Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog

October 14, 2010

Walk to School Month campaign could reduce Boston pedestrian accidents

A $500,000 grant is paving the way for Scituate and Hatherly Elementary School to join the more than 225 schools in Massachusetts that participate in the Safe Routes to School program. The program, first implemented in Massachusetts in 2001, is designed to improve sidewalks, crosswalks and roadways while encouraging a safe and healthy – walkable – alternative to bus or car commuting to school for students and families, the Gov Monitor reports.

In 2009, My Fox Boston reported that Boston was one of a handful of start-up communities to embrace the “walking school bus” concept early on. In one Wakefield community, the Safe Route to School program now includes about three dozen schoolchildren and parents who make the half-mile trek back and forth to school each day.

Our Boston pedestrian accident lawyers support this program and its tri-fold agenda of promoting exercise, environmentalism and teaching students about traffic safety. According to the National Center for Safe Routes to School, October has been deemed International Walk to School Month. Over the last 13 years, 40 countries have joined the effort with 3,300 schools in the U.S. now participating. Currently, more than 4,500 schools in the U.S. have been awarded $612 million toward Safe Routes to School projects since 2005.

Locally, this Walk Boston link provides a host of resources, safety tips and a calendar of walkable events throughout Boston. For parents, teachers or school administrators interested in implementing a Safe Routes to School program in their community, or embedding safe walking tips and precautions into lesson plans or home practice, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center has produced this handbook as a guide and reference tool.
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October 13, 2010

Boston apartment fire that kills two, displaces more than 20, highlights premise liability issues

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A spate of recent accidents has led our Boston personal injury lawyers to report on a series of fires and carbon monoxide poisoning incidents on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney blog. Again this weekend, a four-alarm fire at a 15-unit apartment complex in Lowell claimed the lives of two residents and displaced at least 20 more, the Boston Herald reports.

It is believed that a power strip is to blame for the fire which began around 4 a.m. on Sunday. The blaze has been deemed an accident by fire officials. While apartment fires occur about as frequently as they do in private homes, the New York City Fire Department notes there is a greater risk of fire, heat and smoke quickly spreading to reach other units in multi-family dwellings. According to the NYCFD, regardless as to whether you are a homeowner or apartment tenant, fire safety begins at home. They offer the following safety tips and precautions for apartment dwellers:

~ Most modern apartments are constructed with at least one internal “primary” entrance and exit to individual apartments and at least one internal or external “secondary” entrance and exit to the building. In both locations, the doors should be fireproof and self-closing. Tenants should be able to open both doors internally without keys via a thumb-turning bolt.

~ In addition to doorways, tenants should be aware of conditions of stairways, fire towers and fire escapes. Landlords should maintain fire sprinklers and fire extinguishers and tenants should know where to find them and how to use them.

~ Tenants should be able to find their way out in the darkness through multiple exits and be familiar with stairwell conditions. Doorways and stairwells should be clear of debris and other items (like bicycles or grills). Never use an elevator to exit a building that is on fire.

~ For protection and because it is the law, many windows are equipped with either a window security gate or a child safety window guard. While these items are meant for protection, in the event of a fire they can become a lethal hazard. For those with security gates, each family member should be able to operate the release devices. For families with child safety guards, do not install them on a window designated as a fire escape. Also, keeping all windows free of clutter – plants, wall-unit air conditioners, and decorative items – can be a life saver.
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October 11, 2010

Distracted driving laws aim to prevent Massachusetts truck and bus accidents, traffic accidents by employees on the job

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In an effort to reduce Boston trucking accidents and accidents nationwide involving trucks, buses, and trains, the federal government announced new rules governing commercial drivers as part of the second annual Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, D.C.

Our Massachusetts injury lawyers frequently report on the dangers of accidents involving large trucks — motorists don’t stand a chance in an accident with a large commercial semi, which typically weights 20 times more than a passenger vehicle. The dangers are just as obvious when it comes to Massachusetts bus accidents, where drivers are responsible for the safety of dozens of passengers and other motorists on the road.

Last year’s summit culminated with an announcement by President Obama that all federal employees driving federal vehicles would be prohibited from text messaging while driving. A text messaging ban for commercial truck and bus drivers was also planned and had been implemented when this year’s summit convened last month in Washington.

However, authorities extended the ban to include train operators and drivers of in-state trucks hauling hazardous materials, which had been inadvertently omitted from last year’s measure.

Additionally, the government announced results of a pilot plan to ticket drivers violating cell phone laws and another program that encourages employers to implement plans to encourage employees not to use cell phones or text message while driving.

