Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

August 7, 2014

Whale-watching boat breaks down; tourists forced to spend a night at sea

A popular whale-watching boat escapade turned into a sea nightmare for many Boston tourists. On July 29th the Cetacea, an 83-foot-long whale-watching boat run by Boston Harbor Cruises, abruptly stopped about 13 miles off the Boston Long Wharf shore, when a 7-inch liquid natural gas cable wrapped around one of its propellers. Unable to be mobilized back to land, the tourists had to spend the night at sea on plain air, while diver teams detangled the cable.

Although no injuries were reported, around twenty of the 163 passengers became seasick during the 17-hour-long ordeal. They also had to endure a chilly Boston night, since the boat had only a limited number of blankets available, forcing some passengers to use trash bags as ponchos. The boat had also limited amounts of food, only chips and snacks, which the crew gave out to the passengers. It was not until hours later that the Coast Guard came to rescue with blankets and paramedics.

The Coast Guard and the boat captain determined it unsafe to transport passengers back to land on another vessel, since the ocean was too rough that night.

The limited resources on the boat and the lagging communication between the crew and the tour company made some passengers question the company’s boat safety regulations.

“I am legitimately concerned about the safety planning,” Passenger Stuart Raifman, 66, told the Boston Globe. “I don’t think there was a plan, and if there was one, I don’t think it worked very well.”
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August 7, 2014

Teenage girl raped at Keith Urban concert

by Altman & Altman

Two Saturdays ago at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, amidst a roaring crowd, the permeating smell of alcohol, the blazing lights and the blasting sounds of country music singer Keith Urban, a 17-year-old girl endured a painful traumatic event: rape. According to police reports, the event took place in the front lawn of the venue, in plain view of onlookers, most of who just watched. Some even filmed the rape on their phones.

According to a Mansfield Police statement, officers were not aware of the situation until a witness approached them. She had asked the victim, who was lying on the ground, whether the act was consensual. The girl allegedly told the witness it wasn’t. The girl then broke free of the attacker, and fled into the crowd. Sean Murphy, 18, of West Roxbury was arrested and charged with sexual assault, and released two days later on bail. He has pleaded not guilty.

Also at this concert, 22 people ended up hospitalized for alcohol poisoning, 50 underage drinkers were taken into protective custody, and many more were treated for injuries and arrested for public intoxication.

Though large public events that permit alcohol consumption are not unheard of, especially during the summer months, rape is inexcusable. What could have been done to prevent the assault? To start with, the security measures for large events need to be re-evaluated. Where were the officers and security team to bring order into large, drinking crowds? At the July 26th concert, an estimated 18,000 attendees filled the Xfinity Center on that night alone. If the Xfnity Center can hold such a sizable crowd, it should also have an equally sizable and efficient security measures than the ones currently in place. Yet the police department in Mansfield had trouble responding to the demands of the large crowd, at the cost of preventing rape.

“We were very busy with a lot of things going on not the least of which was taking care of the (rape) victim,” Police Chief Ronald Sellon said to the Boston Herald.
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August 5, 2014

Over 12,000 Massachusetts Patients Affected by Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island’s Data Breach

by Altman & Altman

To resolve information breach allegations, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island will pay $150,000 in a lawsuit filed by the state of Massachusetts. The state accused the hospital of failing to protect the confidential data of over 12,000 residents.

It was over two years ago that Women and Infants Hospital discovered that 19 unencrypted back-up tapes had gone missing from prenatal diagnostic centers in New Bedford and Providence. The tapes should have been delivered to Care New England Health System and sent off-site. The move was to facilitate the transfer of legacy radiology data to a new archiving system.

The consent judgment says that data breached included the names of patients, their birth dates, social security numbers, the names of their doctors, patient exam dates, and ultrasound images. The state said that the data breach occurred because the hospitals tracking and inventory system was not adequate, and that almost a year purportedly lapsed before anyone noticed during the Spring of 2012 that the tapes were even missing. The state of Massachusetts says that deficient internal policies and employee training then caused the breach to go unreported until the fall of that year.

