Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

March 13, 2014

303 Fatalities Linked to Failed Air Bags In Recalled General Motors Cars

Just week after General Motors announced that it was doubling the amount of cars it was recalling over faulty ignition switches that had been linked to 13 deaths, a new review of federal information is showing that there have been at least 303 fatalities involving air bags that didn’t inflate on two of the models recalled. The automaker is recalling 1.4 million vehicles in the US alone, including Pontiac G5s and Chevrolet Cobalts (’05, ’06, and ’07 models) and Chevrolet HHR SUVs, Pontiac Solstices, and Saturn Sky Cars ([06, ’07 models) and Saturn Ions (’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, and ’07 models). The air bag deaths occurred in Ions and Cobalts.

If you were injured in car crash involving a GM vehicle (or any other auto) that had air bags that failed to deploy or because the ignition switch failed, please contact our Boston auto defects law firm today. Altman & Altman LLP represents victims and their families against automakers and others in wrongful death cases, auto products liability lawsuits, air bag cases, and other types of injury claims.

The GM recall was over ignition switches at risk of moving from “run” position to off, which could shut down the engine and the electrical power. The problem seemed to arise if the driver’s key chain is too heavy or the roads are extremely rough. The shutting down of the power may also turn off the power brakes, power steering, and deactivate the air bags.

March 13, 2014

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Continues to Prosecute Offenders and Protect the Consumer

by Altman & Altman

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, though perhaps not as immediately recognizable by the public as other key pieces of legislation such as the Sherman Antitrust Act, has been repeatedly proven to play a crucial role in protecting the American public and law-abiding business from corporations engaging in illegal bribery and business practices both in the United States and abroad.

Most recently, Alcoa, the world’s third largest aluminum producer was found to be in violation of the FCPA. The Securities and Exchanges Commission alleged Alcoa, along with AWAC (AWAC is a global bauxite mining and alumina refining enterprise between Alcoa Inc. and Alumina Limited) paid numerous bribes to government officials in the country of Bahrain regarding contract negotiations between Alcoa and a major government-operated aluminum plant, according the official SEC press release. According to the Alcoa website, the New York and Philadelphia-based company employs “approximately 60,000 people in 30 countries around the world.” An SEC investigation uncovered more than $110 million in corrupt payments made to Bahraini officials with connections to a key government-controlled aluminum plant.

As is the case with many FCPA violations, the SEC accused the aluminum producing giant of falsely recording these transactions as “legitimate commissions or sales to a distributor.” As a result of this illegal activity, as well as a civil case brought forth, Alcoa has been fined a total of $384 million. This fine is among the largest imposed by the SEC, with the largest being $800 million paid out Siemens AG in 2008. Kara N. Brockmeyer, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s FCPA Unit added, “The extractive industries have historically been exposed to a high risk of corruption, and those risks are as real today as when the FCPA was first enacted.”
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March 13, 2014

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: What You Need to Know

by Altman & Altman

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was enacted by congress to protect the American public and law-abiding companies and prosecute those who engage in illegal bribery and business practices with foreign governments for the purpose of gaining or maintaining business. According to the FCPA Resource Guide, “when business is won or lost based on how much a company is willing to pay in bribes rather than on the quality of its products and services, law-abiding companies are placed at a competitive disadvantage-and consumers lose.”

Cases involving businesses that violate FCPA guidelines are extremely sensitive to the Securities and Exchanges Commission because they are harmful to the free market economy in America. Competition is the cornerstone of capitalism and the SEC aims to level the playing field among businesses and reestablish public confidence in the market with the Act.
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March 12, 2014

2 Bruins Fans Injured at TD Garden

by Altman & Altman

Two women were injured at the TD Garden last week after being hit by protective netting.

The accident occurred when the netting, which is designed to protect fans from flying pucks, was being raised at the end of the game. The women were struck by the net’s metal frame. Though the women did not suffer life-threatening injuries, they were both taken to Mass General Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

When are stadiums and arenas responsible for injuries to fans?

