Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog

November 11, 2010

Report on Boston MBTA accident due soon; text-messaging driver believed responsible

Transit workers had no warning of a Boston trolley accident allegedly caused by a text-messaging driver, the Boston Herald reported.

As our Boston personal injury attorneys have reported, the accident injured dozens of passengers and led to a new rule forbidding transit drivers from using cell phones. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority accident has been blamed on the driver’s inattentiveness. This week, the National Transportation Safety Board released dozens of documents related to its investigation of the May 2009 Boston train accident. Its final report isn’t expected for several months.

The 24-year-old operator was reportedly text messaging when he ran through yellow and red warning lights and into the two car train ahead of him at the Government Center and Park Street stations. He was fired and charged with felony grossly negligent operation.

The crash led to a strict policy against cell phone use on the job. Violations result in a 30-day suspension and a recommendation that the employee be fired. At least 22 drivers have been disciplined since the new policy went into effect.
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November 11, 2010

Fall River construction accident results in Massachusetts work-safety violation

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A Fall River, Massachusetts construction accident has resulted in a roofing and siding contractor being fined $70,000 by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

Miranda Roofing faces the maximum proposed fine for failing to provide fall protection for employees working on a roof in Portsmouth, according to OSHA. The willful violation is defined as one committed with plain indifferent to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorneys represent clients who have been seriously injured or killed in fall accidents in Boston and throughout Massachusetts. Employers must provide the proper safety training and equipment for employees working at height. When they don’t, and an employer is seriously injured or killed as a result, the employer can and should be held responsible.

“We found employees working without any form of fall protection at heights up to 15 feet, even though this employer well knows the requirement for fall protection whenever employees work at heights of 6 feet or above,” said Patrick Griffin, OSHA’s area director for Rhode Island. “We’ve proposed the maximum fine because of the severity of this hazard and this employer’s repeated history of failing to ensure fall protection for workers at other jobsites.”

OSHA reports the company has been cited five times since 2005 for failing to obey fall-prevention safety regulations. Fall accidents are the leading cause of construction deaths and one of the main causes of fatal work accidents nationwide. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 617 of the nation’s 4,340 fatal work accidents were caused by falls last year. Massachusetts fall accidents resulted in 12 work-related deaths.

“Falls are the leading cause of death in construction work,” said Griffin. “Each time the employer fails to provide fall protection, the employees are exposed to potential death or disabling injury.”
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November 8, 2010

Exposure to hazardous chemicals results in complex Massachusetts work injury claims

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The risk of Massachusetts work accidents caused by hazardous chemicals was highlighted by a forum this fall held by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, which aims to update exposure reduction strategies and other safety measures.

Serious or fatal injuries caused by hazardous chemical exposure are among the most complex work injury cases handled by our Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers. While some cases result from a chemical spill or work accident, many other cases result from the impact chemical exposure has on an employee over a long period of time.

OSHA reports that many of the government safety agency’s 400 permissible exposure limits (PELs) date to the agency’s founding a half-century ago. The government has implemented more protective regulations on only about 29 chemicals.

“Many of our permissible exposure limits are based on 1950s-era science that we now realize is inadequate to protect workers in 21st century workplaces,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels. “We must assure the protection of workers currently exposed to well-recognized chemical hazards for which we have an inadequate PEL or no PEL at all. I am hopeful that this forum will assist us in achieving that goal by helping us to identify those chemicals on which we should be focusing our efforts.”

Exposure to harmful chemicals in the workplace can damage virtually all parts of the body, including lungs, skin, liver, kidneys and eyes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 55,000 workers suffered illnesses related to chemical exposure in the workplace in 2007 — though the government knows that estimate does not begin to account for those injured by chemical exposure that will not present physical symptoms for years or decades to come.

Massachusetts work accidents caused by exposure to harmful chemicals or environments claimed 11 lives last year — another 7 employees died as a result of fires or explosion.
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November 6, 2010

Trunk entrapment a child injury risk in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

All too often kids are left making up their own games to pass time while their parents are busy with their daily routines. Creativity can sometimes lead to

November 4, 2010

Third-party negligence alleged in wrongful death lawsuit stemming from Boston work accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the family of a Boston firefighter, against six companies contracted to inspect the braking systems on fire trucks, the Boston Globe reported.

While a Massachusetts workers’ compensation claim is most commonly filed to collect damages on behalf of an employee and his family following a work accident, a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death claim may be filed by a Boston injury attorney when it is alleged that the negligence of a third party contributed to the serious or fatal injury of an employee in an on-the-job accident.