“We are taking action on a number of fronts to address the epidemic of distracted driving in America,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “With the help of the experts, policymakers, and safety advocates we’ve assembled here, we are going to do everything we can to put an end to distracted driving and save lives.”

The program “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” was modeled after seat belt enforcement programs like “Click it or Ticket.” The campaign targeted Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York, both towns where hand-held cell p[hones are illegal. During two-week enforcement periods, both cities issued more than 4,000 tickets to drivers caught talking or texting on cell phones. Subsequent observations and surveys found that hand-held cell phone use dropped by 38 to 56 percent, while text messaging by drivers dropped by 42 to 68 percent.

“Good laws are important, but we know from past efforts to curb drunk driving and promote seatbelts that enforcement is the key,” said LaHood. “Our pilot programs in Syracuse and Hartford are critical pieces of our overall effort to get people to realize distracted driving is dangerous and wrong. I want to commend the police in Hartford and Syracuse for their excellent work keeping our roads safe and serving as a model for other communities.”

Meanwhile, the Network of Employer for Traffic Safety has enrolled almost 1,600 U.S. companies, which have adopted distracted driving policies covering 10.5 million employees. Another 550 organizations and 1.5 million employees are expected to enroll within the next 12 months.

“I am thrilled that businesses across the country are making anti-distracted driving policies an integral part of their employee culture,” said LaHood. “President Obama led by example last year by banning four million federal workers from texting behind the wheel. Employers across America are doing the same to help us set an example and keep our roads safe.”
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October 8, 2010

Productivity figures show workers doing more with less; increased risk of Massachusetts work accident the likely result

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Record gains in multifactor productivity mean American workers are doing more with less — a work environment that often increases the risk of a serious or fatal Boston work accident.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports multifactor productivity increased by .7 percent in 2009, the fastest rate of growth in five years. Multifactor productivity measures the change in output versus combined input of labor and capital. In other words, employers are getting more out of workers, for less expense, than at anytime since 2005.

In fact, both capital improvements and labor input experienced the largest decline since reporting began in 1987. The associated increase comes from the fact that remaining employees did more with less than ever before.

Of course, it is no secret that employers have cut staff and are delaying capital improvements until an economic recovery is certain. Nor should it comes as a surprise that when investment in plant and equipment is delayed in a work environment where employees fear the threat of layoffs or downsizing, the risk of a Massachusetts work accident increases even as employees feel more pressure to let small accidents go unreported.

When an employee is injured on the job, consulting a Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyer is the best option. Rules are in place to prevent an employer from retaliating against an injured worker. And failing to report a work accident can prevent you from making a claim in the event that your injury becomes more serious months, or even years later. The tragic irony is that properly reporting a work accident, and seeking access to a qualified attorney, can actually increase your job security while recovering from an injury. Tragically, workers who fear losing their job often choose keeping their mouth shut and their head down and thus lose the ability to protect themselves and their families from economic loss associated with a work accident.
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October 6, 2010

Traffic accidents leading cause of Massachusetts workers’ compensation claims

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

This week (Oct. 4-8) is Drive Safely Work Week as employers are encouraged to take steps to reduce the risk of car accidents on the job, Trucking Info reports.

Traffic accidents are a leading cause of Massachusetts work accidents and accidents on the job nationwide. Those injured in a traffic accident while on the job are best served by consulting a Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyer who has extensive experience in handling personal injury and wrongful death cases involving traffic accidents.

Transportation accidents were the leading cause of fatal work accidents in 2009; a total of 1,682 of the nation’s 4,340 work-related deaths were caused by transportation accidents, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Drive Safety Work Week involves a push for businesses to establish corporate cell phone policies to restrict or ban the use of cell phones while driving. The effort involves encouraging businesses to designate time to emphasize safe driving messages and promote call-blocking technology and other forms of prevention, like encouraging employees to use mass transit.

“Businesses across the United States are recognizing the impact of this problem on their employees and are beginning to adopt anti-distracted driving policies,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. “The materials in this kit are designed to help advance your company’s efforts against distracted driving.”

Here are campaign tools for employers and employees to help prevent distracted driving in Massachusetts.
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October 5, 2010

College stabbings, alcohol-infused melees raise premise liability, inadequate security concerns

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Since just prior to the start of the school year, 28 complaints have been lodged with Bridgewater police regarding incidences involving Bridgewater State students, the Boson Globe reports. The largest of which was a Sept. 10 brawl that grew to include more than 150 students and their friends. At one incident, a gun was fired. A second melee found one student in the emergency room after being struck in the head with a glass bottle.

