Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

October 10, 2012

Growth in Number of Boston Cyclists Leads to an Increase in Bicycle Accidents

The reasons to ride a bike in Boston are endless. You can ride your bicycle for fun, to work, or for exercise. According to Radio Boston, “the greater Boston area is going through something of a bicycling renaissance.” With over 56 miles in new trails, it is no wonder that people have decided to commute the eco-friendly way. Regrettably, as the number of bicycle riders increase, so do the number of accidents and injuries involving bicycles. “Boston Emergency Medical Services count more than 450 bicycle-related accidents and collisions this year, up significantly since a year ago.”

Last month, there were two bike accidents in Boston that lead to the death of the cyclists. One cyclist was hit by a tractor trailer when she reached the intersection. The woman was known to be in her 30s and a resident of East Boston. The other cyclist was hit by a pick-up truck operated by a drunk driver. The victim was a 63-year old man from Dorchester, and died from his injuries. People who are the cause of bike accidents face an extensive amount of liability. The driver of the truck is facing motor vehicle homicide and drunk driving charges, among others.

Bike accidents are known to take the lives of over 700 people annually, with children making up a significant number of these victims. Boston Biker, an online community for cyclists in Boston, is encouraging riders to look at other countries to adopt their riding safety practices, as bike riding accidents in other countries are significantly lower. Even our own state adopted rules regarding bike safety. If you decide to ride, be sure to check out the city’s rules regarding bicycle safety.

Even with these fatal incidents, avid bicycle riders are not deterred from the road. We all strive to be healthy and physically fit people and bicycle riding seems like it could be the solution we have been looking for. If you are feeling left out because you don’t own a bicycle, then you should consider a membership with Hubway. Hubway is a bicycle sharing system in Metro-Boston that was created in July 2011.
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October 9, 2012

Boston Green Line Trolley Collision Caused by Human Error, Says MBTA

by Altman & Altman

Three people sustained Boston injuries on Monday in a collision involving two Green line trolleys. According to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, human error was the cause of the accident.

The Boston trolley crash occurred in the afternoon in the 700 block of Huntington Avenue on the Green Line’s “E” branch close to the Brigham Circle. One of the trolleys derailed, which resulted in it making contact with another trolley. According to a preliminary investigation, a switch that should have been shut was left open.

The three people that were injured include the operator and two passengers, who complained of neck and back pain. One of the passengers who got hurt was Wessam Paki. He told WBZ that he had dozed off on the trolley but woke up when passengers started falling on him. He says that his head struck the wall and he sustained arm and leg injuries.

If you believe that your Boston train accident or trolley crash was caused by negligence, whether due to a mechanical glitch or human error, you should contact Altman & Altman LLP right away.

Collisions involving trolleys, subways, and trains can cause serious injuries to passengers, operators, engineers, and rail workers. Depending on whether you are a patron or employee, you may be entitled to certain recovery benefits. For example, injured passengers may be entitled to Boston personal injury compensation and Massachusetts railroad workers may be eligible for work injury coverage under the Federal Employer’s Liability Act.

What you don’t want to do is not pursue damages or fail to file your Massachusetts workers’ injury claim because you think doing so will be too much of a hassle or you are too intimidated by the process. Having an experienced lawyer can make all the difference in what you end up recovering in a civil case or receiving as your work injury benefits.

Green Line Trolley Crash Caused By Human Error, CBS Boston Local, October 8, 2012

2 Boston Greenline Trolleys Sideswipe, Boston.com/AP, October 8, 2012

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

More Blog Posts:
Suffolk County Jury Awards Scituate Woman Hurt in 2009 Boston Green Line Trolley Collision $1.2 Million, Boston Injury Lawyers Blog, June 30, 2012

Boston Commuter Train Crashes With Elderly Woman’s Car in Train Crossing, Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March 30, 2011

MBTA Suspends Drivers for Cell Phone Use on the Job, Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Blog, October 8, 2012 Continue reading

October 4, 2012

Study May Have Exposed Elderly Boston Nursing Home Patients to Greater Risk of Fall Accidents

by Altman & Altman

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, over 1,300 nursing home patients, including 268 in Massachusetts, may have been placed at a greater risk of falling when they took part in a study to see how well padded hip protectors serve as a buffer for residents during fall accidents. The yearlong study, led by Dr. Douglas P. Kiel, a Harvard Medical School gerontologist, involved researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston, and the Washington University School of Medicine. Now, the federal Office for Human Research Protections is mandating that a number of the study’s participants, many of whom were suffering from cognitive impairments, be notified of the serious risks that they were exposed to during the program.