Millions of people visit stadiums and arenas every year to attend sporting events, concerts, and other spectator shows, and while these events are often fun and memorable, they can also be dangerous.

Because injuries at these events are almost inevitable, many owners and managing companies seek to mitigate these risks by adding a printed disclaimer to each event ticket. A disclaimer is essentially a waiver of legal responsibility for the venue whereby the purchaser understands the risk for injury and assumes accountability should he or she be hurt during an event. In addition to a printed disclaimer, venues who regularly host events, especially sporting venues, are outfitted with protective equipment to prevent spectator injury. At the TD Garden, the protective netting is designed to block pucks from flying into the spectator crowd.
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March 11, 2014

Multiple Injuries in MBTA Green Line Derailment

by Altman & Altman

At approximately 12:30pm on Monday, March 10th, an MBTA Green line train heading outbound toward Riverside derailed and struck a wall near the Beacon Street portal where the D and C lines intersect, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. Multiple minor injuries were reported, with conflicting accounts coming from Boston EMS and MBTA Transit Police. Boston EMS reported via Twitter that 10 people, including the train operator, were taken to local hospital, while MBTA Transit police reported six injuries. Four people, including the operator of the derailed car reported having back pain following the crash, according to WHDH. Though most of the injuries reported were from the derailed train, some passengers in a train directly behind the accident were treated for injuries as the operator had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the disabled train.

According to the verified MBTA Twitter page, service between Kenmore and Fenway on the D line and Kenmore and St. Mary’s Street on the C line was shut down for the remainder of the day. Crews worked through the night to make sure MBTA service returned to normal this morning just after 5:00am.
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March 7, 2014

Nursing Home Negligence?: National Report Says 1/3rd of Residents Harmed Because of Care Given

by Altman & Altman

The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued a report finding that a third of nursing home patients released are harmed by the care that they receive at these professional facilities. Many of the incidents reportedly could have been prevented. NPR says that according to Ruth Ann Drill, a deputy regional inspector general, a lot of the failures that caused this harm involved the ordinary, daily care that nursing homes are supposed to provide residents.

In Massachusetts, our Boston nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers represent residents that were hurt or whose health suffered because they did not receive the proper care they were owed at a professional care facility. Please contact Altman & Altman, LLP today to find out if we can help you.

The report looked at the records of 362 Medicare beneficiaries who had been moved from hospitals to skilled nursing homes for additional care between 2011 and 2012. The patients stayed at these care facilities for no more than 35 days. Out of the patients reviewed, one in five of them suffered adverse events while staying at these nursing homes. These events typically were related to the failure to provide proper care, including incidents involving patient medication, ongoing care, and infections.

February 28, 2014

Dozens Injured After Being Exposed to Carbon Monoxide

by Altman & Altman

Emergency officials in Ogunquit, Maine were dispatched to a local resort after reports of high levels of carbon monoxide and guests becoming ill.

More than twenty people were affected by exposure to carbon monoxide, suffering illness including vomiting, headaches, nausea and dizziness. York Fire Chief Mark O’Brien said that more than a dozen were evacuated and 7 people were admitted at an area hospital for treatment. All were listed in stable condition. O’Brien said that carbon monoxide readings in the resort’s basement read 10 times the normal level, and the building did not have carbon monoxide detectors present.

Fortunately all of the guests involved in this incident were not seriously injured, however this is the second carbon monoxide-related incident to occur in the Northeast in less than a week. Last week, a restaurant manager at a Long Island Legal Seafood was found unconscious when carbon monoxide leaked into the building. Twenty-seven other people were taken to an area hospital for carbon monoxide exposure. According to an initial investigation by N.Y. fire marshal Terence McNally, there had been defective heating equipment in the building–specifically a flu pipe from one of the water heaters that had failed. The restaurant also did not have a carbon monoxide detector. Under N.Y. law, only places where people sleep are required to have carbon monoxide detectors.

