Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

February 23, 2013

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

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.

February 14, 2013

Five Sent to Hospital, One Dead in Separate Massachusetts Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Incidents

by Altman & Altman

In a Brockton, MA carbon monoxide poisoning incident, three adults and two kids were treated at a local hospital when they fell ill after trying to heat an apartment using a gas stove. In an unrelated Boston carbon monoxide poisoning accident, a 14-year-old boy died after he warmed himself up in a running car while his dad shoveled snow. Snow had fallen on the exhaust pipe, which kept the CO fumes from leaving the car.

Following the tragic Massachusetts CO poisoning death, Boston mayor Thomas Menino put out a warning about the dangers related to the large Northeast blizzard., which left behind up to three feet of snow over the weekend. Menino cautioned for people to make sure that the snow around exhaust pipes is wiped off before starting their engines. He also warned against using generators.

CO Poisoning

February 12, 2013

Wellesley, MA 18-Wheeler Truck Truck Accident Lawsuit Filed in Bicyclist’s Wrongful Death

by Altman & Altman

Although no criminal charges are going to be filed against trucker Dana E.A. McCoomb, the family of bicyclist Alexander Motsenigos has gone ahead and filed a Wellesley, MA truck accident lawsuit over his wrongful death. Motsenigos, 41, he leaves behind a wife and young son, 6.

He was killed last August when his bicycle struck by the 18-wheeler truck driven by McCoomb, 51. The impact of the Wellesley tractor-trailer crash caused Motsenigos to be pulled under the large vehicle. Police say that McCoomb proceeded to leave the Massachusetts traffic crash site.

Attempts by police and the Norfolk district attorney’s office to charge McCoomb with the unsafe overtaking of a cyclist, motor vehicle homicide involving negligent operation, and not taking the proper steps to make sure that other travelers remained safe failed. Now, however, a grand jury is refusing issue an indictment on any of these charges.

February 9, 2013

Play Yard Injuries Will Hopefully Decrease with Danny’s Law

by Altman & Altman

Beginning the last day of this month, play yard manufacturers and importers will have to make sure that their products satisfy new federal safety standards. The framed enclosures for infants and toddlers have been linked to many injuries in recent years. Just between 2007 and 2011, the Consumer Product Safety Commission received reports of 2,100 play yard incidents that included 60 child deaths and 170 injuries.

Common Play Yard Injuries Have Included:

• Entrapment • Fall accident injuries • Entrapment • Strangulation • Suffocation

February 7, 2013

1999 Springfield, MA Police Brutality Case Gets New Hearing to Determine Damages

by Altman & Altman

More than 13 years after a Springfield cop allegedly beat a convenience store owner and her adult kids, the Supreme Judicial Court has ordered a new hearing to determine how much the city and Officer Ronald Boykan owe Lucy Jones and her family. Jones claims that Boykan entered her store in 1999, forced his way into a private area and arrested her two kids before brutality physically assaulting the three of them.

Following their arrests, Bokyan was ordered to take part in sensitivity training while Jones’ kids, William S. Owens Jr. and Nicole N. Jones , were exonerated of all criminal charges. The three of them contend that not only did they sustain emotional and physical injuries from the Springfield, Massachusetts police brutality incident, but also they lost their store.

A Hampden Superior Court made a default judgment in 2004 and ordered the city of Springfield to pay the victims $1 million-he then reversed himself, tossing the ruling out, and the state Appeals Court went on to reinstate it.

However, now, Massachusetts highest court says that the lower court’s original assessment of how much the family was owed, which it determined according to the representations made by the plaintiff’s attorney, was not adequate. Justice Margot Bostford said that it is the judge’s duty to fairly make sure that there is a reasonable basis of fact behind the amount of damages decided.

Massachusetts Police Brutality
Excessive police violence is a violation of one’s civil rights and it can cause serious injuries and even death. Common forms of excessive use of police force can include physical assault, verbal abuse, false arrests, threats, blackmail, sexual assault, sexual abuse, racial profiling, and intimidation. Even if the police officer didn’t intend to be brutal but merely used to much force, if you or your loved one was injured, you may have grounds for a Massachusetts police brutality case.

Jones v. Boykan

$1 million award to Lucy Jones of Springfield in convenience store beating case sent back by high court for new hearing, MassLive, February 6, 2013

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

More Blog Posts:
North Andover Wrongful Death Lawsuit Involving Worcester Man Subdued by Police in Traffic Stop is Settled for $1.6M, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, November 19, 2012
Westport Cop Settles Case Alleging Bristol County, Massachusetts Excessive Use of Force, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 9, 2011

Boston Police Brutality Alleged in Federal Lawsuit Filed by Man Who Recorded Friend’s Arrest, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, November 8, 2011 Continue reading

February 5, 2013

Boston, Massachusetts Bus Crash that Injured 35 Occurred at Bridge Overpass on Soldiers Field Road that Lacked Necessary Warnings

by Altman & Altman

Three days after a terrible Boston bus crash on Soldiers Field left 35 people with injuries, police have not yet announced whether or not citations or criminal charges will be filed. The Calvary Coach had been transporting high school students and their chaperones from the Destined for a Dream Foundation back home after a tour of Harvard University.

The Massachusetts traffic crash occurred when the bus drove into the Western Avenue Bridge. According to the Boston Globe, there used to be huge rubber signs on that roadway warning that low bridges were coming but that they have since faded. The Western Avenue Bridge, which should have gotten one of the warning signs, reportedly never did.

The height limit on Soldiers Field Road is 10 feet. Commercial vehicles, including buses, are not supposed to drive there. There are also questions as to whether or not Samuel Jackson, the 66-year-old bus driver, was distracted from looking at a GPS device.

January 31, 2013

Kringles and SCS Direct Recall High Powered Magnet Products Because They Pose An Ingestion Danger to Kids

by Altman & Altman

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, two companies are recalling their high-powered magnet products over concerns that they pose an ingestion hazard to kids. This is a serious injury threat and one that our Boston child injury lawyers take seriously.

The first recall involves approximately 4,200 Nanospheres Magnetic Desk Toys. The product consists of about 230 small magnets that are massed together and Kringles Toys and Gifts manufactured them.

Because the magnets are so small, they are easy for a young child to put in the mouth and swallow. In the event that a child were to swallow more than one of these magnets, the small pieces may become to attracted to each other and join together inside the intestines, potentially causing perforations, tissue damage, obstructions, sepsis, permanent injuries, and even death.