Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

February 27, 2015

University of Massachusetts Amherst Student Sues Police for Assault, False Arrest

Thomas Donovan has filed a Massachusetts police violence lawsuit against three police officers. He claims that they assaulted and falsely arrested him because he videotaped law enforcement officers last year during the Blarney Blowout, which is a large off-campus party that celebrates St. Patrick’s Day. At the 2014 event, police officers wore riot gear, shooting some 600 rounds of pepper and sting balls at revelers to keep order when there were disturbances.

According to the Massachusetts personal injury case, Donovan claims that he recorded Amherst cops using what seemed like too much force when making the arrest. Even though he shot the footage at a distance from behind a fence, Donovan contends that an officer in full riot gear and armed with a pepper-ball gun went after him. He said that when he did not stop filming, another police officer shot him with pepper spray at close range. When he still would not stop, a third police officer kicked the phone from Donovan’s hand and threw him down before arresting him. Police then allegedly repeatedly stomped on the phone to break it.

The three defendants are Amherst police Andrew Hulse and Jesus Arocho, and John Does 1 and 2. Hulse and Arocho are the ones who arrested Donovan. The plaintiff believes that the arrest report, filed by Arocho, falsely states that Donovan approached the cops that were making an arrest and disregarded orders to get out of the area. He also disputes that the reason that he was paper sprayed was because he went near the officers.

February 26, 2015

Teen Dies in Attleboro, MA Drowning Accident at Apartment Complex Swimming Pool

by Altman & Altman

A 17-year-old has died in an Attleboro, MA swimming accident. Ibrahim Iqbal was doing laps at the Crystal Village Apartments indoor pool on Wednesday when he failed to come up for air after swimming to the bottom.

A cousin who was with him called for help and a resident and a building manager pulled the teenager out of the water. Emergency responders took Iqbal to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner is expected to conduct an autopsy.

Depending on what caused the drowning death, Iqbal’s family may have grounds for pursuing a Massachusetts drowning accident lawsuit. Potential liable parties may include the apartment complex, which could lead to an Attleboro premises liability case or, if there was a defect in the pool, then possibly a products liability lawsuit against a manufacturer.

February 25, 2015

Transportation Secretary Asks Congress to Authorize New Enforcement Tools for NHTSA; Levies Fine on Takata For Faulty Airbag Systems

by Altman & Altman

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Mark Rosekind have teamed up with elected officials, representatives from the rental car industry and consumer safety advocates, to ask Congress to pass legislation that would require rental car agencies and used car dealers to fix safety defects before renting or selling vehicles subject to a recall, according to a press release issued by NHTSA.

Proposed by the safety watchdog, the GROW AMERICA Act would require rental car agencies to fix all safety defects currently under recall before renting a vehicle. The act would require used car dealers to do the same before selling a vehicle. Under current federal laws, new cars must be fixed before being put up for sale. Despite the efforts made, no similar federal provision exists for rental car agencies or used car dealers.

“Every vehicle under an open safety recall should be repaired as soon as possible,” Secretary Foxx said in a statement. “Requiring rental car agencies and used car dealers to fix defective vehicles before renting is a common-sense solution that would make our roads safer. Safety advocates and the rental car industry have taken a stand for safety, and we need Congress to do so as well.”
Foxx announced this week, a $14,000 per day fine against airbag manufacturer Takata for failing to fully cooperate with the NHTSA’s ongoing investigation into the company’s defective airbags.
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February 24, 2015

Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $2.5M Risperdal Injury Verdict Over Abnormal Male Breast Growth

by Altman & Altman

A jury says that Johnson & Johnson must pay the family of an autistic boy $2.5 million for failing to warn that its antipsychotic medication, Risperdal, could cause abnormal breast development in males. The plaintiffs claim that Austin Pledger, then 7, took the drug in 2002 and developed size 46 DD breasts. Gynecomastia is the medical term for this condition.

Risperdal’s generic name is risperidone. While there have been numerous Risperdal lawsuits settled, this is the first one involving gynecomastia that accuses J & J of hiding the risks to go to trial. Among those that gave testimony was former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler, who was a paid expert witness for the family of Pledger. He said that J & J knew about the risks but did not disclose the data that demonstrated to what extent young males could experience abnormal breast growth.

Despite the verdict, J & J’s Janssen unit, which marketed Risperdal, maintains that the drug’s FDA-approved label did in fact properly warn of possibly side effects. They also maintain that Pledger was not hurt by taking the drug but instead his quality of life improved “significantly” while on the medication.

February 20, 2015

Medical Malpractice?: Study Says Nearly 1 in 5 Hysterectomies Are Unnecessary

by Altman & Altman

According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in the United States, 1 in 5 women who undergo hysterectomies may not have needed the procedure. This is disturbing news, seeing as not only is the hysterectomy one of the most common surgeries performed on women-by the time they are 60, 1 out of 3 women, will have had this procedure-it is also incredibly invasive and can be a life-altering course of treatment.