Meanwhile, a second, Sept. 28, Boston Globe article addresses separate stabbing incidents at two area colleges that left one young man hospitalized and another 18-year-old student dead. The article also reported on several other assaults, including a homicide, that have happened on or near campuses in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Wisconsin since late August.

Boston premises liability lawyers and Massachusetts negligent security attorneys know there is a fine line between providing acceptably open public access and student independence and creating and maintaining an appropriately safe and secure environment for student, staff, educators and visitors who consider college campuses a cross between a public space and a home-away-from-home. With that said, students, friends and families have a right to expect a safe learning and living environment and school administrators and campus security officials have an obligation to provide for and meet that expectation.

At Boston College, the hospitalized student required surgery to repair abdominal injury sustained during a stabbing, which reportedly occurred after the student informed four men attempting to enter a dormitory that they were not supposed to be on campus. A 29-year-old fellow Boston College student was kicked in the head after coming to assist the stabbing victim. At Regis College, the early morning parking lot stabbing death of one of their students has put campus security on high alert. Dormitories are now under 24-hour surveillance and all visitors are screened before entering the campus.

Meanwhile, across the state, school officials and campus security administrators are working to add additional safety protocols to campuses already steeped in expanded security teams, key-card only building access points, blankets of campus surveillance and checkpoint-clearance-only access for non-residents.
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October 3, 2010

Carbon Monoxide injuries can involve premise liability issues in Massachusetts

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A Roxbury mother and her five children were transported Boston Medical Center after complaining of headaches, lightheadedness and dizziness, the Boston Globe reports.

A carbon monoxide detector installed in the Dudley Street apartment alerted the family to the presence of the invisible, odorless – and potentially deadly – gas. Firefighters found carbon monoxide levels at three times the threshold for residential environments. It is believed the leak began during the night and came from a faulty furnace.

With cooler weather on the horizon, Boston premises liability lawyers are reminding homeowners and landlords that now is the time to check fuel-burning household equipment, ventilation systems and test carbon monoxide detectors. Most serious and fatal cases of carbon monoxide poisoning happen during the winter season, when fuel-burning heating equipment is used with more frequency, snow can block exterior ventilation pipes and cars are left to warm in enclosed garages.

A Boston premise liability case may be filed against landlords, business owners or property owners who fail to properly maintain furnaces and other safety equipment.

The Center for Disease Control reports that 400 Americans die each year from accidental CO poisoning with fatality highest among those 65 and older. Each year, 20,000 people are sent to the emergency room and 4,000 hospitalized due to carbon monoxide intoxication. Those most susceptible to CO poisoning are the very young, the very old and anyone with a heart condition or respiratory problems.

Symptoms of this “silent killer” include nausea, confusion and dizziness, but can be difficult to detect and impossible for sleeping or intoxicated victims to sense. If not treated immediately, CO intoxication can cause permanent brain damage and even death. For those exposed, seeking immediate fresh air can be a life saver.

Particularly now with the winter season approaching, landlords and rental property owners have an obligation to properly maintain household heating equipment and provide a safe environment for renters and their families. If they don’t, a landlord can and should be held responsible if their negligence leads to serious injury or death.
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September 30, 2010

Shelburne Falls fatal motorcycle accident highlights highway hazards for Massachusetts bikers

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A two-vehicle Shelburne Falls accident involving a 2005 Ford Freestyle and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle claimed the life of a 60-year-old motorcyclist, The Republican reports.

The Ford Freestyle was struck after turning left onto Route 2 and crossing the path of the Harley, which then hit the vehicle. Boston motorcycle accident attorneys know that as the interest in and ownership of motorcycles continues to tick upward, so has the number of motorcyclists killed and injured each year in traffic accidents continued to climb.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008, almost 5,300 motorcyclists were killed and 96,000 motorcyclists were injured in traffic accidents nationwide, revealing a decade-long upward trend in both fatal and injury-causing motorcycle accidents. In Massachusetts, 41 motorcyclists died in crashes in 2008. Among the most common accident circumstances – representing 41 percent of fatal accidents involving a motorcycle and motor vehicle – the other vehicle was turning left at the time of the crash. In 2008, left-turn crashes claimed the lives of 985 motorcyclists.

The NHTSA reports that because of their open construction 80 percent of motorcycle-involved traffic accidents result in injury or death. To address this grim statistic, the NHTSA recommends a handful of suggestions to help motorcycles stay safe and uninjured:

~ Obtain proper state licensing and complete a rider-safety training course before taking a motorcycle on the road.

~ Make sure the bike fits the skill, experience and ability of the rider. In this case, size matters!

