Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

March 30, 2013

Not All Boston Child Injuries in Cars Involve Actual Massachusetts Traffic Crashes

At Altman & Altman, LLP, our Boston personal injury lawyers also represent the families of kids injured in non-traffic related Massachusetts car accidents that were caused by another negligent party, including incidents involving:

Backover Accidents

This type of car accident often occurs when a vehicle is backing out of a parking space or driveway. The motorist may not realize that a child is behind the car. According to KidsandCars.org, about 50 kids are involved in US backover incidents every week, resulting in about 48 injuries to minors and two deaths. Boston backover accidents are more likely to occur when there is a larger size vehicle involved, such as an SUV, van, or truck. The bigger size can make rear visibility harder for the driver.

March 29, 2013

Allegations of Dental Malpractice Highlight the Dangers that Can Result for Patients

by Altman & Altman

In an investigation that is making national headlines, health investigators say that approximately 7,000 patients that visited an Oklahoma dentist may have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV. The dentist, W. Scott Harrington, has surrendered his dental license and permits to administer medication and anesthesia.

Harrington, a 64-year-old oral surgeon, came under investigation after the dentistry board alerted the health department to a possible hepatitis C infection involving his office. At his clinic, investigators said they discovered:

• Assistants were authorized to perform techniques, including the intravenous sedation of patients, that should only be done by trained dentists • Improper sterilization procedures • Lack of inventory logs for the drug cabinet • At least one drug that expired in 1993 was found • Records indicating that patients were given morphine through 2012 even though Harrington hadn’t received a morphine delivery since 2009 • Dental assistants without permits • An unsanitary work environment • Rusted dental tools • Failure to test the autoclave, which is used to sterilize supplies and equipment, in at least six years

March 28, 2013

More Adult Motorists than Teens May Be Texting While Driving, Finds New Survey

by Altman & Altman

According to a survey conducted by AT & T, 49% of the adult motorists that participated said the have texted while driving. Compare that to 43% of teen drivers that were asked in another survey in 2012. 98% of all respondents said they know that distracted driving is unsafe.

Multitasking is never beneficial while behind the steering wheel of the car. At Altman & Altman, our Boston personal injury lawyers represent clients who suffered serious injuries because of a distracted driving. Texting, talking on the cell phone, reading, surfing the Internet, and sending emails while driving can lead to catastrophic Massachusetts car crashes.

Per the At & T report, which is part of its “It Can Wait” campaign to get drivers to stop texting while behind the wheel, the number of motorists that text appears to be going up instead of down. Out of every 10 respondents, six of them said they didn’t text while driving three years ago. Meantime, 40% of those that do text while driving admit that this is an actual habit rather than a rare occurrence.

March 25, 2013

Woburn, MA Compounding Pharmacy Recalls Drugs After Regulators Find “Foreign Matter” in Vials

by Altman & Altman

Following the discover of “foreign matters” in vials of drugs for injection, Pallimed Solutions, Inc., a Woburn, Massachusetts compounding pharmacy, had recalled over a dozen products. The decision comes after the state board ordered the company to stop making drugs that were supposed to have been manufactured with sterile processes.

So far, there have been no reports of related injuries or illnesses.

Among the products included in the voluntary recall are those used in eye treatments and hormone replacement therapy and for erectile dysfunction. In a press release, Pallimed Solutions said it made the decision to call back the products following an inspection by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy and the US Food and Drug Administration and to ensure patient safety. According to The Globe, late last year the state of Massachusetts told Pallimed to stop making sildenafil citrate, also known as Viagra, because it was manufactured using “improper components.”

March 25, 2013

Boy Viciously Attacked by Two Dogs, Saved by Revere, MA Police

by Altman & Altman

A 14-year-old boy is in critical condition today after being attacked by two Rottweilers Thursday night.

Officers responded last Thursday, March 21, to a fenced-in backyard on Squire Road, in Revere, after the boy’s friend, 12, placed the frantic call to police. The boys had apparently scaled the fence and jumped in the yard to play with the dogs.

Police could not immediately respond to the boy when they arrived because the chain-link fence surrounding the yard was padlocked and topped with barbed wire.

Officer Mike Mullen, who is credited with saving the boy’s life, had to scale the fence while firefighters worked on cutting the gate’s padlock. He shot one of the dogs in the leg, forcing it to retreat from the boy, as firefighters sprayed the other dog with water. Mullen then picked up the bleeding boy, and ran to the boy to firefighters, who then rushed him to an ambulance.

Detective Sergeant Steven Pisano said that if Mullen had not acted so quickly, the boy would have probably died because his injuries were so severe.

According to neighbors, the boy was not a stranger to the dogs, and frequently spent time at that location. Pisano said the property’s owner kept guard dogs in the yard for two decades but had never had any complaints about them.
Continue reading

March 23, 2013

Nursing Home to Pay $2.7M for Medicaid Fraud Claims Brought to Light By Whistleblower

by Altman & Altman

Grace Healthcare LLC will pay $2.7M with interest to resolve fraud violations that it either knew of or caused their submission related to the Medicare and TennCare/Medicaid programs. The allegations were reported in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by one of the nursing home manager’s former employees, who will now receive $405,000 per the Qui Tam provisions of the act, which not only lets private citizens sue for Medicare and Medicaid fraud on the US government’s behalf but also allows them to receive a percentage of any recovery.

