Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog

November 30, 2013

CPSC Works to Prevent Child Injury this Holiday Season

In the last few years, officials with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have enforced more stringent guidelines for toys, requiring testing by third party, independent laboratories around the globe. They’ve been using this system to test toys for various defects, dangers and to enforce stringent lead and phthalates limits for toys.

Over the last 5 years, officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and with the CPSC have stopped close to 9.8 million units and about 3,000 different toys that violated various federal safety standards. While these toys were kept from store shelves and kept out of your home, there will still many more that slipped through the cracks and into the hands of consumers.

Our child injury attorneys in Boston note the CPSC still issued more than 30 toy recalls last year. Thankfully, none of these recalls included lead issues, but there were many other dangers wrapped in products marketed to children. More than 10 children were killed in toy-related accidents in 2011. Most of these fatalities were the result of using riding toys, like non-motorized scooters and tricycles. There were four who were found in swimming pools with their tricycles and another who received a fatal head injury after his tricycle toppled. Asphyxiation and aspiration were the next most common cause of toy-related deaths.
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November 27, 2013

MBTA Injury Risks Increase with Ridership

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Big Papi isn’t only reeling fans into Fenway, where riding with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has never been more popular. According to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), ridership broke records in October. Ridership for the entire month, when the Red Sox took home the World Series, increased by close to 4 percent over the October from 2012. During the month, there were more than 36 million passenger trips.

“Our October numbers represent the highest monthly ridership recorded since the beginning of the MBTA,” said Beverly Scott, MBTA General Manager.

MBTA accidents in Boston are also unfortunately common. Average daily ridership for the month jumped by more than 4 percent over October of last year. Daily, there were more than 1.30 million passenger trips taken. While ridership of all modes of transportation has increased, the biggest jumps were on the buses and the subway. It’s the Blue, Orange and Red Lines that carry an average of close to 40,000 more riders a day than they did in October of 2012. Buses landed more than 22,000 more passenger trips than October of 2012.
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November 24, 2013

Seat Belt Requirement for Motorcoaches Improve Safety, Accident Survivability

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The days of seat belt-free buses will soon be a thing of the past. Recently, officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a final rule to require lap and shoulder seat belts for each individual passenger on new motorcoaches and other similar large buses. Officials believe this will improve the safety of these vehicles by significantly reducing the risks of serious injury or death in the event of an accidents, including the risk of occupants being ejected during rollover accidents.

“Today’s rule is a significant step forward in our efforts to improve motorcoach safety,” said Anthony Foxx, U.S. Transportation Secretary.

Our bus accident attorneys in Massachusetts understand that there is, on average, about 21 people who are killed and another 8,000 injured in large bus accidents in the U.S. each year. Officials believe that by requiring seat belts, they can reduce the risks of serious injury and death by close to 45 percent. Although motorcoach travel is considered to be one of the safest forms of transportation, accidents still happen. And when these accidents happen, there is a serious risk for death and injury because of the speeds at which these vehicles travel and because of the large number of occupants on these buses.
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November 20, 2013

New Booster Seat Recommendations from the IIHS Impact Massachusetts Parents

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Officials with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released annual ratings of child booster sea models. Less than 20 of the more than 30 new models got a top rating of “Best Bet” and only one was rated as a “Good Bet”.

According to Occupational Health & Safety (OSHA), officials also reported that some children should be in these seat until they’re as old as 12.

Our Boston child injury attorneys understand that children between the ages of 4 and 8 are about 50 percent less likely to sustain injuries in the event of an auto collision when they’re properly riding in a booster seat. If more parents were to keep their children in booster seats until they’re 12-years-old, safety officials believe that fewer children would face injuries in auto accidents. According to CBS, car accidents continue to be the number one cause of death for children under the age of 13.
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November 16, 2013

New Boston Playground Highlights Injury-Prevention Requirements

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Mayor Thomas M. Menino recently joined Liberty Mutual Insurance Chairman and CEO David H. Long for a ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil the City of Boston’s first universally accessible playground at the Charlestown Navy Yard. According to the City of Boston, this project will help to provide close to 25,000 square foot boardwalk with nearly 65 pieces of play equipment within a nearly 20,000 square foot rubber playground area.

This is going to be the first playground in the area that caters to both children and adults. Liberty Mutual stepped up with a $1 million donation.

