Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

September 11, 2014

Brandeis University Faces Scrutiny by Federal Investigators for Sex Abuse Cases

Brandeis University in Waltham is the latest college to come under scrutiny by the United States Education Department for the handling of sexual assault complaints involving its students. The university is the 10th school in Massachusetts and one of more than 75 in the country to be investigated by the U.S. Dept. of Education according to WCVB.

According to reports (initially published by The Boston Globe), the investigation is centered on a student’s allegation that the school wrongly and unfairly found him responsible for sexual misconduct this past spring and subsequently disciplined him.

While Brandeis spokesman Bill Schaller did not comment directly about that particular investigation, he acknowledged that the school had already taken initiatives to prevent and respond to sexual assault complaints, including opening a rape crisis center, hiring a psychological counselor who specializes in trauma and sexual violence, and relocating its office of sexual assault services and prevention to a more central location on campus. According to WCVB, the university conducted bystander-intervention training for students and created an informational website and distributed resource guides to students, faculty, and staff to increase awareness of sexual assault services and prevention efforts.

This past May the Department of Education began an investigation of 55 campuses for complaints that they possibly violated rules governing the handling of sexual violence and harassment cases. Included in that list are Amherst College, Boston University, Emerson College, Harvard College, Harvard Law School, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Berklee College of Music, Hampshire College, UMass Dartmouth, and Brandeis University.
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September 8, 2014

Medical Facility Where Joan Rivers Underwent Vocal Procedure Now Under Investigation

by Altman & Altman

Even as friends, family, and the entertainment industry laid comedian Joan Rivers to rest, police are continuing to look into her death. The 81-year-old suffered cardiac arrest while undergoing routine surgery at the Yorkville Endoscopy medical center. She was then rushed to the hospital where she was placed on life support. Rivers died on Thursday.

Also probing her death is the New York State Department of Health. Investigators are trying to determine whether the facility violated any state rules. The medical examiners that conducted an autopsy on the late comedian could not determine her cause of death.

Ambulatory surgery centers have grown in popularity as insurers and patients seek out less expensive, more convenient treatments than what they can get at traditional hospitals. The cost is less due to less overhead and shorter wait times.

September 5, 2014

$13M Boston Medical Malpractice Verdict Awarded to Widow of Man Who Died Following Throat Surgery

by Altman & Altman

The Boston Herald reports that a decade after Cynthia Price-Brown’s husband died following a routine tonsil procedure, their family has been awarded a $13 million Boston medical malpractice verdict against the surgeon, Dr. Peter Ambrus. Eric Price was 38 when he underwent the surgery to correct a mild case of sleep apnea at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth.

Ambrus performed a palate production, a turbinate reduction, a tonsillectomy, and fixed Price’s deviated septum. According to to Price-Brown, two days after the procedures, he started to bleed profusely and died within minutes. She filed her Boston wrongful death case in 2007.

Price-Brown’s Boston tonsil malpractice lawyer says that considering that Price only had a mild case of sleep apnea, it was poor advice to recommend that he undergo the surgical procedure. An attorney for Ambrus, however, said that heavy bleeding is known to be a tonsillectomy-related complication, and, although rare, death is also a risk. The verdict only requires a $1 million payout that Ambrus’s insurance will cover.

September 2, 2014

Boston University Student’s Family Sues Apartment Landlord for Massachusetts Wrongful Death

by Altman & Altman

A year after 22-year-old Binland Lee died in an Alston, MA apartment fire, her family is suing the landlord for her Boston wrongful death. Binland, a Boston University student, got trapped in her attic bedroom.

According to her loved ones, the landlord, Anna Belokurova, had rented Lee a bedroom in illegal apartment that had a faulty alarm system and not enough exits. Also named as Alton, MA wrongful death defendants are property owner Belokurova, Gateway Real Estate Group, two real estate brokers, and a real estate agent.

A Boston Globe Spotlight investigation reconstructed that tragic incident in April 2013. It reported ongoing problems of overcrowding at the building.

August 26, 2014

Judge Rejects GM’s Bid to Stop Faulty Ignition Switch Lawsuit That Spurred Recalls

by Altman & Altman

A state judge is allowing the wrongful death lawsuit that first brought to light General Motors’ faulty ignition switch problem to be reopened. The automaker had sought to have the auto products liability case, which had already been settled, stopped.

The parents of Brooke Melton had resolved the case with the automaker in 2013, months before GM started to recall vehicles over the defect. The plaintiffs are now claiming that the automaker lied to them about not knowing about the safety issue.

The auto defect involved a faulty switch that can automatically shut off the engine of the affected vehicle and prevent the air bags from activating. This year, GM admitted that as far back as a decade ago a few of its employees knew about the problem. Melton died in 2010 when her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt hydroplaned, hitting another vehicle and then going off road and into a ditch.

August 23, 2014

Hyundai Fined $17 Million For Failing to Report Brake Defect

by Altman & Altman

According to an article published by the National Trial Lawyers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that Hyundai will pay $17.35 million in civil penalties and comply with NHTSA oversight requirements for failing to report a safety-related defect in one of its car models.

The defect in question affects the 2009-2012 Hyundai Genesis car model and its brake system. The NHTSA has reported that the critical brake system components may corrode, leading to reduced effectiveness of brakes and an increase in the risk of a car crash.

“Safety is our top priority, and all automakers should understand that there is no excuse for failing to report a safety-related defect, as required by law,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in the NHTSA news release. “This Administration will act aggressively and hold automakers accountable when they put the American public at risk.”