July 31, 2014

Another Hot Car Victim: A Somber Reminder to All Parents

by Altman & Altman

A Southern California boy died tragically yesterday after becoming trapped in his family’s car.

The 3-year old had apparently climbed into the unlocked car during the afternoon hours while he was playing alone in the front yard. The car door had shut and the boy was unable to get out. Both of his parents were home at the time; his father found him after he had awoken from a nap. It was unclear how long the child was alone in the hot car. The child was rushed to an area hospital but sadly, had already passed away.

This tragic incident is just another stark reminder, to all parents with young children, of the importance of knowing where your children are and what your children are doing at all times. This child’s death, according to San Francisco State University, marks the 19th hot-car death this year. In 2013, the number was 44-and approximately 625 children in the United States have died this way since 1998.

“It’s reasonable to call this an epidemic,” says memory expert Dr. David Diamond, a scientist at the Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, who is often consulted on such cases. “It happens, on average, once a week from spring to early fall.”

According to SFSU’s report, an examination of media reports revealed about the 606 child vehicular heatstroke deaths for an fourteen year period (1998 through 2013) shows the following circumstances:

• 51% – child “forgotten” by caregiver (312 Children)
• 29% – child playing in unattended vehicle (177)
• 18% – child intentionally left in vehicle by adult (111)
• 1% – circumstances unknown (6)

With the summer still in full force, we at Altman & Altman, would like to send a friendly reminder to all parents of how serious this problem is and offer some helpful tips (compiled from WebMD) to keep your children safe while the weather is still hot.
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July 30, 2014

More Than 600 Crash Victims Sue GM

by Altman & Altman

Over 600 victims involved in crashes with recalled General Motors cars have gone to federal court to seek compensation from the automaker, CNN reports.

According to CNN, the majority of the victims of this case, including 29 people who died, are not eligible to receive compensation from the fund that GM had established back in May, because their cars were not part of GM’s recalls.

GM has recalled more than 26 million other cars and trucks so far this year for a variety of problems, and most of those involve other problems with ignition switches.

Victims and their lawyers have raised concerns over whether the formula calculated by GM’s fund administrator Kenneth Feinberg is accurate or fair.

“This makes absolutely no sense that the fund is restricted to the first 2.6 million vehicles initially recalled for ignition switch issues,” said Robert Hilliard, a Corpus Christi, Texas personal injury attorney who has been one of the leading attorneys pressing GM on the recall crisis. “GM needs to step up and acknowledge the blood on its hands from all of these recalled cars.”

Starting tomorrow, victims may file a claim for compensation and still proceed with the lawsuit. If they decide to accept the final amount offered to them by the fund, they will have to drop out of the suit at that time. GM estimates that it will pay at least $400 million through the compensation fund, although there is no cap on amount it will pay.
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July 29, 2014

Lawrence, MA Man Hospitalized Following Near Drowning in Pool

by Altman & Altman

Gregorio “Junior” Ortega, a 20-year-old from Lawrence, Massachusetts is in a coma after he almost drowned in a wave pool at a New England water park. According to relative, the near drowning happened while Ortega was attending his 13-year-old’s brother’s birthday.

The swimming accident occurred around noon while Ortega was in the wave pool at Water Country park. His cousin, Nicole Villafane, says that that he struggled in the water for some time before he was rescued.

She believes that the wave pool was too crowded that day and there should have been more than four lifeguards on duty. The lifeguards and park staff performed CPR on Ortega until firefighters and paramedics arrived. According to Portsmouth, N.H. Fire Chief Steven Achilles, it is not uncommon for the fire department to get calls at least once or twice a week during the summer about injuries that occurred at the park.

July 27, 2014

A Reminder for Safer Summer Biking

by Altman & Altman

With the summer in full force and more bicyclists on the roads than ever in Massachusetts, Altman & Altman would like to send out some friendly tips to both cyclists and drivers to stay safe on the roadsthis season.

According to the NHTSA‘s July edition of Safety in Numbers, in 2012 most bicyclist fatalities occurred between 4 p.m. and midnight (48%) and in urban areas (69%). One in four bicyclists (24%) who died in crashes had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher, the illegal alcohol level in all states.

