Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog

December 23, 2014

Grove v. Peacehealth St. Joseph Hospital: Proving Medical Malpractice Claims

In Grove v. Peacehealth St. Joseph Hospital, an appeal from the Washington Supreme Court, plaintiff underwent a six-hour heart surgery procedure by a doctor at defendant’s hospital. This surgery occurred on December 21, 2006. He remained plaintiff’s primary doctor until December 25, 2006, when he left for the holidays. At this point, a second doctor took over plaintiff’s care and remained as such until plaintiff was released from the hospital.

While plaintiff’s heart surgery was successful, his recovery did not go so well. He suffered various complications, including pneumonia and a blood infection. Doctors had to intubate plaintiff on December 23 through December 26 and had to bring in an infectious disease specialist to treat plaintiff.

By December 29, 2006, his left calf was swollen, red, and painful and he had extremely weak joints, especially in his left leg. His doctors believed he had an infection known as cellulitis, which is normally treated with antibiotics, even though plaintiff was already on antibiotics due to his earlier blood infection.
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December 19, 2014

Braintree Family Sues Grocery Chain After Son’s Death

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent report from the Braintree Patch, a local family is suing a national grocery store owner and a cattle ranch in Missouri after their son died after ingesting a powerful strain of E. coli bacteria. The family is alleging their son became sick from eating tainted ground beef sold at the Braintree store.

This grass-fed beef was produced from cattle raised at the Missouri ranch and sold at the local market. After this incident, the retailer issued a recall of all ground beef due to possible E. coli contamination.

Storeowners have issued a statement expressing their condolences to the family for the tragic loss of their son, but they deny any liability for the incident, claiming investigations did not show any link to their business. The ranch owners also issued statements saying their testing has conclusively established the contaminated meat did not come from their ranch.
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December 12, 2014

Maguire v. City of Providence: Liability for Failing to Maintain a Sidewalk

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Maguire v. City of Providence, a case from the Rhode Island Supreme Court, involved plaintiff who was disabled and walking with a crutch when the crutch got stuck in a hole in the sidewalk pavement. This caused her to lose her balance and fall onto the sidewalk. She suffered various personal injuries as a result of this fall.

The sidewalk where she fell was in front of land owned by a developer and leased by a retail store and a restaurant. Plaintiff filed a civil negligence action against retail store, restaurant, and the city of Providence treasurer. The complaint included state negligence claims and federal disability claims.
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December 9, 2014

Cope v. Utah Valley State College: Respondeat Superior in Personal Injury Cases

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Cope v. Utah Valley State College, a case from the Supreme Court of Utah, involved plaintiff who was a member of a dance team at a state-owned university. She was enrolled in college courses that provided academic credit for participation on the dance team.

During a practice session, she was performing a routine where her dance partner lifted her on his shoulders and then she would do a backflip. During the learning phase of new routines, it is common for spotters to be present to prevent the performer from being injured.

On this particular occasion, there were not spotters present, and plaintiff and her dance partner performed the move two times. Both times, the pair was unable perform the lift properly. Her dance partner told the course instructor that he was unable to perform this lift properly, and she instructed them to try a third time. She told partner to lift with more force and plaintiff to push off into the flip with more force as well. She told them if they didn’t get it right, it would be cut from the routine.
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December 6, 2014

Brantley v. City of Horn Lake: Civil Liability for Government Agencies

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Brantley v. City of Horn Lake, an appeal from the Supreme Court of Mississippi, involved plaintiff who cut his forehead while fixing his pickup truck at his home. He called 911, and ambulance drivers arrived to take him to a local hospital.

In addition to being a trained ambulance driver, EMT was also a city firefighter. After EMS workers bandaged plaintiff’s head, they placed him in the ambulance, so driver could take him to the hospital. After arriving at the hospital, EMS personal began to unload plaintiff from the ambulance to take him into the emergency room. At this time, driver lost control of the stretcher plaintiff was lying on, and he fell to the ground. As result of his fall, he was injured and had to pay substantial medical bills.
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December 3, 2014

Williams v. Peninsula Reg’l Med. Ctr: On Wrongful Death Actions involving Suicide

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Williams v. Peninsula Reg’l Med. Ctr., an appeal heard before the Court of Appeals of Maryland, involved plaintiff who, at age 34, was brought to a local emergency room suffering from suicidal ideation and auditory and visual hallucinations.

