by

Karen Scott, 58, was killed in a Boston car accident on Tuesday when the ambulance she was being transported in was hit by a car. The ambulance proceeded to roll over before righting itself on a guardrail. Scott, a dialysis patient, leaves behind a husband and two children.

According to police, a Mercedes-Benz that ran a stop sign hit the ambulance’s rear quarter panel. Police say that the stretcher Scott was on appeared to have gotten loose during the Massachusetts traffic crash. The driver of the car, 61-year-old Framingham resident Lisa Zemack, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. She has been charged with failure to grant right-of-way and failure to stop. Police are still investigation what happened. Also injured in the Boston rollover accident was a paramedic that was riding with Scott.

Boston Car Accidents

Continue reading

by

More than half a dozen residents at an apartment building were sent to the emergency room after being exposed to carbon monoxide on Sunday.

Manchester, N.H. firefighters responded to the building, where they found dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide. All of the residents were evacuated and sent to a nearby hospital for treatment while the apartment building was ventilated. Upon inspection firefighters found that there were no carbon monoxide detectors in the apartment, a safety violation on behalf of the landlord.

While this case occurred in New Hampshire, it is a clear example of negligence on the part of the landlord as he violated safety codes established in his state. The states of both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, as of January 2010, require the installation of properly working carbon monoxide detectors.

New Hampshire laws § 150:10-a:
Requires the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in rental units and in single and multi-family dwellings built or substantially rehabilitated after January 1, 2010.

Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 148, § 26f1/2:
Requires that every dwelling, building or structure occupied in whole or in part for residential purposes that contains fossil-fuel burning equipment or incorporates enclosed parking within its structure shall be equipped by the owner with working, approved carbon monoxide alarms.

Building codes are rules for keeping buildings and other structures minimally safe. In Massachusetts, the Board of Building Regulations and Standards has adopted standards of building codes to ensure that buildings are safe and free of hazards to the public. These provisions include fire codes, structural codes, and sanitary codes.
Continue reading

by

The Associated Press says it obtained a document revealing that Pope Benedict XVI defrocked close to 400 priests during 2011 and 2012 for sexually abusing children. The information comes from data the Vatican has been gathering to assist the Holy See’s defense before The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child this week.

Speaking before the panel, Monsignor Charles Scicluna, who once served as the sex crimes prosecutor of the Vatican, said that the Holy See now understands that certain changes need to be made in the handling of clergy sex abuse cases. Last year, Pope Francis made the recommendation that the church take decisive action by speaking out about the protection of minors, taking the guilty to task, and helping the victims.

Please contact Altman & Altman, LLP if you believe your child was a victim of Massachusetts clergy sexual abuse and you would like to explore legal options. We also represent adults who were the victims of Boston sexual abuse as children.

Continue reading

by

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a warning in response to the tragic incident in which two young siblings were found unresponsive after being locked in a hope chest on Sunday evening.

According to investigators, the two children had been playing in the chest and accidently locked themselves inside and were unable to unlock it. Officials reported that the lid could only be released from the outside, not from within.

In 1996, the Lane Company issued a voluntary recall for 12 million hope chests with lids that automatically shut when closed after reports that a half dozen children had suffocated inside the chests. The company also offered customers the option of installing safety locks on cedar chests with latches.

The CPSC has since ordered customers buying new hope chests to make sure that it has a lid support that will hold the lid open at any position, or to purchase chests that do not have lids or with lightweight, removable lids, or chests with sliding doors or panels to prevent a falling lid. The CPSC has also told customers who’ve been handed down hope chests by family members to ensure the product has ventilation holes that will not be blocked if the chest is placed against the wall, when closed, and leaves a space between the lid and the sides of the chest.
Continue reading

by

Two siblings died on Sunday after they became entrapped in an old hope chest. Lexi Munroe, 8, and Sean Munroe, 7, were pronounced dead at the hospital. Police say that the Franklin, MA entrapment incident appears to be accidental. Autopsy reports are pending.

The family had purchased chest secondhand over 10 years ago. Lane Furniture, a company that has recalled millions of hope chest over the years due to safety concerns, made the hope chest. Heritage Home Group now owns Lane Furniture.

According to the Associated Press, there were multiple relatives, including an adult, in the home when the Franklin, MA suffocation accident happened. The chest was located next to a TV that had its volume turned up.

Continue reading

by

Andrea Rizzitano is suing the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families for the wrongful death of her great-nephew. In her lawsuit, the Waltham woman says the state agency failed to protect Kadyn, 13 months, from his mother, who later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of the boy.

Autopsy results indicate that the child died from blunt-force trauma. He also suffered from contusions of the liver, stomach, and colon, as well as internal bleeding.