In this case, the firefighter died in January 2009 after Boston Fire Department Ladder 26 suffered a brake failure and careened down Parker Hill Avenue in Mission Hill. The truck crashed through the brick wall of a building on Huntington Avenue. The Globe reports that companies named in the lawsuit include Bay State Auto Spring Manufacturing Co. of Roxbury; Boston Freightliner Inc. of Everett; Broadway Brake Corp. of Somerville; Damian Diesel Inc. of Avon; Suspension Specialists Inc. of Allston; and Woodward’s Auto Spring Shop Inc. of Brockton.

The wrongful death lawsuit alleges gross negligence on the part of the companies, faulty brake work, installation of the wrong parts, failure to recognize mistakes during inspection. The negligence resulted in the truck’s failure to stop, causing the fatal crash, according to the suit.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the late firefighter’s daughter and widow and seeks unspecified damages.

On the day of the accident, the truck had been returning from a medical call when the brakes failed. The victim, who was riding in the front seat, used the truck’s horn to warn pedestrians and drivers. All four firefighters in the truck and several people in the building were injured. The victim died of massive head trauma.
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November 2, 2010

Massachusetts pedestrian accident seriously injures trick-or-treating toddler

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

An Abington, Massachusetts car accident that injured a child trick-or-treating has led to reckless child endangerment charges against a Brockton woman, the Patriot Ledger reported.

Our Boston auto accident attorneys and Massachusetts child injury lawyers frequently report on the risk of car accidents faced by young children and teenagers. As we reported recently on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, Halloween accidents in Massachusetts increase the dangers this time of year.

In this case, the three-year-old girl was injured in the Massachusetts pedestrian accident as she cross Route 123. Police charged her caretaker, a 21-year-old Brockton woman, after alleging that she had taken the 3-year-old and a 2-year-old trick-or-treating at 8:45 p.m. — after the posted hours.

The 3-year-old was struck by a 2008 Kia while attempting to cross Route 123 by herself. The girl was transported to a local hospital and then taken to Children’s Hospital in Boston with serious injuries.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 1,314 children under the age of 14 were killed in traffic accidents last year. More than 190,000 were injured.

Somewhere in America, traffic accidents claim the lives of four children each day and injure nearly 500. One-fifth of those fatal incidents involve pedestrian accidents. Last year, 244 children were killed while walking.
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November 1, 2010

Massachusetts sporting accidents a leading cause of concussions and Traumatic Brain Injury

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Our Boston injury attorneys note recent articles in Sports Illustrated and USA Today highlight the risk of head injuries and Massachusetts sports injuries, particularly for high-school athletes.

Massachusetts Personal Injury Attorney Jeffrey S. Glassman has a special interest in helping young athletes who have been injured in a sporting accident. The National Youth Sports Safety Foundation was founded after his sister suffered a debilitating back injury that ended a promising tennis career after she was placed on an inappropriate weight-training program.

Sports Illustrated reports that smaller hits than previously thought may lead to concussions, particularly in contact sports like hockey and football. And the resulting brain damage begins much earlier than previously thought.

Researchers had believed that 80 times the force of gravity was needed to cause concussions — heading a soccer ball produces about 20gs. They were stunned to learn hits of 100gs or more were common in high school football practice. Participants in the study subsequently scored 20 percent lower on memory tests.

And a concussion was not necessary for reduced test scores. Of 11 players examined in one set, three had suffered concussions while the other eight had not. Nevertheless, four of those eight players showed significant declines in visual memory. Moreover, the force of the hits was primarily in the 40g to 80g range, or about half of what was previously though necessary for adverse results.

Traumatic brain injury can range from a concussion to a penetrating head injury suffered in a car accident. Symptoms can take months to surface and the full impact of such injuries may not be known for years, or even decades. Our Massachusetts injury lawyers believe it is imperative for those who suffer a head injury to seek the advice of an experienced law firm. While such injuries may present as little more than a minor annoyance, taking the steps to protect your rights in the event a claim needs to be filed in the future can be a critical step to protecting the rights of you and your family.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 1.7 million people will suffer a brain injury each year. Of those, 1.4 million will be seen in hospital emergency rooms, 275,000 will be hospitalized and 52,000 will die.

The most common causes of TBI are auto accidents, fall and sports-related injuries.
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October 31, 2010

Fatal Massachusetts pedestrian accident show there is no such thing as “minor injuries.”

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A disabled man has died in a New Bedford, Massachusetts pedestrian accident after his motorized wheelchair was dragged beneath a van at a busy city intersection Friday afternoon, the Boston Herald reported.