Though these incidents occurred outside of Massachusetts, they exemplify the dangers posed to guests when building codes are violated. A building code is essentially the rules for keeping buildings and other structures minimally safe. Building inspectors are responsible for making sure buildings adhere to these codes to ensure that they are sound and properly constructed, have adequate means of exit in the event of a fire, and are otherwise sufficiently safe and sanitary.
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February 28, 2014

Woman Sues Dunkin’ Donuts After Suffering Burns from Hot Beverage

by Altman & Altman

A woman in New Jersey is suing Dunkin’ Donuts for burns she sustained after ordering a hot apple cider from the coffee retailer, and subsequently spilling it on herself.

The product liability suit was filed February 11 by Jennifer Fragoso. Fragoso alleges that Dunkin’ Donuts was negligent and breached it warranty to its customers by serving her a beverage that was excessively hot. According to the complaint, she had visited a Dunkin’ location in September of 2012 where she ordered a hot apple cider. Fragoso accused workers at the Belleville, N.J. location of improperly securing the lid, causing it to become dislodged and for the hot contents to spill into her lap. Fragoso suffered painful second-degree and third-degree burns and is now permanently scarred with full-thickness scars that will never heal, according to her lawyer.

Though the Canton, MA-based retailer has not formally commented on the matter, a spokeswoman for the Dunkin’ brand did say that all of Dunkin’ Donuts’ hot beverage cups come with a displayed warning reading: “CAUTION: THIS BEVERAGE IS EXTREMELY HOT.” Fragoso’s attorney said that while this warning label may provide the company the opportunity to argue that the purchaser mishandled the product, the fact remains that a person cannot sustain third-degree burns unless the beverage was excessively high.

Products liability lawsuits like Fragoso’s have become much more common since one of the first lawsuits of its type involving an elderly woman and a McDonald’s coffee came to fruition more than 20 years ago. The woman, like Fragoso, had ordered a hot beverage and been seriously burned after it spilled onto her lap. She sued McDonald’s to cover her related medical expenses however she was awarded $3 million in punitive damages when the case was brought to trial. Though the case became complex, the facts remained clear that McDonald’s did not willingly accept responsibility for their share in the incident, and according to jurors, did not seem to take the victim’s injuries seriously.
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February 27, 2014

Boston Wrongful Death Lawsuits Accuses Ex-New England Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez in 2012 Shooting

by Altman & Altman

The families of two men have filed $6M Boston wrongful death lawsuits against Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end. Their loved ones, Daniel Abreu, 28, and Saffiro Furtado, 27, were riding in a BMW in July 2012 when they were fatally shot. They plaintiffs contend that Hernandez fired the weapon from his car into the vehicle carrying the two men. Two other people in the vehicle with the victims survived the drive-by shooting.

Court documents unsealed last month showed that police have suggested that Hernandez may have been the one to pull the trigger in the Boston double homicide. In a June 2013 warrant used to search a Toyota linked to the 24-year-old and seen at the crime, the authorities said they believed there was “probable cause.” CNN has reported that a grand jury is examining whether he was involved in the incident.

Meantime, Hernandez remains behind bars. He is being held on weapons and first-degree murder charges in the fatal shooting of Odin Lloyd, who was a friend of his. The ex-NFL player has pleaded not guilty.

February 22, 2014

8-Year-Old Killed in Gardner, MA Injury Accident Involving a Falling TV Set at an Elementary School

by Altman & Altman

Colby O’Brien, 8, died earlier this month after he was struck by a television set that fell on him. O’Brien and his twin sister were watching Toy Story 2 during an afterschool program at Elm Street Elementary School in Gardner when the tragedy happened.

An investigation is pending to determine exactly what happened to cause the Massachusetts falling objects accident. However, one parent whose child attends the school said that the TV sets used at the school are typically the “big, old fashioned boxy” type and they are usually placed on metal carts.

Witnesses who were there when the Gardner injury accident happened at the school said that they didn’t see the television fall on O’Brien. After hearing a bang, they turned to find the boy on the floor with the TV on him.