During the holiday season, consumers like to hit the malls to find the perfect gifts for loved ones. Unfortunately, holiday shopping can be stressful on the body. While there are some risks from lifting heavy items and carrying stacked shopping bags, the biggest dangers occur when stores and shopping malls don’t have effective safety plans and protocols in place. christmas-star-1420864 copy

Stores and malls can be held accountable in situations where there is an injury caused by negligence. Consumers need to know their rights and must be aware of the risks associated with holiday shopping so they can stay safe throughout the season.

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Brandner v. Pease, a case from the Supreme Court of Alaska, involved a plaintiff who suffered a heart attack in late 2009. He was admitted to a local hospital to undergo an emergency bypass operation. A doctor and an anesthesiologist took part in the surgery. The plaintiff also happened to be a board certified doctor in plastic surgery.

medical-equipment-1342025-mPlaintiff was in surgery for around six hours. It took two attempts for the anesthesiologist to intubate plaintiff, and the drug used to put patient under anesthesia was propofol. During the surgery, plaintiff’s blood pressure began to drop to a dangerously low level, but he did not suffer complete cardiac arrest, according to the surgeon. At this point, surgeon performed CPR, and nurses gave plaintiff medications to raise his blood pressure back to a normal level. After his blood pressure was normalized, the surgery resumed as scheduled. Continue reading

According to a recent report in the Boston Herald, one of the world’s leading Ebola experts was serious injured in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) crash. Prior to her accident, she had just given a presentation on genetics research involving Ebola.

mIJhKSUFollowing her talk, she went with a tour group on an ATV tour through the mountains. She was a passenger on one of the ATVs being used for the tour. As they were riding in the tour, her ATV collided with a curb, and the driver lost control. It drove off a cliff and tumbled down its face. Fortunately, they crashed into trees that prevented her from falling to her death, but she was seriously injured. Continue reading

According to a recent news article from 12 News Now, a volunteer firefighter who was badly burned in a fire has undergone the most extensive face transplant performed to date.   As part of the operation, he received a new face, scalp and neck tissue. After being left legally blind following his accident, because his face was too damaged for his eyes to see, he expects he will finally be able to regain his vision and drive again, which has been his dream.

stethascope1The first face transplant surgery was performed in France around a decade ago, and it is the same doctor who headed up the transplant and reconstruction teams for this volunteer firefighter. He considers this latest surgery to be his most successful operation ever, and it was far more involved than earlier ones, due to the extent of burn damage and what they are able to do to repair it. Continue reading

Most personal injury cases are filed under a theory of negligence. This means that plaintiff is alleging defendant owed a duty of care to plaintiff, breached this duty of care, the breach was the actual and proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries, and damages resulted. These are the four elements of a negligence cause of action in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

soup-2-1329592The duty of care can be owed to plaintiff as a matter law, due to a contract, or as a result of the defendant placing plaintiff in harm’s way. An example of a legally imposed duty involves a motorist. Anyone who gets a driver’s license owes a duty to act as a reasonable and prudent person to prevent foreseeable to harm to foreseeable persons and property while behind the wheel of a car. Continue reading

While it is not the favorite pastime of everyone in the greater Boston area, deer hunting is actually quite popular in much of Massachusetts and throughout New England. As we find ourselves in hunting season, it is not surprising to hear about hunting accidents on the news.   While not every routine accident will make the news, some capture the public attention more than others.

deer-1387132According to a recent news feature from M Live, one woman, who is not a hunter, was apparently walking through a plowed-over cornfield with her daughter when her daughter saw a deer through her binoculars. It was a buck deer that they assumed had been shot and was dead. At this point, she decided they should take the deer and use the meat to feed the family. It is not unheard of for a hunter to shoot a deer, but the deer gets away only to die a short time later. Continue reading

Skiing in a very popular activity across New England, including in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.   While skiing can be lot of fun, it happens to be somewhat of an inherently dangerous activity. It is for this reason, whenever your purchase a lift ticket or season pass, you are required to agree to sign a waiver that essentially excuses the ski area from liability.

skiing-1371473It should be noted that these waivers often tend to go too far to try to limit the ski area’s liability from everything, from routine accidents to gross negligence and willful acts committed by their employees. These extreme clauses in the liability waivers are not likely to be upheld in Massachusetts, as they may be against public policy, but some clauses in the waivers may be effective. There are also choice of law provisions and often times a requirement to submit to binding arbitration, and these are things you should discuss with your attorney. Continue reading

Most people have heard that NBA superstar Lamar Odom was admitted to the hospital after being found unconscious at a legal brothel in Nevada last month. Dennis Hof, owner of the infamous brothel, said Odom arrived at the brothel on October 10th and asked for two escorts to take him to the VIP room. He then asked for all employees to sign a confidentiality agreement and was not seen until October 13th, when he was found unresponsive in his room. He was rushed to the hospital, where he placed on life support.

457973__1Doctors determined that he had suffered from several strokes and kidney failure in what was initially reported as a drug-related episode. At first, many people thought he was dead, and then a day later, it was revealed that he was alive but had suffered severe brain damage. He reportedly cannot recognize his family or perform basic tasks. Continue reading

According to recent article from the Boston Herald, a 67-year-old woman was on her way to a community theater where she volunteers her time to make costumes for the theater company’s productions. While she was driving, a 4×4 wood board smashed through the front windshield of her vehicle and ended up just a few inches from her head. Had the board hit her, it would most likely have caused serious personal injury or death. The woman told police it all happened in an instant. She could not believe what had happened and knew how close it came to hitting her in the face.

1409592_gavel_2At the time of what is being described as a freak accident, the woman was headed north on I-91 in Springfield. A box truck hit the wooden board that was already lying on the road surface in the middle lane. When the truck hit the board, it flipped and went flying behind the truck and into this woman’s windshield. Continue reading

Ross v. Marion, a case heard by the Supreme Court of Alabama, involved a woman who filed a wrongful death case under a theory of medical practice and negligence in connection with the death or her husband.

photo_emerging_TBIIn 2009, victim went to defendant’s hospital to undergo a kidney removal procedure. While under general anesthesia, victim suffered a heart attack. Doctors were able to revive victim from his unconscious state, but the heart attacked caused victim to suffer a medical condition known as hypoxic encephalopathy. This is essentially meant to indicate a loss of oxygen to the brain. This results in severe brain damage, leaving victim in a nonresponsive state. Continue reading

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