NHTSA determined that Hyundai had been aware in 2012 that brake fluids used in the model year 2009-2012 Hyundai Genesis did not sufficiently inhibit corrosion in key components of the vehicle’s brake system. Hyundai, instead of issuing a recall, instructed car dealers to change the brake fluid in affected vehicles without explaining the consequences of failing to change the brake fluid. Hyundai did not inform Genesis-model owners of the potential safety consequences of not having their brake fluid replaced. It was only after an investigation by the NHTSA that Hyundai finally issued a recall of the affected vehicles.

The NHTSA said in their news release, that there have not been any reported fatalities relating to this safety defect. However six consumers reported collisions, and there were two reports of injuries. As of January 14, 2014, Hyundai had received 87 consumer complaints with regard to Genesis vehicles, most of which suggest increased difficulty in braking.

According to NHTSA Acting Administrator David Friedman, “Federal law requires automakers to report safety-related defects to NHTSA within five days, and neither NHTSA nor the American public will accept anything less. Hyundai failed to act to protect their customers and others that were harmed in an accident, and must change the way they deal with all safety related defects.”

Hyundai has agreed to make improvements to its processes for identifying, reporting, and communicating safety-related defects in a timely manner. This includes the creation of a U.S. Technical Committee to review and make decisions regarding potential Hyundai-specific safety recalls. Hyundai will ultimately be responsible for responding to safety concerns in a timely manner based on the Technical Committee’s recommendations.
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August 22, 2014

D.O.T. Unveils New Online Search Tool for Recalls Using Vehicle Identification Number

by Altman & Altman

Each year, millions of vehicles are recalled in the United States because of safety defects or noncompliance with federal safety standards. To assist car buyers, owners and renters in figuring out whether their vehicles are safe and there are no outstanding safety defects, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) created a new, free, online search tool which consumers can now use to find out if a vehicle is directly impacted by a recall.

The new tool is available on www.safercar.gov/vinlookup and provides consumers with a quick and easy way to identify uncompleted recalls by entering their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). All major vehicle and motorcycle brands may be searched.

Effective this week, under the new NHTSA mandate, all major light vehicle and motorcycle manufacturers are required to provide VIN search capability for uncompleted recalls on their own websites. This data must be updated at least weekly, according to NHTSA’s press release. NHTSA’s new VIN look-up tool directly relies on information from all major automakers, and regularly updated information from the automakers is critical to the efficiency of the search tool.

According to the NHTSA’s website: Consumers are able to find their vehicle identification number by looking at the dashboard on the driver’s side of the vehicle, or on the driver’s side door where the door latches when it is closed. Determining whether there is a recall that consumers need to fix is simple-after entering the VIN number into the field, results will appear if the consumer has an open recall on their vehicle, and if there are none, owners will see “No Open Recalls.”

NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman, said “Just as every single automaker should never hesitate to recall a defective vehicle, consumers should never hesitate to get their recalled vehicle fixed.”

The goal of the NHTSA’s new online search tool is to help customers make informed decisions about the cars they are buying and to further aid the watchdog’s mission to increase public safety.
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August 21, 2014

Two Young Girls Rushed to Hospital After Yarmouth Swimming Accident at Cape Cod Hotel

by Altman & Altman

Two sisters, ages 9 and 12, were flown to Children’s Hospital in Boston after they were pulled from the bottom of an indoor swimming pool at the Bayside Resort in Cape Cod. Witnesses say that the girls were rescued from the Yarmouth, MA near drowning accident after family members and guests noticed they were in trouble.

An uncle was supposed to be supervising them when the swimming accident happened. There was no lifeguard on duty at the time.

The two girls, who are from New York, were in Yarmouth on vacation. As of Wednesday night, police were reporting that the sisters were in serious to life threatening condition.

August 18, 2014

Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Northampton Fire Started by Arson Reaches Settlement

by Altman & Altman

Elaine Yeskie has settled her Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit against Anthony Baye, the man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the fatal fire that claimed the lives of her husband Paul Yeskie Sr. and son Paul Yeskie Jr. The two men died in 2012 in a blaze set by Baye at their home on a night when he started over a dozen fires.

Yeskie sought damages from Baye for the loss of her husband and son, as well as for the severe emotional trauma she experienced from witnessing their deaths. Her son Paul Jr. had autism.

The widow claims that the two men experienced conscious pain and suffering as they were fatally burned while trying to escape there home. Yeskie and another woman managed to flee the blaze.

August 15, 2014

Former Student Sues Emerson College in Massachusetts Sexual Assault Case

by Altman & Altman

Jillian Doherty is seeking personal injury compensation from Emerson College. She claims that that the college mishandled her Massachusetts sexual assault case. Doherty wants compensation for the emotional trauma she suffered and her hospital bills and tuition. She dropped out of the school earlier this year.

Doherty says she was raped in April 2012 after having consensual sex with a male student after she refused to have anal sex with him. She contends that he forcibly penetrated her. The two of them were intoxicated at the time.

Doherty claims that she waited to report the incident nearly a year later because Emerson did a poor job of informing students about sexual assault and the resources that were available. When the accused provided new evidence and a character letter from someone who wasn’t even involved in the matter at the hearing, Doherty says she was not given a chance to respond. The male undergraduate was cleared in the case. However, following an appeal, the school found him responsible and he was expelled.