While police and authorities at the scene said they did not believe the man’s injuries were life threatening, his family said he died at the hospital. This case illustrates why our Boston personal injury lawyers and Massachusetts wrongful death attorneys are bothered when we see it reported that someone suffered “minor injuries” as the result of an accident.

As the old adage goes, “minor injuries” are injuries that do not happen to you!

Traumatic brain injuries are just one example: While these injuries are very often life threatening, the initial symptoms can takes weeks or even months to progress into a full-blown emergency. In other cases, the extent of a person’s injuries may not be readily apparent in the immediate aftermath of the accident. In other cases, a pre-existing health condition can exacerbate injuries sustained as the result of an accident. These are just a few of the reasons that we encourage those involved in an accident to contact an attorney, document the incident, and take the steps necessary to protect their rights should a claim need to be filed in the months or weeks to come.

Police report the 54-year-old victim was struck while crossing the intersection of Route 6 and Pleasant Street on Friday afternoon. He died at Boston Medical Center’s trauma center at about 11 p.m.
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October 29, 2010

Elderly driver injured in West Roxbury, Massachusetts car accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A West Roxbury, Massachusetts car accident involving an 87-year-old woman last week is a reminder of the need to monitor the abilities of our older loved ones and speak with them about safe driving as the winter driving season nears.

Our Boston auto accident attorneys have written before about the issues facing older drivers. As we reported earlier this year on our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, the state’s new distracted driving law also requires drivers over the age of 75 to undergo vision testing and to renew their driver’s license in person, rather than online.

In this case, the woman rammed her car through a guardrail in a parking lot and landed in a creek near the Charles River in West Roxbury. She was taken to Faulkner Hospital with back pain. The crash happened at the Toyota dealership on VFW parkway and witnesses say the car was traveling at 45 mph when is truck the guardrail. A spokesman for the dealership said the victim’s car was struck by a black sedan in the moments before the crash.

She raced off, sideswiping several used cars in the lot before crashing through a guardrail, down an embankment and into a creek.

In September, we reported about older drivers and Boston car accidents That blog took a look at a report that found that drivers over the age of 75 were twice as likely to say they would drive after the age of 90 than those drivers who more recently hit retirement age. Meanwhile, government statistics have found that those over the age of 75 were more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than drivers in any other age group.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides tips for speaking with older drivers about driving safety. It also reports that older drivers account for nearly one-sixth of all traffic fatalities and one-fifth of pedestrian fatalities. Most accidents involving older drivers occur during the day (80 percent) and on weekdays (72 percent).
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October 26, 2010

Windstorm causes several tree limbs to topple across Massachusetts, raising questions regarding Boston-area premises liability

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Recent strong winds have led to several near misses in the Boston-area after gusts caused limbs to snap and trees to be felled across sidewalks, patios, apartment porches — even crushing a couple cars parked street side, the Boston Channel reports.

Two women were transported to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries after a massive tree limb cracked and fell across a Kemp Street sidewalk. Property damage was more significant. Falling limbs crushed patio furniture and a deck structure and caused roof and other damage to a home and a couple cars.

Boston premises liability attorneys know that mother nature may have her own plans, but homeowners, property managers and landlords have an obligation to protect tenants and guests from hazards such as tree limbs. The scattering of tree-limb crack-offs around Boston is reminiscent of a rash of similar accidents in Central Park since 2009 that claimed the life of at least two, the New York Times reports.

In late July, 2009, a 33-year old man was seriously injured in Central Park when a rotting limb gave way and crushed him. In February, 2010, a second incident claimed the life of a 46-year-old man after a snow-covered branch fell on him. In June, a six-month-old infant was killed and her mother was critically injured by a falling limb from a honey locust tree at the Central Park Zoo. What caused the branch to snap is still unknown and various City agencies are still struggling to assign responsibility. Several personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits have also been filed.

The Union City family of the deceased infant is now planning to file a $50 million lawsuit against New York City, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Central Park Conservancy, the Jersey Journal reports.

While pruning and regular care and maintenance can certainly diminish the likelihood of such accidents, sometimes branches break off, TIME reports. To reduce both risk and liability, New York City’s 5.2 million trees are maintained by the City Park Department. In Central Park, the Central Park Conservancy regularly prunes and inspects the 25,000 trees on their property.

For the most part, in large urban settings like Boston or New York City millions of trees and millions of people share the same living space with little incident. On occasion, however, failure to properly prune trees or otherwise ensure a property is free from hazard, can lead to serious or fatal injury.
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