The study took place between 2002 and 2006. Researchers wanted to see whether using padded underwear on just one side of the body, rather than on both hips, provided any benefits. However, data during the study began to indicate that wearing the garment might actually be causing falls, with the more serious fall injuries seeming to occur on the side of the body that was padded and not the one without the added protection. According to regulators, however, despite this realization the scientists failed to inform the patients.

Fall Accidents

October 2, 2012

Boston Personal Injury Claims in Red Sox Sex Abuse Cases Reach $100M

by Altman & Altman

Another plaintiff has stepped forward claiming that he too was sexually abused by the Donald J. Fitzpatrick, the ex-clubhouse manager for the Boston Red Sox. The plaintiff, Gerald Armstrong, is a former Kansas City clubhouse attendant. He is just one of numerous men suing the baseball team for Massachusetts injury damages related to the molestation they allegedly suffered at the hands of Fitzpatrick beginning the late 1960’s through 1991.

According to the Boston Globe, the numerous Boston sex abuse lawsuits are collectively seeking $100M. Fitzpatrick left his job with the team in 1991 after a boy exhibited a sign before a game accusing the clubhouse manager of sexually assaulting him. He passed away in 2005 while serving a suspended sentence for numerous counts of attempted sexual battery against a number of young boys in Florida (Investigators in this case said there were several other alleged victims but criminal charges could not be pursued due to the statute of limitations. However, a number of the victims went on to sue and settle for civil damages.)

Many of Fitzpatrick’s alleged victims claim that he abused them at Fenway Park. Others said that he victimized them in his Randolph condo, his vehicle, or while traveling with the team. For some, the statute of limitations for filing a civil claim has already passed. However, that doesn’t mean that the Red Sox can’t be persuaded to settle.

September 30, 2012

Southwest Airlines Sued By Passenger Over Alleged Burn Injuries from Hot Tea

by Altman & Altman

A Southwest Airlines passenger is suing the company and one of its flight attendants for burn injuries she says she sustained while being serve tea during a flight. Angelica Keller is seeking $300,000 for personal injury, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and property damages, as well as $500,000 in punitive damages.

The food injury accident allegedly occurred on December 28, 2011 while Keller was riding on Flight 955. She contends that the flight attendant gave her a cup of water that was “extremely” hot in another cup that was also carrying condiment packets and a tea bag. As the plaintiff tried to remove the tea bag, between the ‘hot’ paper cup with very hot water and the other cup, the liquid fell out and onto her groin area, causing her to sustain second degree burns, skin blisters, and permanent scarring.

Keller partially blames Southwest’s lack of tray tables in its planes’ front rows for her personal injury accident. She also believes that the airline served water that was too hot for use in a plane. Because she had her seatbelt on, Keller said it took her longer to get out of her seat because she couldn’t jump up right away. She claims the flight attendant wasn’t very helpful. Keller is contending that there was a failure to warn of the danger that can arise from drinking hot tea when there is a flight.

September 26, 2012

Young Mom Dies in Attleboro Car Crash Involving Allegedly Drunken Driver

by Altman & Altman

24-Year-old Kaisha Lynn Guerrini is dead following a North Attleboro car crash involving an alleged drunken driver. The young mother, who leaves behind a 3-year-old son, sustained fatal injuries when her vehicle was hit in a head-on crash on Route 152. The driver, 32-year-old Jason Kwolek, is accused of going on a drunken driving rampage through multiple cities after leaving a bar in Foxboro.

According to police, Kwolek passed vehicles in no-passing lanes, caused another collision, placed other motorists in jeopardy, and drove on curbs as he sped through Plainville and Attleboro. The Boston Herald states that a police report describes Kwolek as “unemotional” and “mocking” after the collision. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges of motor vehicle homicide, manslaughter, and drunken driving.

Massachusetts Drunken Driving Accidents

September 24, 2012

Man Awarded $7.2M “Popcorn Lung” Verdict in Food Injury Lawsuit

by Altman & Altman

Wayne Watson, who developed respiratory health issues in 2007, has won a $7.2 million food injury verdict from Gilster-Mary Lee Corp., Dillon Companies Inc., and The Kroger Co. for his “popcorn lung” affliction. The illness is linked to the chemicals used in microwaved popcorn to make it taste buttery while keeping the calories down. Watson ate two bag of popcorn daily for about a decade.

The jury found popcorn maker Gilster-Mary Lee Corp. 80% liable and Kong Soopers’ supermarket ‘s parent companies Kroger and Dillon Foods 20% liable. His food injury lawyers contended that the defendants should have warned consumers that inhaling the buttery smell could cause lung damage. Diacetyl, which is the chemical found in the popcorn Watson ate, may have a possible link to Alzheimer’s. Manufacturers no longer use it in artificial flavoring. (Watson settled his products liability claim against FONA International Inc., a flavor developer, separately.)

