Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

March 12, 2013

Child Left Alone for Hours on Cambridge, MA School Bus

Update: Driver of Bus Fired After Investigation

The driver that left the five-year old Cambridge child on the bus last week, has been fired.

Jim Misercola of Eastern Bus Company said that as of Tuesday morning, the driver had been terminated. The driver, who has remained unidentified, has been working with the company for 4 years. Misercola stated that he had never had any problems with the driver before.

Jim Maloney of Cambridge Public Schools said that regardless of any punishment, the driver will not be allowed back on city school routes. He also said school officials are inquiring whether a device used to confirm post-trip inspection installed on the bus was working. The device requires drivers to walk to the back of the bus and manually press a button to shut the system off. If it is not shut off, the bus horn sounds and the lights flash until the button is pressed.

According to Misercola, the device is not required by law but was installed on the bus the child was on. He said that despite whether or not the device is operating, drivers are required by law to inspect their buses after their final stop, and this driver inherently failed to do so.

Find this article at Boston.com

Original Article:

A five-year old spent several hours locked on a Massachusetts school bus Thursday afternoon, when the driver failed to perform a walk-through after finishing the route.

Tara Dendy of Cambridge said she went to pick up her son Reign on Thursday, March 11, from his after-school program at the Margaret Fuller House around 5:45 p.m., only to find he did not get off the bus.

“They told me he never showed up, and I just closed my eyes,” Dendy said. “I said I have to find out where my child is.”

Dendy frantically called the police, who confirmed with school officials that the boy had in fact gotten on the bus. Police immediately rushed to the bus yard and found the little boy cold, crying, and shaking on the school bus. Apparently Reign had fallen asleep during the ride home. The driver had not checked to see if anyone was still on the bus when she finished the route at 3:40 p.m.
Continue reading

March 6, 2013

Clergy Sex Abuse Returns to the Spotlight with Pope Benedict’s Resignation and the Wait for His Successor

by Altman & Altman

Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, speculation is focusing on who will take his place. Now, according to CNN, a group representing victims of clergy sex abuse have come up a list of cardinals that it believes would be the worst papal candidates in light of how they handled claims of child sex abuse in the past.

Included on this “Dirty Dozen” list are three US cardinals: Timothy Dolan of NY, Donald Wuerl of DC, and Sean O’Malley of Massachusetts. While some of the 12 cardinals were named because of they way they allegedly covered up sex abuse incidents, others were included because of public comments they made about the clergy abuse debacle.

The group seeking to blacklist these men is called the Survivors’ Network of Those Abused by Priests. SNAP also wants some of the older cardinals to not take part in the meetings that have been scheduled before the new pope is elected because the organization feels that some of these men actively protected priests that were accused of molesting kids.

March 4, 2013

Dog Involved in Mansfield Dog Attack of Boy to Be Euthanized After Biting Teen Girl

by Altman & Altman

A 3-year-old, 48-pound pointer-hound mix will now be euthanized after he was involved in a second Mansfield, MA dog attack involving a child. Milo first came to the attention of authorities when he bit a 6-year-old boy in January. The child, who was being babysat by the dog’s owner, required over 400 stitches.

Now, Milo has again bitten another child, this time sending a 16-year-old girl to the hospital. His owners have since surrendered him to Mansfield Animal Control.

Dog Bites

February 27, 2013

Andover Truck Accident at MBTA Construction Site Crush’s Worker’s Legs

by Altman & Altman

A Framingham construction worker was seriously injured when a truck weighing close to 140,000 pounds slid backwards, rolling over and crushing the legs of a worker with its tires. The Andover, MA construction accident took place in the Shawsheen River area off Lupine Road.

At the time of the Massachusetts tractor-trailer accident, the worker was attempting to attach an equipment trailer to the large vehicle. He was pinned between two of the back tires on the left side of the truck. The worker sustained serious crushing injuries to his lower extremities.

Rescuers that arrived at the Andover construction accident scene needed approximately 25 minutes to get him out from under the large truck. OSHA, Massachusetts State Police, and Andover police are all investigating the incident.

February 25, 2013

Ex-Inmate’s Family Files Essex County, Massachusetts $2M Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Jail

by Altman & Altman

In Salem Superior Court, the loved ones of former inmate Jeddy Darryl Warner is suing the Essex County jail for Massachusetts wrongful death. According to the plaintiffs, the jail allegedly kept Warner from taking the medications that he needed for several days. Now his family is seeking $2 million in damages.

Warner had been suffering from gastrointestinal stromal tumor, which is a rare form of cancer that he as diagnosed with while serving time in a New York prison for check fraud. After having surgery and getting additional care at hospitals located close to where he was being detained, Warner was paroled and transferred to Massachusetts. However, a few years later, he was behind bars again, then later on probation, and again back in custody in 2010.

Per the Essex County, MA wrongful death complaint, when Warner’s sister attempted to ensure he received his medications, she was notified that he was only allowed to get drugs that came from the jail and not through any outside sources. One drug that he needed, in particular, but could not get was Gleevec. Several days after he was allegedly deprived of this needed med, Warner was discovered unconscious on the jail infirmary floor and placed on life support for several days.

February 24, 2013

Sex Abuse Can Be A Problem in Boston Nursing Homes

by Altman & Altman

Our Boston nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers represent clients that have been sexually abused. Unfortunately, because of their poor health, diminished capacities, and/or advanced age, nursing home patients can make easy targets for abusers.

Elderly persons that live in assisted living facilities generally need help taking care of themselves. They also may be physically and/or mentally incapacitated, which means they are even less able to defend themselves against abusers than members of the general public. One reason for this is that many of them lack to not just comprehend what happened-especially if a patient is suffering from dementia or some other form of mental illness-but also, he/she may not be able (or be too frightened) to report what has happened.

