Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog

January 5, 2015

Gilbert v. Wessels: National Standard of Care

Gilbert v. Wessels, a case from the Supreme Court of Tennessee, involved plaintiff who underwent laser eye surgery performed by defendant ophthalmologist. After suffering a serious personal injury as a result of this surgery, plaintiff filed a medical malpractice action against defendant.

Trial court set the case for trial in July of 2012, and then later continued trial date until October of 2012. Less than a month before trial, defendant filed a motion to waive the state’s contiguous state requirement for expert witnesses, requesting that an ophthalmologist from Florida be allowed to testify on his behalf at trial.

His reason for this was only three doctors in the county, he claimed, were experts in this new type of laser eye surgery, and there was not a doctor in his state or a neighboring state who could testify about the appropriate standard of care when performing this eye surgery.
Continue reading

January 4, 2015

Grimes v. Saban: Assault and Battery Claims

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Grimes v. Saban is a personal injury case from the Supreme Court of Alabama. Plaintiff and defendant, along with others, were in the kitchen at defendant’s apartment after spending the night a local bar. According to court records, both parties were drinking alcohol at the time of the incident.

Plaintiff allegedly offended defendant when telling her to shut up. Defendant locked herself in her bedroom. While there she allegedly posted disparaging remarks about plaintiff on Facebook. Plaintiff confronted her about this and Defendant held up her phone saying she already deleted the post. The two women then got into a physical altercation.

During the fight, the cellphone was thrown against a wall and more fighting occurred. Eventually the parties were separated and her friends drove plaintiff to the emergency room. She later filed a civil action for assault and battery in connection with her injuries.
Continue reading

January 1, 2015

Hammond v. Saini: Discovery in Medical Malpractice Cases

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In Hammond v. Saini, a case from the Supreme Court of North Carolina, plaintiff went to defendant’s hospital in 2010, to remove a possible basal cell carcinoma on her face. During surgery, drapes were placed on plaintiff’s face, and an anesthesiologist along with nurse anesthetists administered supplemental oxygen to plaintiff though a mask.
Continue reading

December 27, 2014

Daycare Worker Arrested for Kissing Eight-Year-Old Child

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When we drop our children off at daycare before heading to work, we trust employees will take good of them. We also trust daycare owners have properly screened and trained their employees, so no harm will come to our children.

According to a recent news article from WTNH, a New England area daycare worker is facing criminal charges after allegedly kissing an eight-year-old girl on the lips. Authorities are reporting a 77-year-old employee kissed the girl during an after-school program. It is has been alleged he kissed the young victim on at least five separate occasions.

During a police interview, daycare employee said it was the young child who accidentally kissed him while she was running and jumping into his arms. He also stated he viewed it as an accident, which occurred during an embrace between friends and happened on several other occasions earlier that month in the same manner.
Continue reading

December 23, 2014

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

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.
Continue reading

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.
Continue reading

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.
Continue reading

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.
Continue reading

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.
Continue reading

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.
Continue reading