Rizzitano claims that the DCF repeatedly disregarded warnings that Kadyn’s mother, Christina Hancock, was neglecting and abusing the child. Just two months before his death the boy was admitted to the ER wit a broken arm. A doctor even filed a 51A complaint alleging abuse. While the child was temporarily removed from his home, he was eventually returned to his mother.

Continue reading

by

A pedestrian suffered a serious injury after being struck by a car in a hit-and-run accident.

Worcester police responded to a Summer Street residence after reports a man was struck by a small, white, foreign vehicle. Witnesses told police that the victim flew onto the hood of the vehicle before rolling off, and falling to the pavement. The victim is reportedly in good condition and recovering at a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Unfortunately, pedestrian traffic accidents account for more than 13% of all traffic-related fatalities and 3% of all personal injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a pedestrian is injured every eight minutes and one pedestrian dies every two hours as the result of a traffic accident in the United States. Approximately 20% of all pedestrian car accidents according to the NHTSA, are also hit-and-run accidents. While we do not have much information about this particular incident, what can be assumed is that this young lady was walking during the early morning hours; at a time where there was minimal daylight.

In order to prevent an accident and keep themselves visible to motorists, pedestrians should always:
-Wear bright or reflective clothing and carry a flashlight when walking during the early hours of the morning, at dusk, or at night.
-Walk on sidewalks (whenever possible) and walk against the traffic when there are no sidewalks.
-Cross at designated crosswalks whenever possible.

In addition, drivers can prevent pedestrian accidents by:
-Yielding to the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing streets in marked or unmarked crosswalks. 
-Yielding to pedestrians while turning at intersections or onto another street.
-Being vigilant and aware of pedestrians walking at night, when it is dark out.
-Slowing near major crosswalks.
Continue reading

by

A woman died in East Boston on Tuesday when the Meridian Street Bridge, also referred to as the Andrew McArdle Bridge, closed on top of her. Boston police are trying to figure out exactly what happened to cause the Massachusetts pedestrian accident.

Aura Garcia was crossing the bridge when it started to open. According to WCVB, the bridge operator did not appear to know that the 46-year-old pedestrian was there and started to raise the structure for a boat traveling on the Chelsea River. When Garcia, who grabbed one of the bridge’s sides, started to scream, the operator lowered it but she then got trapped between the plates and was crushed to death.

The bridge operator has since been put on leave pending the results of an investigation. It is not known right now whether operator error was the cause of the tragic accident or whether Garcia disregarded the alarms or warning lights. Bridge malfunction could also be a factor.

Continue reading

by

A young boy was seriously injured after being struck by a tree, in a relative’s backyard last week.

According to witness reports, a group of adults and children were hooking a zipline to a tree in a back yard. When the boy went on the zipline, the 25-30 foot tree it was hooked to fell on him. The boy was seriously injured, and taken to Children’s Hospital of Boston. The situation remains under investigation by local and state officials.

Unfortunately, this incident illustrates a potential premises liability case. Though this type of incident specifically is uncommon, some common types of injuries that occur at others’ homes or on another’s property may include slip-and-fall incidents, falls (from an open window), as well as strikes from loose objects. In this case, the homeowners had the legal obligation to ensure that their guests were safe from dangerous situations.

Premises liability cases tend to be complex, and it is most advised for those who have been involved in these types of incidents to contact an experienced Premises Liability Attorney to discuss their options and eligibility for filing a premises liability lawsuit.
Continue reading

by

A court has ruled that Jai McMath, the 13-year-old girl who was declared brain dead following complications from a tonsillectomy, can stay hooked up to a ventilator for at least another week. The decision was issued right before the 8pm, ET deadline Monday for when Children’s Hospital & Research Center would have been allowed to remove her from the machines that are keeping her alive. The tragedy could be reason for the family to pursue a medical malpractice case.

McMath, who had her tonsils, extra sinus tissue, and adenoids removed at the California hospital earlier this month, had been alert and was even talking after the procedure, which doctors had recommended she undergo to treat her sleep apnea. Soon after, however, the teenager started to bleed excessively and experienced cardiac arrest. Medical professionals have officially declared her dead.

Now, however, McMath’s family is fighting to keep her alive in the event that she somehow recovers. Her mother says that when she talks to the young girl, her body responds to the sound of her voice.

Continue reading
Contact Information
Cambridge, MA
Main Office
675 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: 617.492.3000Fax: 617.491.3299Toll Free: 800.481.6199
Boston, MA
1 State St
Suite 2
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: 617.547.1205Toll Free: 800.481.6199
Needham, MA
250 First Avenue 2nd Floor
Needham, MA 02494
Phone: 781.675.2329Toll Free: 800.481.6199

Some Select Cases are referred to other attorneys for principal responsibility

By publishing this information on this Website, the Boston, Massachusetts law firm of Altman & Altman LLP is not claiming to represent any clients or cases mentioned here. The content provided is designed to inform readers and is not intended as legal advice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2025, Altman & Altman LLP
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design