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A woman has been awarded $400,000 for the disfigurement and death of her stepfather in a nursing home, the Boston Globe reported.

The Massachusetts nursing home neglect and abuse claim stemmed from the 2005 death of a 93-year-old nursing home resident. The resident died a month and a half after suffering an eye injury at a Brockton nursing home owned by Kindred Healthcare.

The victim’s eye was gouged by a metal hook as he was being mechanically lifted from his bed. Two people were supposed to operate the machine. The patient later died from sepsis, which is an infection-related complication.

A jury awarded the stepdaughter $400,000 plus interest for disfigurement and pain and suffering. However, they did not find Kindred responsible for the death. It was a victory even getting the case to trial — last year, a judge invalidated an arbitration agreement the victim signed, which agreed not to sue if he was killed or injured at the nursing home.

Kindred owns more than 40 nursing homes in the state.

Hiring a Massachusetts nursing home neglect lawyer is critical to protecting the rights of nursing home patients against the large corporations that dominate the nursing home industry. The American Health Care Association reports that more than half of the nation’s nursing homes are run by large chain corporations and two-thirds are operated as for-profit companies.

In an increasing number of cases, nursing homes are seeking to have residents or family members sign arbitration agreements or other releases as a condition of admission. Essentially, they are acknowledging that your loved one is at high risk of serious or fatal injury in their facility and are asking you to agree not to sue them in the event of gross negligence. We recommend that families refuse to sign such releases; consulting an attorney to discuss a nursing home’s admissions procedures is also a good idea.
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A retired school principal in Arlington has spent more than $40,000 of his own money trying to prevent road improvements aimed at improving cycling and pedestrian safety and reducing the risk of bicycle accidents in Boston and Cambridge.

The Boston Globe reports the opposition has come in the wake of a plan to improve a mile-long stretch of Massachusetts Avenue, by creating wider sidewalks and dedicated bicycle lanes. A 71-year-old retired high-school principal is among the foes of the plan and has so far hired a law firm, an engineer and two consultants in an effort to prevent city leaders from moving forward.
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So far, those efforts have been unsuccessful. As our Boston injury lawyers have reported, the area is beginning to be recognized nationwide for the improvements it has made the cycling infrastructure. But serious and fatal bicycle accidents continue to be a primary concern as hundreds of riders are seriously injured or killed each year in Massachusetts bicycle accidents.

In this case, opponents are arguing that Arlington has plenty of places for riders, including a nearby rail trail, and that alterations to Massachusetts Avenue would only encourage more cyclists to use the road and increase the difficulty of travel for motorists and emergency vehicles.

Arlington town officials first unveiled the $6 million plan several years ago. Leaders hope it will continue to encourage commuters to ride bikes or walk, rather than add their vehicle to the congested roads. Critics are particularly concerned about the close proximity to the popular Minuteman Bikeway, which is less than a block away. They are concerned improvements could act as an invitation for thousands of cyclists to begin using the roadway, which could actually increase the dangers.
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The factors that could contribute to your being involved in a Boston car accident may also result in an increase in your insurance premiums, making safe driving habits a means of both improving safety and saving money.

And insurance companies are paying more and more attention, according to a report on Yahoo!

“If the driver does get into an accident as a result of his behavior, his next policy renewal would reflect it,” said Robert U’Ren, VP of Quality Planning Corp, a company that assist auto insurers with validating and underwriting policies.

Behaviors likely to cause an injury accident and an increase in insurance premiums include:

Texting while Driving: As our Boston accident attorneys continue to report, a full-court, nationwide press is now aimed at stopping drivers from text messaging while behind the wheel. Thirty states have now outlawed the practice and even Oprah Winfrey has weighed in with the “No Phone Zone” challenge.

Those violating the law could receive a ticket, and their car insurance premiums could increase as a result.

Not wearing a seat belt: Nationwide initiatives aimed at seat belt enforcement continue to have an impact. An increasing number of states are switching from secondary to primary enforcement, allowing law enforcement to ticket violators even if they have not been stopped for some other moving violation.

Adding a teen driver: The mere presence of a teen driver on your policy will increase your rates substantially. Car accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers ages 15 to 20, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Several off-the-road behaviors can also frequently impact your insurance rates including:

Missing credit card payments: While consumer advocates continue to argue against the policy, insurers continue to use the credit ratings of drivers in setting insurance rates. Companies claim those with poor credit or financial problems are a greater risk on the road and are more apt to engage in insurance fraud.