~ Because motorcycles lack basic structural protection, motorcyclists should always wear protective gear – gloves, goggles, a helmet and boots – that offer additional protection in the event of an accident.

~ Because of their more supple maneuverability, weather conditions can create more hazards for motorcyclists than for other motor vehicles. Before getting on the bike, scan the radar. Be aware of the local weather forecast and road conditions.

~ Perhaps most important: motorcyclists need to ride defensively and ride thinking they are invisible to other motor vehicles. Never ride in a car driver’s blind spot.
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September 26, 2010

New study ranks Top 200 most dangerous intersections for Massachusetts drivers

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Our Massachusetts car accident attorneys know that more than 34,000 people died in fatal car accidents across the U.S. in 2008. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 8,461 were killed – or roughly 25 percent – in fatal car accidents occurring at or near intersections. That same year, there were 338 fatal Massachusetts car accidents, with 72 – or a little more than 20 percent of them – intersection-related.

For one Lowell family, such statistics hit home, the Boston Globe reports. On Sat., Sept. 11 a 31-year-old law enforcement officer and father of two was struck and killed while riding his Harley Davidson through the intersection of Princeton Blvd. and Foster Street. The driver, who witness say had glassy, bloodshot eyes and spoke with slurred speech, was driving with two passengers, both of whom were intoxicated.

MassDOT Highway Division’s Top Ten crash intersection locations:
1. Fall River (Plymouth Ave. & Rodman St.): total crashes – 155, injury crashes – 31
2. Lowell (VFW Hwy. & Varnum Ave.): total crashes – 127, injury crashes – 31 3. Westfield (North Elm St. & Pochassic St.): total crashes – 130, injury crashes – 30 4. Lowell (Middlesex St. & Wood St.): total crashes – 132, injury crashes – 28
5. Boston (Massachusetts Ave. & Melnea Cass Blvd.): total crashes – 107, injury crashes – 31, fatal crashes – 1
6. Lowell (Bridge St. & VFW Hwy.): total crashes – 111, injury crashes – 32 7. Raynham (Rt. 44 & Orchard St.): total crashes – 94, injury crashes – 34
8. Worchester (Highland St./Lincoln Square & Main St.): total crashes – 124, injury crashes – 26
9. Brockton (Pleasant St. & West St.): total crashes – 95, injury crashes – 30 10-1. Quincy (Hon. Thomas E. Burgin Pkwy. & Granite St.): total crashes – 111, injury crashes – 25
10-2. Lowell (Church St. & Appleton St.): total crashes – 99, injury crashes – 28
In some cases, where a state or local government fails to correct issues at a dangerous intersection, a lawsuit may be brought against the government entity responsible for its maintenance and upkeep. Many times, just knowing where the dangers lie can be enough to help a motorist avoid a serious or fatal crash, either by choosing alternative routes to avoid the intersection, or by using extra caution.
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September 24, 2010

A legacy of code violations, safety concerns and hazards haunt 150 abandoned East Boston warehouses

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Boston premises liability lawyers are closely monitoring a citywide crackdown on unsafe buildings in East Boston after a weekend Howard Street warehouse blaze in late August affirmed ongoing concerns long voiced by city official. Fortunately, the Boston Globe reported, none of the 170 responding firefighters nor innocent civilians were injured or killed by the blaze, a 9-alarm fire believed to be one of the biggest in Boston history. For many, the fire is eerily reminiscent of the Worchester warehouse fire that killed six firefighters in 1999.

In the wake of the fire, which is now known to have been started by illegal tenants shooting fireworks into a nearby warehouse, the Boston Herald reports that Mayor Thomas Menino created a taskforce dedicated to putting pressure on the owners of 147 East Boston buildings in question. The goal, to force landlords and property owners to bring their holdings up to code and correct a host of other safety concerns and violations. In addition, the team will investigate ways to streamline the process allowing the City to take over abandoned properties.

Following the Mayor’s announcement, a second Herald article reported that the landlord of the burned Roxbury warehouse – who, according to public records, owns a $620,000 home in New Hampshire – claims he’s broke. He insists he lacks the resources to address the growing list of violations and hazards associated with the property and has openly refused to fix code violations. He currently owes the City nearly $200,000 in back taxes.

Too often abandoned properties become a danger. To curious neighbor kids, they can be irresistible. The homeless may take up residence and create their own dangers. Passersby may be at risk because of broken sidewalks or falling debris. And the dangers can pose a risk to police or rescue personnel who must respond to them in the event of an emergency. Owners have an obligation to keep such properties free of hazards. When they don’t, and someone is seriously injured or killed, a property owner can and should be held responsible.
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