Plaintiff’s mother brought him to defendant’s hospital in April 2009, where a doctor and mental health professional evaluated him. Despite the fact he was alert and able to cooperate during the examination, he informed the medical professionals that he was communicating with “the lord” and also believed his ex-girlfriend had placed a curse on him. He also said he had become blind when looking at a text message from her while he was in the emergency room.

Doctors also noticed cuts in the inside of plaintiff’s arms and the fact that he tried to minimize any of the situations he believed he was going through. After the examination, he was discharged to his mother’s custody, who was told she should remove any firearms from the home. He was diagnosed with insomnia, fatigue, and “bizarre behavior.” He was then given Ambien to help him sleep and told to return to the emergency room if he thought he would hurt himself or other people.
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November 30, 2014

Airbnb Will Be Responsible for Some Premises Liability Injuries

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Airbnb allows people to rent out their home to overnight guests in order to bring in some extra cash. The service is popular in cities like Boston, where there is a high demand for hotels and short-term rental homes.

However, as Engadget reports, listing a home on Airbnb creates myriad legal challenges including the potential violation of agreements preventing subleasing as well as city-specific restrictions on rental properties.

One big issue that is a concern for those renting out their homes (or for landlords whose tenants rent out space) is what happens if someone gets hurt in the home. A Boston premises liability lawyer knows a property owner or a renter is generally responsible in situations where an injury happens in the home if the injury occurs as a direct result of a failure to maintain the property. The specific standard of care that a property owner has differs depending upon the status of the person inside. However, since Airbnb facilitates commercial transactions, homeowners and renters would typically be expected to exercise extreme caution in ensuring these properties are safe.
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November 28, 2014

Tort Reform Causes Worse Health Outcomes for Boston Patients

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In the state of Massachusetts, there is a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases, except in special circumstances or when there has been a substantial and permanent loss of a bodily function as a result of medical negligence.

Many states have similar caps in place limiting he ability of medical negligence victims to recover full compensation, even though a jury may find actual damages were far in excess of that limit.

A Boston malpractice lawyer knows damage caps hurt patients. Recent reports indicate these rules limiting recovery in malpractice cases have a much wider negative impact than simply preventing victims from full recovery. Malpractice damage caps can actually make the entire healthcare system worse for patients.
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November 23, 2014

Comedian’s Accident Draws Attention to Brain Injuries

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

More than 2.5 million traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are suffered annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most of these TBIs happen because of falls, car accidents or acts of violence. Most go unnoticed, except by the victim who is affected and the family members of the person whose life has been changed forever.

Recently, however, the issue of traumatic brain injury has been making headlines because the victim in one particular accident was a famous comedian.

When Tracy Morgan was involved in a near-fatal motor vehicle collision with a Wal-Mart truck, the comedian’s plight caught the attention of the press and the public. Now, Bloomberg is one of many news outfits publishing articles discussing how the brain injuries he suffered will impact the rest of his life.
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November 18, 2014

Video Cameras Could Prevent Boston Nursing Home Abuse

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Family members who must place relatives in nursing homes have plenty of legitimate reasons to be concerned about whether their parents or loved ones are getting appropriate care.

Recently, the New York Times wrote about one woman who wanted to use a video camera in her mother’s room when she suspected abuse. The bylaws of the nursing home prohibited this, claiming they violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). However, this may not be entirely true.

Preventing nursing home abuse is an important issue, and it’s important patients and family members understand their legal rights. A Boston nursing home abuse lawyer should be consulted for assistance when nursing home abuse is suspected. Families visiting relatives and loved ones over the winter holidays should also watch for signs of potential abuse so they can take appropriate action.
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