospital, but an immediate update on his condition has not yet been released. Another victim of the accident, a 36 year old man also from Brockton, Massachusetts, was riding a 1999 Suzuki motorcycle at the time of the accident and was similarly thrown from his vehicle upon impact. The severity of his injuries had not been detailed at the time of the initial report. The third victim of the accident, a 28 year old man from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, sustained non-life threatening injuries as he too was thrown from his vehicle following the accident. No additional information on where the other victims were treated or the nature of their injuries has been provided at this time. The driver of the Toyota, Hilda Szala, did not suffer any injuries. Continue reading

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A popular bar near Boston’s TD Garden was allowed to reopen following an inspection by city officials last week.

The Greatest Bar, located on Friend Street, was investigated by Boston police officers and the chief of the Problem Properties Task Force on Thursday night during a raid of its premises for a series of reported violations.

According to WCVB, the owners of The Greatest Bar were issued 16 violations stemming from 30 different incidents reported between 2013 and 2015. The incidents ranged from everything from assaults and fights and patrons being injured, to patrons being overserved, WCVB reports. The owners were ordered to meet with city officials by Friday morning or risk having the bar shut down permanently.

In a statement made to the media, Greatest Bar co-owner Julie Fairweather said, “We are pleased to have been able to work with city officials today to address their concerns,” co-owner Julie Fairweather said in a statement. “We will be ready to work with the city again tomorrow – and moving forward from this point on – to continue making progress in addressing any concerns that they might have.”

“In August of last year, we started reaching out to the property owner, and have had no response since then,” Smith said. “There have been a number of police violations and police presence (has) showed up here. So it boiled up to the point where we felt that we needed to make some sort of action to go into the establishment and say, ‘This is not OK,'” Jerome Smith, chair of the Problem Property Task Force said. Smith went on record to say that The Great Bar is “the worst offender among Boston’s problem businesses.”

According to WCVB, the commissioner of inspectional services, William Christopher, authorities found some violations on Thursday, including problems with egress. The bar has reportedly had problems with overcrowding in the past, but when the task force arrived, there was no issue.

“We take this very seriously. That this is not just a list of places that we think are in trouble,” Christopher said in a statement to WCVB. “These are places where we are going to be very proactive about. We’re going to go out and visit them. We’re going to make sure they adhere to the rules and regulations and offer a safe establishment for people to enjoy.”

Continue reading

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The record-setting snowfall that plagued New England this winter generated a number of issues for local residents—causing delays in daily commutes and forcing children to stay home for an escalating number of snow days whether you had someone to watch them or not—and now the incessant snow of this winter is also going to cost you with your insurance company.

Insurance premiums are said to be making a huge leap of about 9 percent, which translates to an increase of about $100 on average for Massachusetts residents with premium insurance. The average is already about $1,150.

According to reports, The Massachusetts Division of Insurance has recently approved a general 8.9 percent increase for the state’s largest insurance company, Mapfre USA Corp. The increase will be effective starting on August 1st of this year. Mapfre USA Corp. insures over 214,000 homeowners in Massachusetts and previously only increased their premiums by 2.3 percent last year. Continue reading

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Falls to a lower level are the number one cause of construction-site fatalities. With proper safety training, site maintenance and the right equipment, these accidents are largely preventable. In order to educate construction workers and employers about these dangers and reduce annual construction-site injuries and fatalities, OSHA has enacted a national fall prevention campaign.

OSHA’s campaign serves to educate and raise awareness about falls from high places, such as roofs, ladders, and scaffolds. Of 828 total construction-related fatalities in 2013, 291 were due to falls.  OSHA has partnered with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Occupational Research Agenda to educate as many construction workers and employers as possible. By following three simple steps, construction-site falls can be easily prevented. Continue reading

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