Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

April 29, 2013

Boston Playground Accidents Can Cause Serious Massachusetts Child Injuries

Every year, over 200,000 kids are injured in playground accidents in the United States. Sometimes, the injuries are a result of what can sometimes happen when children are busy running around and playing with each other. In other instances, a Boston playground accident could have been avoided were it not for the negligence of others.

Common causes of Massachusetts playground accidents that might be grounds for a Boston injury lawsuit:

Inadequate supervision: adults should properly supervise Kids in playgrounds. When failure to supervise, such as at a school or an event at the playground, allows for injuries to happen, the person or entity tasked with providing the supervision can be held liable. Inadequate supervision also can up the risk of child abductions and sex abuse happening.

April 27, 2013

With Older Adults More Prone to Massachusetts Fall Accidents, Boston Nursing Homes Should Exercise the Needed Care to Protect Patients

by Altman & Altman

According to the CDC, every year, out of every three adults in the 65 and older age group, one of them will be involved in a fall accident-and less than 50% of those that fell will tell their healthcare provider. Considering that fall accidents are the leading cause of injury deaths among seniors who belong to the 65 and older age group, these figures are very disturbing.

At Altman & Altman, LLP, our Boston nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers represent families whose loved ones suffered serious injuries, health complications, or died in a Massachusetts fall accident at a long-term care facility. Nursing home providers know that fall accidents are common for the major demographic that they treat and it is their job to exercise the necessary preventive measures so that residents don’t become a fall accident danger to themselves, such as:

• Removing any spilt liquids, fluids, or foods from the floor • Installing handrails in hallways and in shower stalls • Providing nursing assistance to patients that cannot walk or move properly without help • Installing bed rails • Following proper procedures when using a lift to raise, lower, or transfer a patient from a bed to another bed, wheelchair, gurney, or surgical table • Properly training and educating staff about Massachusetts nursing home falls.

April 26, 2013

Boston Slip and Fall Cases Give Victims A Chance at Financial Recovery

by Altman & Altman

A Massachusetts slip accident on a banana peel, a wet floor, or an icy patch on the sidewalk that causes a fall accident might not seem like a big deal in theory, but, in truth, it can cause serious injuries to the person involved. Back injuries, broken hips, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and even death all have been known to happen in Boston slip and fall accidents, and unless you get legal help, you may find yourself in a deep financial hole with seeming no way out even as you cope with all the other painful ramifications of being involved in this type of incident.

At Altman & Altman, LLP, our Boston premises liability lawyers have more than half a century’s experience assisting Massachusetts slip and fall accident victims get the financial compensation that they are owed. We also have Masachusetts workers’ compensation attorneys that can help employees make sure that they receive all the work injury benefits they are entitled to for their slip/step/stump/trip and fall accident that occurred on the job.

Slip and fall claims are usually based on incidents that occurred on someone else’s property. The premise may be a private one, like someone’s home, a public one, such as a city park or a sidewalk, or a property that is owned by and entity and frequented by members of the public, such as a stadium, a shopping mall, or a supermarket.

April 25, 2013

Drugged Driving and Boston Car Accidents

by Altman & Altman

Per a 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 10.5 million people in the 12 and over age group admitted to driving under the influence of illegal drugs in the year before they were surveyed. The age group that had the highest percentage of drivers that drove while on drugs was the 21 to 25 young adult demographic.

At Altman & Altman, LLP, our Boston car accident lawyers represent victims that have suffered serious injuries or lost loved ones in Massachusetts drugged driving accidents. Contact us today.

A drug doesn’t have to be illegal for it to impair one’s driving abilities, potentially causing a serious traffic crash. Even some over-the-counter medications may impair one’s vision, hearing, judgment, and abilities to react, act, respond, and process. Mix drugs with alcohol and the combination can be lethal for everyone involved.

April 24, 2013

Massachusetts Wrongful Death Lawsuit Sues Facility for the Developmentally Disabled After Man Swallows Latex Glove

by Altman & Altman

In Bristol County Superior Court, the family of Grant Pearson is suing Crystal Springs, a Freetown school for the severely disabled for his Massachusetts wrongful death. They contend that staff failed to keep the 21-year-old Assonet resident safe and they did not provide him with the medical care he needed after he swallowed a latex glove in 2011.The facility provides specialized therapeutic, residential, and educational services to adults and kids that are severely disabled.

Pearson, who lived at Crystal Springs at the time of the fatal accident, suffered from pica. This disorder involves a compulsive craving to eat nonedible items.

Per the Bristol County, MA wrongful death lawsuit, on October 25, 2011, Pearson swallowed a glove that had been left in the bathroom where an attendant gave him a shower. Soon after, he began throwing up and exhibited difficulty breathing. Although other staff members were called in, there was purportedly a delay before an oxygen bag was assembled for him and by then he was unresponsive and foaming at the mouth.