To prevent deaths and injuries, the NHTSA offers up the following tips for both bikers and drivers:

BICYCLISTS SHOULD ALWAYS:

– Wear a properly-fitted helmet that meets Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standards.
– Ride focused and alert: don’t use electronic devices, and never ride impaired by alcohol or drugs.
– Be visible: wear bright colors, and use reflective materials and lights on your bicycle at night.
– Check your bike before heading out: check all equipment and parts for proper fit and function, including tires, brakes, handlebars and seats.
– Ride as a vehicle on the road; always travel in the same direction as traffic. Drivers do not expect bicyclists to come from the opposite direction.
– Obey traffic signs, signals and lane markings; signal all turns; and follow local laws.
– Be predictable by riding in a straight line, check over your shoulder for traffic when changing lanes, and always signal every lane change or turn when in traffic. Look ahead for traffic and obstacles.

DRIVERS SHOULD ALWAYS:

– Be predictable and signal your intentions to others.
– Obey the speed limit, drive defensively, watch for others, including bicyclists, and be prepared to stop.
– Turn off cell phones.
– Allow enough room when passing bicyclists, as you would when passing another vehicle.
– Yield to bicyclists as though they were a motorist.
– Stop completely before making a right turn on red and in addition to looking left-right-left, look behind to check for bicyclists approaching from the rear.
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July 24, 2014

General Motors Recalls Another 800,000 Cars, Cites More Deaths Related to Faulty Ignition Switches

by Altman & Altman

Automaker General Motors is recalling yet another 822,000 cars in six new recalls, upping its total number of recalls this year to 60 recalls. The new recalls means that already this year, GM has recalled 29 million million autos globally.

The latest recall involves numerous safety issues, including those affecting air bags, car seats, turn signals, power steering, and other faulty parts. A number of the autos included in this recall were part of some of the earlier recalls involving other safety concerns.

GM is also recalling around 475,000 autos over a defect that may cause the front and passenger seats to lift and lower due to a loose bolt. Different models of the Cadillac SRX, the Chevrolet Equinox and Camaro, the Buck Regal and LaCrosse, and the GMC Terraine are affected. Already, one crash and three injuries have been reported.

July 21, 2014

Massachusetts Hot Air Balloon Crashes, Explodes Into Power Lines & Injures Five

by Altman & Altman

The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into what caused the Massachusetts hot air balloon accident that left five people injured. The accident happened Saturday when the balloon “Raspberry Ripple” struck power lines as its operator tried to land in Clinton, Worcester County. The operator of the hot air balloon is Damn Yankee Balloons, which is based in Maine.

The impact with the lines caused a couple of explosions, resulting severe burns to two of the passengers. There is a possibility that the hot air balloon wasn’t flying high enough during the birthday celebration ride. The balloon crash-landed on private property.

The Clinton, MA hot air balloon accident took place just two months after another hot air balloon also struck power lines, exploding into flames in Virginia. Three people died in that incident.

July 16, 2014

Actor Tracy Morgan Sues Wal-Mart Over Catastrophic Truck Accident

by Altman & Altman

Actor Tracy Morgan has filed a truck accident lawsuit against Wal-Mart. The former 30 Rock star and Saturday Night Live alum almost died in a limo bus-truck crash on the New Jersey Turnpike last month. Now, Morgan is suing the retail giant for negligence.

Morgan’s personal assistant Jeffrey Millea, comedian Ardley Fuqua, and Millea’s spouse Krista are also plaintiffs in this case. Millea and Fuqua were injured in the collision. Comedian James McNair, who was also a passenger on the limo bus but is not one of the plaintiffs, died from his injuries. His family will likely file a wrongful death case.

The catastrophic collision happened when a Wal-Mart truck rear-ended Morgan’s limo bus. Truck driver Kevin Roper is accused of operating the large truck at 20 mph above the speed limit, driving close to his limit time, and not sleeping in the 24 hours leading up to the accident. Under federal rules, truck drivers are allowed to work no more than 14 hours a day and no more than 11 hours behind the wheel.