“Popcorn lung” is a potentially deadly respiratory disease that is mostly found in flavoring plant workers who end up inhaling diacetyl on the job. (In 2004, Eric People’s, a Gilster-Mary Lee plant work, won a $20 million personal injury verdict for lung damage that he developed while involved in the manufacturing of buttered popcorn.) Symptoms may include shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing. Constrictive bronchiolitis obliterans, which can constrict and scar the lung’s smallest airways, may even develop.

September 20, 2012

Massachusetts Child Abuse?: More Allegations Accuse Lexington Public Schools of Harsh Disciplinary Tactics

by Altman & Altman

Another family is alleging Massachusetts child abuse involving the Lexington public schools. 17-year-old Robert Ernst, who is now a senior at Lexington high school, said that when he was a third grader at Estabrook, teachers and aides would physically restrain him. Ernst, who has Asperger’s, claims that teachers would hold his hands and keep him in a chair or on the floor. His mom is said to have received 19 reports of such restraint incidents occurring September 9 and October 15, 2003.

Earlier this month, The New York Times published an opinion piece from journalist Bill Lichtenstein, who recounted how his daughter, who attended a Lexington school when she was a kindergartener, was disciplined multiple times by being kept alone in a room. Although some of the details of his account have since come under dispute-including the condition that he and his then-wife found her and the location and type of room she was contained in-his claims have raised questions about the disciplinary methods employed by Lexington school staff. (Lichtenstein’s family would go on to sue the school system for Massachusetts injuries to a minor and settle their case. He says his daughter continues to be traumatized by what happened.)

Ernst is not the only person to come forward since Lichtenstein’s article was published. At a school committing meeting on September 11, Barbara Visovatti said her son too had been moved to a “quiet room” at least three times in 2008. She said this caused him emotional trauma and he began confining himself in their hall closet while lying in fetal position.

September 19, 2012

Teenager breaks neck in football game

by Altman & Altman

Last Friday on September 14, 2012, a Fitchburg teenager suffered a broken neck during a high school football game. Initially, nobody was aware of any kind of injury happening. During the first quarter of the Nashoba/Fitchburg football game, the teenager, while playing cornerback and wearing the number 30, took an unintended hit from a teammate while making a tackle. He then rose and walked to the sideline where he ultimately realized that something was wrong. The 17-year-old Fitchburg High senior was then taken to Umass Memorial Hospital where it was discovered that he had broken his C-1 vertebrae. Fortunately, he wouldn’t need surgery for the injury. But he would have to wear a halo for a time.

Through Twitter, the teenager confirmed his injury and thanked his classmates for the outpouring of love and support. Fitchburg’s high school coach, Dan Walker, was quoted as saying, “We are fortunate that [he] is going to be all right. He is a tough kid with a big heart. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”

This was another story that hit me personally because I played high school football and endured a fair share of battle wounds, from strained tendons to broken bones. But personal injury and high school sports, specifically football, has become more of a hot button issue during the last ten years. Injuries happen in all fields of athletics but there have even been questions about whether some sports can survive America’s current discussion of the risks children undertake while playing sports, especially concussions.
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September 18, 2012

Boy Scouts Concealed Child Sex Abuse, Reports LA Times

by Altman & Altman

In Massachusetts, our Boston child sex abuse lawyers represent victims of molestation, rape, and other sexual assault crimes who are seeking damages from their abusers and those that allowed their injuries/trauma to happen. Perpetrators of sex crimes have included priests, other clergy members, teachers, coaches, counselors, family friends, relatives, and others who abused their relationship with the victims. Also, schools, churches, and other organizations and entities have been called to task for civil damages related to the injuries inflicted.

Now, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that after looking at 1,600 confidential files between 1970 to 1991 involving the Boy Scouts of America, it has discovered that Scouting officials often tried to cover up allegations of molestation by its volunteers and employees. These latest findings come from the organization’s same “perversion file,” meant to black list alleged molesters. Last year, however, the LA Times revealed that despite the lists, a number of suspected predators have continued to molest, making their way back into the program by skipping the registration process, falsifying their personal data, or moving to another troop while availing of computer and clerical mistakes and the failure by the Scouts to check to the blacklist.

The Times says that the Scouts would usually just get the suspected abuser to resign. Also, reportedly, in most instances involving Boy Scouts-related child abuse allegations, it was the police that notified the Scouts first. In the majority of cases (at least 400 incidents found) when the authorities didn’t, the Scouts did not notify the authorities at all, and they may have even (in more than 100 cases) actively sought to cover up the abuse. All this even as parents, boys, and staff members have come forward with their allegations over the years.