April 19, 2013

Worker Killed in Northampton Construction Accident

by Altman & Altman

Alfred Cabiya, 56, died in a Massachusetts construction accident yesterday morning. The tragic incident happened when he became pinned in the middle of two modular office units. Another worker was treated for non-fatal injuries.

The construction workers were setting up the temporary buildings when one of the units shifted. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Massachusetts’s Department of Industrial Accidents are investigating the incident.

Construction Accidents

April 18, 2013

Family of Teen Girl Who Committed Suicide Following Sexual Assault and Cyberbullying, Intends to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Her Alleged Teen Assailants

by Altman & Altman

The family of Audrie Pott says that they will file a wrongful death lawsuit against her alleged assailants. The 15-year-old killed herself after the three 16-year-old boys allegedly sexually assaulted her at a Labor Day coed overnight party last year and then circulated a photo of the incident via text message, making her the target of cyberbullying. She hanged herself several days later. Her loved ones say that she was unconscious while she was being raped and didn’t know what happened until she saw the picture.

According to the family’s lawyer, her alleged assailants even drew and wrote words on her private parts. They plan to sue the parents that own the home where the unsupervised sleepover occurred. Meantime, they have already filed a negligence claim against the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District, blaming it for negligence.

Their attorney tells ABCNews.com that in Spring 2012, Pott complained about being bullied to the school but that did not document her statements. The school also had determined, soon after her death, that bullying had not been a factor leading to her suicide. The negligence claim opens the doorway to a wrongful death lawsuit later.

April 16, 2013

FDA Chastised For Failing to Go After New England Compounding Center Years Before the Deadly Meningitis Outbreak

by Altman & Altman

Republicans and Democrats in the US House say that the US Food and Drug Administration failed to better police compounding pharmacies prior to the deadly meningitis outbreak that killed over 50 people and afflicted more than 700 others with the virus, spinal infections, joint infections, stroke, and other health issues. Many of the victims still don’t know if they will ever fully recover, and their medical bills have been racking up in the tens of thousands of dollars. The approximately 17,000 tainted vials of methylprednisolone acetate came from the New England Compounding Center (NECC), which is located in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Already, dozens of products liability, drug injury, wrongful death, and dangerous drug lawsuits have been filed by victims and their families seeking to recover compensation for their health issues or the deaths of loved ones. In Massachusetts, contact our Boston personal injury lawyers at Altman & Altman to find out if you have grounds for a case. In addition to drug defect claims, you also may have reason to pursue medical malpractice damages from the doctor and/or medical facility that administered the contaminated steroid injections.

According to lawmakers, the FDA should have been doing more to police compounding pharmacies, including shutting down the NECC before the outbreak happened. Reportedly, it had received numerous complaints from hospitals, patients, doctors, anonymous whistleblowers, and state pharmacy regulators about the pharmacy over a nearly 10-year period.

April 13, 2013

Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Mazda Recall 3.4 Million Vehicles Over Airbag Defects

by Altman & Altman

Nissan, Honda, Mazda, and Toyota are recalling 3.4 million motor vehicles because of airbag safety issues that could cause the devices to catch fire or emit metal fragments that could result in serious injuries to passengers. The airbags come from Takata, a leading supplier. No serious related injuries have been reported thus far.

Over 1.3 million of the autos affected in this global recall are in the US. Due to a manufacturing defect in the propellant that is used in the inflator, the safety device may not deploy correctly. Takata says that if the propellant in certain wafers was compressed incorrectly, a rupture in the airbag might occur.

Among the vehicles impacted are 1.73 million Toyota vehicles, including its Lexus SC430, Sequoia, Corolla, and Tundra models manufactured between 2001 and 2003. Honda’s recall involves 1.1 million vehicles, including Civics, Odysseys, and CR-V’s. 480,000 Nissan vehicles are affected, including the Maxima, Cube, and others, while some 45,000 Mazda RX-8 and 6 models are part of this recall.

April 11, 2013

Woman Awarded $3.35 million in Vaginal Mesh Case against Johnson & Johnson

by Altman & Altman

A South Dakota woman, who had sued Johnson & Johnson after experiencing complications with a vaginal mesh implant, was awarded $3.35 million after a jury determined J&J and its subsidiary Ethicon Inc., failed to adequately warn her doctor of potential dangers of the implant and misrepresented the product in its brochures.

The woman, identified as Linda Gross, had received the implant in 2006, where she shortly thereafter began experiencing medical complications including “mesh erosion, scar tissue, inflammation, and neurologic compromise to structures and tissues.” Gross alleged that J&J and Ethicon Inc. were liable for the product’s defective design, manufacture, warnings and instructions.

Gross’s lawyer, Ben Andersen, said the case was significant to women’s health litigation, and stated that “[the verdict] is a strong statement to Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon that they cannot put profits before safety.”

Original Article from: Fox Business
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