It is the responsibility of Massachusetts assisted living facilities to make sure that patients are kept physically and emotionally safe while under their supervision. In addition to providing adequate security and qualified, well-trained staff, nursing homes must make sure that they do a thorough background check to weed out any sexual predators from the employee roster. Proper supervision, security cameras, and secured entrances and exits can also prevent uninvited guests from entering and exiting the premises. Hopefully, such measures can hopefully discourage unwanted advances made toward a patient by a member of the nursing team, visitors, another patient, or anyone else.

February 23, 2013

Premises Liability?: Fans Injured in NASCAR Crash at Daytona International Speedway

by Altman & Altman

At least 30 fans were injured today when a racecar at the Daytona International Speedway flew from the track through the fence and into the grandstands. No fatalities have been reported.

The racecar collision involving multiple vehicles happened as they came toward the finish line. A car, driven by rookie racer Kyle Larson went airborne as it collided with the wreck, entering the grandstands. Pieces of the vehicle also landed in the crowd, including one of its tires.

According to Joie Chitwood, the Speedway president, 14 people were transported to hospitals while 14 others were injured. However, local officials believe the numbers may be a little higher. Chitwood says that even though fans were lined along the fence where Larson’s vehicle crash-landed through, there was a buffer there and all safety protocols had been in place.

February 21, 2013

Boston Surgical Errors Often Lead to Massachusetts Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

by Altman & Altman

Surgical procedures often come with risks, including possible complications and infections. This is just one of the reasons why you want your surgeon to do the procedure right the first time. Unfortunately, that isn’t always what happens and serious Boston injury and wrongful death can result.

If you or someone you love got hurt or developed serious health complications because of surgical negligence, you may have grounds for a Boston surgical malpractice lawsuit.

Common examples of mistakes that can happen during surgery:

• Anesthesia errors • Performing the right operation on the wrong body part • Performing the wrong surgery on a patient • Accidentally leaving medical instruments or other tools in a patient’s body • Unsanitary conditions/equipment • Removing the wrong body part (For example, amputating the wrong leg or removing the breast that doesn’t have cancerous cells)
• Performing an unnecessary hysterectomy on a patient • Birthing negligence • C-section negligence • Accidentally perforating an organ during surgery
Unfortunately, tens of thousands of surgical errors happen in the United States every year. Common causes of this type of Boston medical malpractice may include:

• Exhaustion • Inexperience • Failure to follow proper procedures • Inadequate safety procedures and medical protocols • Poor supervision • Distractions • Rushing • Poor communication among the medical team
Sometimes, a Massachusetts medical mistake happens for no reason at all. Always, it is the patient that ends up suffering, possibly sustaining organ damage, scarring, a traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury, permanent disability, paralysis, or even death.

Even if the surgeon, anesthesiologist, attending, or intern made an honest mistake, you still could have grounds for filing a Boston personal injury or wrongful death case. You have three years from the cause of action to file your Massachusetts medical malpractice action. This type of cause of action accrues when the plaintiff discovers or should have reasonably found out about the offense that caused the injury. This state follows the doctrine of modified comparative negligence for surgical malpractice cases.

Related Web Resources:
Thousands of Mistakes Made in Surgery Every Year, WebMD, December 26, 2012

Boston Area Hospitals

More Blog Posts:
Downton Abbey Preeclampsia Death a Grim Reminder that Boston Birthing Malpractice Can Prove Fatal, Boston Injury Lawyers Blog, January 28, 2013

Poor Patients are Less Likely to File Medical Malpractice Lawsuits, Reports New Study, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, February 27, 2012
$63M Motrin Injury Verdict Awarded to Family of Girl Who Developed Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis After Taking Children’s Motrin, Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, February 12, 2013 Continue reading

February 19, 2013

Cambridge, MA Truck Accident Lawsuit Filed by Family of Lobbyist James Holway is Settled for $750,000

by Altman & Altman

The family of lobbyist James “Jimmy” W. Holway has settled its Cambridge truck accident lawsuit over his 2006 Massachusetts wrongful death. Holway was killed on September 11, 2006 after a construction vehicle that didn’t have working rear brakes in West Yarmouth hit his car.

According to the Holway family’s Cambridge motor vehicle crash lawyers, not only did the truck owner insist that the 26,000 vehicle continue to be used to deliver materials despite its advanced age of 18 years, but also the truck’s rear brakes and a number of warnings and instruments, including a disconnected odometer, were not working.

The 63-year-old lobbyist had been leaving a restaurant parking lot on Route 28 and crossing the roadway in his car to head home when the construction truck went over a solid double yellow line to strike his car. Investigators confirmed that only the front brakes of the truck were in operation at the time.

February 16, 2013

First Boston Bus Accident Lawsuit Filed in Soldier Field Road Overpass Crash

by Altman & Altman

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of 16-year-old Matthew Cruz. The teenager is still in the hospital after he sustained critical injuries when the bus he was a passenger in crashed into a low overpass on Soldier Field Road.

35 people were injured. The vehicle had been transporting students back from a field trip to Harvard University in Cambridge.

Cruz is represented by the Philadelphia law firm Anapol Schwartz. According to Cruz’s attorneys, the teenager sustained serious injuries to his neck and head, still cannot move his legs of his own accord, and remains intubated. He is not expected to be able to participate in normal activities in the near future. Cruz has already undergone over a dozen hours of surgery to treat his fractures and vertebrae and his condition has reportedly put him at risk of other dangerous health issues.