Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

January 20, 2015

New Massachusetts Medical Malpractice Law Gives Patients New Settlement Options

A new state law mandates that people who intend to file a Massachusetts medical malpractice lawsuit give healthcare providers at least six months notice before submitting their complaint. Potential defendants then have 150 days to address the matter. The law also stipulates that medical providers notify patients if there were medical errors that caused unexpected complications and gives doctors a chance to apologize without fear that their admission of error will be used against them in court.

The new legislation is part of increased efforts at non-traditional types of medical liability reform in the U.S., with programs involving resolution and communication growing in popularity. Advocates are pressing for medical providers to step forward, acknowledge responsibility, and offer settlements. In Massachusetts, a number of Beth Israel Deaconess hospitals and Bay State facilities are taking part in a pilot program implementing the Communication, Apology, and Resolution (CARe) model.

In one example of how this type of program can work, NPR recounts, a doctor of a woman who received a delayed diagnosis of her stage 3 ovarian cancer not only explained to her why the mistake happened but apologized for it. A medical team had determined that she should get a pelvic ultrasound but the recommendation was pushed to the wayside for months.

January 16, 2015

$100M Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed By Family of Teen Found in Gym Mat

by Altman & Altman

The parents of Kendrick Johnson are suing over three dozen people and the Georgia city of Valdosta for the 17-year-old’s wrongful death. Johnson died after getting stuck upside down inside a rolled gym mat. Now, his family is seeking at least $100 million.

The teenager’s body was discovered inside the rolled up wrestling mat at his high school in 2013. While a state autopsy report concluded that Johnson died from accidental, positional asphyxia, an independent one, obtained by CNN in September of that year, said that the actual cause of death was non-accidental, blunt force trauma to different parts of the boy’s body. The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, however, said that no foul play was involved.

Johnson’s family believes that their son was murdered-as opposed to the finding that he got caught by accident in the gym mat while reaching for a shoe. Their wrongful death lawyers claim that the teenager was “induced” by a female student to go into the school’s old gym. They believe that two former schoolmates, their dad, and another former schoolmate are responsible for Johnson’s death in a violent assault.

January 13, 2015

U.S. Department of Justice Joins Whistleblowers in Medicare Fraud Cases Against Prominent Cardiologist

by Altman & Altman

The Justice Department is now part of two whistleblower lawsuits accusing cardiologist Asad Qamar and his Institute for Cardiovascular Excellence of Medicare fraud. The complaints contend that Qamar conducted and billed for peripheral artery intervention procedures that were not necessary and waived 20% co-payments so that patients wouldn’t question his recommendations for treatment. The plaintiffs are treating the waived copayments as kickbacks that were made to patients.

According to Medicare payment data released last April, in 2012 Qamar received $18 million from Medicare in 2012, which is four times more than the next highest paid cardiologist.

The New York Times reports that Qamar and his practice have been accused of performing numerous unnecessary procedures patients involving vessels outside the heart. Patients were also reportedly given unplanned diagnostic imaging testing even when they were undergoing treatment for unrelated matters.

January 9, 2015

Ruling in Cruise Ship Injury Case Could Determine Whether Medical Malpractice Damages Could Finally Come Into Play

by Altman & Altman

A ruling issued by a federal appeals court in a wrongful death case on a cruise ship could pave the way for medical practice lawsuits for claims alleging negligent healthcare on these types of vessels. This could be significant for cruise ship passengers, who for the last century have been unable to pursue such allegations because of exemptions that have been created through a number of other court decisions. Some 21 million people go on cruises every year.

Now, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided that the last ruling, known as Barbetta, in 1988 is outdated. The decision in Barbetta determined that cruise ship passengers shouldn’t expect the type of medical care that they would get on land, and medical staff on cruise line vessels are private contractors and not ship employees.

This latest case involves a traumatic brain injury sustained by Pasquale Vaglio on a Royal Caribbean cruise in 2011. After the 82-year-old was involved in a fall accident during a sightseeing trip, a nurse performed a minor exam on him and ordered the older man to rest. Vaglio died from a brain injury days later.

January 8, 2015

Another Boston Sexual Assault Lawsuit Says Emerson College Mishandled Rape Allegations

by Altman & Altman

Another student has come forward accusing Emerson College of mishandling her Boston sexual assault case. The plaintiff, identified in the Massachusetts personal injury lawsuit as Jane Doe, claims that the school and six administrators did not “promptly and appropriately” respond to her assault and that her Title IX rights were violated. The woman is seeking damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.

The plaintiff says that she reported the alleged assault, which she says was committed by an Emerson student and an MIT student, in 2012. The Emerson College Police Department, the Cambridge Police Department, and the Boston Police Department conducted investigations. She says she chose not to press charges because a resident director at Emerson suggested that she not.