In a hysterectomy, part or if not all of the uterus, and perhaps even the ovaries and cervix, are taken out. A woman who has had a hysterectomy will stop menstruating and won’t be able to conceive children.

Often, a hysterectomy is performed to treat a medical condition, including benign conditions-especially when uterine fibroids, abnormal uterine bleeding, and endometriosis are involved. That said, Medical News Today notes that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists require healthcare professionals to recommend that patients whose gynecological conditions are benign seek alternative treatments before undergoing a hysterectomy.

February 19, 2015

Massachusetts Roofs Collapse in Wake of Ice, Snow, Storms

by Altman & Altman

With inches of snow and rain falling onto areas of Massachusetts, ice and snow may be accumulating on roofs, adding unnecessary weight that these structures may not be able to handle. Already, some eight feet of snow has started stacking up on roofs since last month.

According to The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, there have already been reports of more than 106 roof collapses, partial collapses, and other big structural problems-not to mention there have likely been incidents that were not reported.

With repeat snowstorms, snow on rooftops can turn into ice, adding eight times more weight. Roof collapses seem to be impacting flat-roofed buildings the most. Already, commercial buildings, schools, homes, and garages have sustained damage.

February 18, 2015

Jury Awards $3.6M Actos Drug Injury Verdict

by Altman & Altman

A jury has ordered Takeda Pharmaceutical Company to pay $2.3M in compensatory damages and $1.3 million in punitive damages to a man who claims that the diabetes drug caused him to develop bladder cancer. John Kristufek said that the drug maker hid the dangerous risks involved with taking the medication.

Actos is a pill that is designed to regulate blood sugar levels. It is typically prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes.

In his drug defect lawsuit, Kristufek argued that although drug representatives don’t deliver the medication or information to doctors offices and pharmacies, they come up with strategies to get doctors to prescribe Actos as safer than other diabetes medications. The incentive for the salespersons, Kristufek claims, is commissions, bonuses, and other rewards.

February 13, 2015

Best Western Sued Over Couple’s Carbon Monoxide Deaths

by Altman & Altman

The family of Daryl and Shirley Jenkins are suing the Best Western International for wrongful death. The elderly couple, who were in their early 70’s, died from carbon monoxide poisoning while staying in a hotel room that was on top of the equipment room for the indoor heated pool at the Best Western Plus Blue Ridge Plaza.

The plaintiffs contend that deficiencies in the exhaust ventilation system and the pool heater caused carbon monoxide to enter the Jenkins’ room. The rooms did not contain carbon monoxide detectors.

In November, a state regulator suspended the license of the contractor that switched the pool heater from propane to natural gas. This move purportedly went against the instructions of the manufacturer.

February 11, 2015

Products Liability Lawsuit Sues Babies R Us, Manufacturer, for Sisters’ Furniture Defect Deaths

by Altman & Altman

The family of sisters Ryeley Beatty, 3, and Brooklyn, 2, are suing Babies R Us and Baby Cache Inc. for wrongful death. The two toddlers died from asphyxiation after a 124-pound dresser fell on them in their home.

According to the furniture defect case, the store sold the dresser, which was a floor model, at a discounted price. The plaintiffs contend that the product did not come with the proper warning labels or instructions and lacked an anchoring device that should have kept it from tipping over.

Per the wrongful death lawsuit, the dresser did not comply with American Society for Testing and Materials standards, including the requirement that they stay upright when opened and 50 pounds is applied to the front of it, such as when a small child tries to climb a dresser. This furniture item should also ideally with a label warning that the dresser is at risk of tipping over or an anchoring strap, which this one lacked.

February 9, 2015

Wheelchair Lift Manufacturer Faces $1.75M in Penalties for Selling Knowingly Selling Defective Lifts

by Altman & Altman

Wheelchair manufacturer Ricon Corp., is being forced to pay $1.75 million in civil penalties and has agreed to increased oversight by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after it continued to sell defective wheelchair lifts, despite having issued a recall due to a potential fire hazard.

The company has agreed to a consent order including the penalty and an admission that it violated the Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act by selling the defective equipment and violated federal safety regulations by failing to promptly notify NHTSA that it had done so.

“This company’s failure to protect the public from a product known to be a safety risk is absolutely unacceptable,” NHTSA Anthony Foxx said. “Manufacturers must meet their safety obligations, and when they don’t, we will be there with strong enforcement action.”

Ricon has recalled more than 4,000 wheelchair lifts that it sold to manufacturers of vans and buses since September 2012. The recall was issued to fix a defective cable had the potential to spark a fire. In June of 2013, the NHTSA began contacting bus and van manufacturers who used Ricon wheelchair lifts to make sure they were aware of the recall. According to the NHTSA, Ricon was asked when it had ceased producing the defective lifts, but the company had allegedly failed to respond to repeated requests for the information.
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