Our Boston child injury attorneys understand that everyone in the community is going to benefit from this new city addition. Unfortunately, there are more than 200,000 children who land in an emergency room with injuries from public playgrounds in the U.S. each and every year. Most injuries happen when a child falls from the equipment onto the ground. Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), report about half of playground-related injuries are severe-fractures, internal injuries, concussions, dislocations, and amputations.
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November 10, 2013

10 Hospitalized in Elementary School Bus Accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Ten elementary school children were transported to the hospital after a recent school bus accident on Thomas Landers Road, just a block away from their school.

According to CBS Boston, the accident happened at roughly 9:00 a.m. when a box truck drive into the lane of the school bus. The driver of the bus had to swerve to avoid a collision, but ended up leaving the road and slamming into a utility pole. The electrical wires wound up lying all over the road. Luckily, the bus driver was able to keep all of the kids on the bus until emergency response arrived on scene.

Our Boston bus accident lawyers understand that approximately 400,000 Massachusetts students are transported by school buses annually, according to Massachusetts Health and Human Services.
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November 8, 2013

Defective Airbags Could Put You At Risk- Has Your Car Been Recalled?

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Airbags are one of the most important safety features in your vehicle as the airbag can cushion the blow and reduce the force of impact you feel in an auto accident. When airbags don’t work, the risk of serious injury significantly increases. A failure to deploy isn’t even the biggest risk, as an airbag that deploys suddenly when it isn’t supposed to could actually cause an accident that leads to serious injury or death.

Our Boston defective products lawyers know that auto manufacturers are responsible for ensuring the safety of all vehicles, including safety features like the airbag. Unfortunately, things can still go wrong. It is important for every driver to keep up-to-date on news of car recalls and to respond promptly if they learn that their car is being recalled because of an airbag problem or other defect. Recently, for example, as many as 803,000 owners of Toyota crossover vehicles and sedans got news that their vehicle is now being subject to a recall.
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November 6, 2013

Red Bull Facing $85 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Red Bull has been increasingly scrutinized and was the target of investigation after several injuries and fatalities linked to the energy drink. An $85 million dollar lawsuit was filed this month against Red Bull after a man suffered a heart attack and died soon after consuming the product. This is the first wrongful death claim filed for a Red Bull death. As there have been hundreds of ER cases and other suspicious injuries involving the product, the company is also being investigated by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). Public health advocates are also concerned about the potential risks faced by consumers.

This is another example of a tragic and unnecessary death allegedly caused by a known, dangerous product. Our Boston injury attorneys are experienced in products liability and wrongful death claims. In the event of a fatality, we will review the facts and evidence, identify responsible parties, and take necessary action to protect the rights of victims. We are dedicated to keeping America’s consumers safe and in holding negligent companies accountable.
According to reports, the 33-year-old victim was a construction worker who often drank Red Bill to keep his energy up. Witnesses indicated that he drank a can of Red Bull during a basketball game in 2011. His relatives reported that he was healthy and suspect that his death was related to the consumption of Red Bull.
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November 3, 2013

$150 Million for 13-Year-Old Who Lost Family in Fiery Car Accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The most tragic victims of many car accidents are survivors who have lost a loved one. These experiences can be especially harrowing for those who had to watch a sibling, parent, spouse, or child, suffer in an accident. In a case that has made national headlines, a 13-year old girl was awarded $150 million after she watched her family burn to death in a fiery accident on a California freeway.

Wrongful death claims are legal actions taken by a spouse, parent, or child who has lost a loved one. An experienced advocate can investigate any death and identify the individuals or entities responsible. Our Boston wrongful death attorneys are experienced in complex claims and are dedicated to maximizing compensation for our clients. We understand the gravity of any loss and are committed to protecting the rights and interests of victims.
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October 31, 2013

Pedestrian Seriously Injured in 3-Car Accident on Sidewalk

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In a recent downtown Boston accident, a pedestrian was seriously injured. According to 7NEWS, it happened at the intersection of Stuart and Berkeley Streets. The pedestrian was on the sidewalk when the accident happened. Officials report that it was the result of a chain reaction-type accident involving three vehicles. The pedestrian was transported to Mass General Hospital.

Though the number of pedestrian fatalities fell from 5,585 in 1995 to 4,280 in 2010, there were an estimated 70,000 reported pedestrian injuries in 2010. While the decline is uplifting, it may be an illusion. Officials believe that hospital records aren’t even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pedestrian accidents, injuries and fatalities as many are never even reported to the police.

Our Boston pedestrian accident lawyers understand that there are roughly 2 million pedestrians each and every day in the city of Boston. Less than 1 million call our city home, but when you factor in all of the workers and tourists to the area that number swells. With such a high number of people walking throughout our area, pedestrian safety is an issue of critical importance, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.
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