By settling, Grace Healthcare is not denying or admitting to the allegations. The US Justice Department, however, says that the nursing home company turned in false claims for rehabilitation services that were not medically necessary or reasonable, including occupational, physical, and speech therapy services that were provided at 10 facilities to fulfill their Medicare revenue goals, which were purportedly determined without factoring the patients’ actual individual needs for therapy.

Meantime, Legal News Online is reporting that since January 2009, the US Department of Justice has recovered over $14 billion in false claims cases, including $10.2 billion related to fraud committed against federal health care programs.

March 21, 2013

Boston Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed by Former Student Claims Inappropriate Relationship with Teacher

by Altman & Altman

A former Andover, MA student is suing Pike School, Groton School, and staff at the two schools for Boston personal injury. The plaintiff, who is now in his 30’s, claims that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female teacher. He believes that staff at the two schools behaved negligently in that they failed to notice and prevent the teacher, Judith Elefante, from acting with him the way she did.

In his Boston sexual abuse case, the alleged victim says that the sexual relationship with Elefante began at Pike School and went on while he attended Groton School (and also, later in college). He claims that Elefante took advantage of his self-confidence and dependency problems and assaulted, raped, and battered him. The plaintiff says that because of the alleged sexual abuse, he stopped going to school and suffered serious permanent emotional and physical injuries.

Sexual Abuse and Emotional Injuries

March 19, 2013

Preventing Boston Nursing Home Abuse: Alzheimer’s Association Reports that One in Three Elderly Seniors that Dies has Dementia

by Altman & Altman

According to the advocacy group the Alzheimer’s Association, figures from Medicaid and Medicare indicate that out of three older adults that die, one of them will have been suffering from dementia. While this type of mental illness may not necessarily be the actual cause of death, dementia can speed up a person’s decline by upping the risk for other illnesses and impeding cancer and heart disease care. Also according to the report, 61% of patients in their seventies suffering from dementia are expected to die before they turn eighty, while that figure is only at 30% for septuagenarians who don’t have Alzheimer’s.

Possible Signs of Dementia:

• Memory loss • Forgetfulness • Problems learning new skills • Diminished social skills • Personality change • Withdrawal • Violent behavior • Agitation • Communication problems • Reasoning difficulties • Coordination and motor function problems • Paranoia • Hallucinations • Agitation

March 15, 2013

Johnson & Johnson Must Pay $8.3M Hip Defect Verdict to Retired Prison Guard

by Altman & Altman

In the first hip defect verdict against Johnson & Johnson over its DePuy artificial hip, a jury has ordered the healthcare company to pay $8.3 million to Loren Kransky, an ex-prison guard. The 65-year-old claimed that he developed health issues, including metal poisoning, after he received his implant in 2007. Three years later, J & J recalled approximately 93,000 artificial ASR hip implants.

In his hip implant lawsuit, Kransky accused the manufacturer of failing to warn about the risks, design defect, and negligence. Meantime, lawyers for J & J contended that the plaintiff’s injuries were a result of pre-existing medical conditions and an unrelated infection rather than the ASR XL hip.

While all-metal hips comprised about 40% of all US hip replacement devices in 2008, they have become much less popular in the wake of growing worries that they aren’t as safe or effective as previously thought.

March 13, 2013

Teen Car Crash Deaths in Three States A Reminder to Young Boston Motorists to Drive with Caution

by Altman & Altman

Our Boston personal injury law firm represents victims that were involved in serious Massachusetts motor vehicle crashes. There can be many reasons why a traffic crash might happen. Drunken driving, distracted driving, drugged driving, speeding, carelessness, recklessness, drowsy driving, and auto defects are among the more common causes. Another cause of auto injuries and deaths is driver inexperience, which is common among teen drivers. Many of them lack the experience behind the steering wheel that can only come from years of actually operating a motor vehicle.

In the last few days, three tragic auto accidents involving teens in three different states have been a powerful reminder that teen driving can be dangerous. In Ohio early Sunday, six teenagers were killed when the stolen SUV that they were riding in overturned on a guardrail. The driver and five of the passengers died. Two other teens survived the collision.

Also on Sunday in Texas, five teens in a Chevrolet SUV were killed when the vehicle they were in crashed into a gasoline tanker. According to officials, the driver, age 16, failed to halt at a stop sign and collided with the large truck at an intersection. Everyone in the vehicle, including two sisters, died.

In Illinois, four teens were found dead in a sedan in a creek bed on Tuesday morning. The two girls and two boys ranged in age from 15 to 17.

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, per miles driven, teen drivers are three times more likely than older motorists to be involved in a deadly collision. Auto crashes continue to be the number one cause of youth fatalities in this country.

The common causes of motor vehicle crashes that we mentioned above are some of the same reasons that Massachusetts teen driving accidents happen. That said, our Boston car crash lawyers cannot stress how the inexperience of youth can truly impact a teen driver’s ability to navigate challenging road conditions, bad weather, emergency situations, and rush hour traffic.

Ohio to Texas to Illinois: Toll of teen driving deaths rises, Los Angeles Times, March 12, 2013

Teen Drivers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Massachusetts Teen Driving Guide, DMV

More Blog Posts:
Recent Tragic Car Crashes A Reminder that Teen Driving Can Be Dangerous, Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March12, 2013

Former Middleboro, MA Teacher Dies in Tragic Car Crash, Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March 12, 2013

Child Left Alone for Hours on Cambridge, MA School Bus, Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March 12, 2013 Continue reading