Now, she is accusing the college of inappropriately handling her case, including breaching her confidentiality by telling her mom and suitemate about the assault without her consent, discouraging her from reporting the fellow Emerson student’s alleged involvement, not making any attempts to transfer that student off her dorm floor, as well as other mishandlings.

January 6, 2015

Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against the City of Framingham, Police Officer May Proceed, Says Judge

by Altman & Altman

US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV says that the Massachusetts wrongful death case filed against Framingham Police Officer Paul K. Duncan may proceed. Duncan shot Eurie Stamps Sr. by accident in 2011 while the older man was unarmed and face down on a kitchen floor. According to Stamp’s estate, Duncan used excessive force when he shot the retiree.

The tragic accident took place during a drug raid at Duncan’s home. Duncan and the SWAT team he was with were executing a search warrant at the time based on allegations that Stamps’ stepson and others were selling crack cocaine out of the residence.

The police officer’s weapon discharged after he tripped inside a dark hallway, killing Stamps, who had no criminal record and was not a suspect in any crime. Also, the older man reportedly had done nothing to suggest that he wasn’t going to cooperate with police officers nor did he appear to pose a threat to anyone there.

December 31, 2014

Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawsuits Sue Applebee’s, Whole Foods, Respectively

by Altman & Altman

The parents of 8-year-old Joshua Kaye are suing Whole Foods Market for his Massachusetts wrongful death. They claim that their son died after eating E. coli-contaminated ground beef purchased from a Whole Foods store in Weymouth.

In their civil case, Andrew and Melissa Kaye noted that federal agents had been at Whole Foods in June to investigate an E. coli cluster but that the store did not issue a recall of its ground beef items until August 15. The Kayes said that testing linked Joshua’s death to the contamination.

In a separate Massachusetts food injury case, the family of John Kocak is suing Applebee’s for the fatal choking incident that claimed the 48-year-old’s life in 2011. Kocak was eating at the restaurant in Greenfield when he collapsed in the bathroom. His father found him unconscious and asked the assistant manager to contact 911. Kocak sustained a brain injury from oxygen deprivation and died days later.

December 29, 2014

Jockey Files Boston Injury Lawsuit Against Suffolk Downs After Sustaining Horse Racing Injuries

by Altman & Altman

Andria Terrill, a jockey who sustained serious injuries when racing a horse at Suffolk Downs in 2013, is suing the East Boston track. She got hurt when the 3-year-old horse she was riding stumbled as it was heading out of the gate.

According to the Boston Globe, Terrill, then 30, fell off, losing consciousness and landing on the track. She sustained multiple fractures to her skull. According to her Massachusetts injury lawsuit, she continues to suffer balance issues, headaches, dizziness, problems with focusing and concentrating, and emotional instability. Now, she claims, that she won’t be able to race again.

Terrill is blaming Suffolk Downs contending that racing officials did not enforce Massachusetts’s safety helmet standard for jockeys. Because of this, she says that she did not wear the type of helmet that would have protected her from her injuries. She wants the racetrack to pay her $1.3 million for her Boston personal injuries, including loss of earnings.

December 27, 2014

Northampton Woman Criminally Charged, Accused of Massachusetts Nursing Negligence

by Altman & Altman

Anne L. Fisher has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges accusing her of pretending to be a licensed practical nurse and stealing drugs and personal items from three elderly people. The 29-year-old is charged with multiple counts of larceny above $250 from a person that is either over the age of 60 or disabled, larceny of drugs, larceny from a building, assault and battery on a disabled person or one over 60, and practicing practical nursing without authorization. Such crimes, depending on the specifics, may be acts of Massachusetts nursing negligence.

According to police, Fisher, whose certified nurse’s aide license expired in 2012, was hired to give prescription meds to three elderly persons at a Western Massachusetts retirement community. An Easthampton pharmacist who examined the pills after it seemed they weren’t working discovered the medications had been substituted with over-the-counter pills, such as ibuprofen and antihistamines.

Fisher allegedly stole hundreds of prescription meds-including OxyContin, Xanax, diazepam, and other kinds of pills-from the three female patients. She is also accused of stealing jewelry and other expensive items from one of the women.

December 23, 2014

Family Files Boston Elevator Accident Lawsuit Against Fenway Park

by Altman & Altman

The family of Elisabeth Scotland is suing Fenway Sports Group for injuries she sustained in a Boston elevator accident. The woman, 22, suffered critical injuries earlier this year when she fell into the elevator shaft at Fenway Park.

The plaintiffs, in the Massachusetts premises liability case, say that Scotland was on the fourth floor of the ballpark waiting for an elevator when she lost her balance, fell into the shaft, and went down two stories. She landed on top of the elevator car.

Scotland sustained spinal injury, traumatic brain injury, dental damage, and facial fractures. The official state report says that she bumped into the elevator door after jumping on her father, hugging him, and jumping off him. That was when she struck the elevator door and it opened.