Paying insurance in installments: While motorists often saved a few bucks by paying all at once, rather than in monthly installments, that savings has gotten to be substantial. Frequently, a motorist can save several hundred dollars a year by paying in just one or two installments rather than paying by the month.
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New rules aimed at preventing children from being injured in Massachusetts ATV accidents are drawing praise from parents and safety advocates, the Boston Globe reported.

As we reported in June on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, lawmakers passed the new rules 141-12. The governor is soon expected to sign it into law. Among other things, it will increase the minimum age for riding an ATV to 14, from 10. It is named for Sean Kearney, an 8-year-old Waltham boy who died after a 500 pound ATV flipped over and pinned him face down in the sand.

Katie Kearney said “this bill will be one of the toughest in the nation.”

In 2004, and 2005, nearly 1,000 children were injured in Massachusetts ATV accidents. During the past 20 years, more than 2,500 children under the age of 16 have died in ATV accidents nationwide, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The new rules will also restrict the size of an ATV riders ages 14 to 16 are permitted to ride and will require riders in that age range to be supervised by someone over the age of 18. Riders under the age of 18 will also be required to take vehicle safety and responsibility courses before riding all recreational vehicles, including motorcycles, dirt bikes and snowmobiles.

Ken Anderson, president of the Massachusetts ATV Association, said the pending new law is unfair, considering “that the majority of injuries occurred in circumstances that were already in violation of existing statute, regulation, and common-sense best practices.”
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A 4-year-old girl has died, less than 24-hours after her sister drown in the family’s in-ground swimming pool in Brockton, the Boston Globe reported.

It is the second time in less than a month that twins have drown as the result of a Massachusetts swimming pool accident. We reported two weeks ago on our Boston Injury Attorney Blog that twin toddlers drown in a swimming pool accident.

Statistics show that 9 out of 10 child drownings occur while an adult is directly supervising a child. Authorities are encouraging parents to practice “touch supervision,” in which small children are never more than an arm’s length away. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that almost 50,000 people a year require emergency room treatment as the result of a swimming pool accident.

Each year, about 600 children die in swimming pool accidents, more than half of them are killed in swimming pools at home.

The CPSC offers swimming pool maintenance and safety tips.

In this case, the 4-year-old girl died shortly after midnight on Sunday. Her twin sister died Saturday afternoon.

Department of Children and Families reported receiving a tip about the twins and said it was also looking after the welfare of a 10-year-old child who was in a neighbor’s care. It is unclear whether DCF had received a tip prior to the accident and failed to properly investigate, or whether the tip came in response to the drownings.

CNN reports the pool appeared to be unused and in disrepair. The parents work as a nurse and a medical assistant.

The two girls were not breathing when pulled from the family pool about 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, according to the Brockton rescue officials. The twin girls that died in last month’s drowning accident were both 2-years-old.
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A Boston work accident has claimed the life of a 48-year-old electrician, who died hours after being pulled from a Norfolk house explosion, the Boston Herald reported.

Seven other people were seriously injured in the incident, after the WInterberry Way condominium blew up. Fire investigators believe the cause of the explosion may have been a propane gas leak at the job site. Two co-workers, ages 43 and 17, remained hospitalized through the weekend.

A Boston wrongful death lawyer or Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorney should always be consulted whenever an employee is seriously injured or killed in an accident while on the job.

Five other people, including two area firefighters, were treated and released at area hospitals. The victim was trapped in the basement for 90 minutes. The condo building is under construction at The Village at River’s Edge, a development for people 55 and older.

The 1,000 gallon underground propane tank was installed and inspected on April 20.
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An 8-year-old tourist has been hospitalized after being seriously injured in a Boston escalator accident at a MBTA station, according to NECN.

Instead of heading to Maine for a family wedding the girl is at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, where she is being treated for a serious foot injury that could result in amputation of her big toe.

The incident occurred after a family outing for dinner on Monday night. As they were taking the T back to their motel, Neil’s plastic Croc shoe got tangled in the escalator. The escalator reportedly kept churning even after the girl’s father and an attendant began pounding on the kill switch.

By the time the girl was freed, part of her foot was crushed.

Part of the blame could rest with the Croc shoes, which have been linked to serious escalator injuries for years. In such cases, a Massachusetts product liability claim may be filed to recover damages for an injury victim.

But that doesn’t answer questions about why the escalator kill switch failed. Last year, an elderly Boston woman strangled to death when the kill switch failed on a T escalator.

The MBTA’s words of wisdom? Parents should be “extra vigilant” when traveling with children. Sorry, but passengers are not required to use “extra vigilance” to protect themselves from poorly maintained escalators or other negligence conditions on MBTA’s property.

That is MBTA’s responsibility and the system can and should be held liable for the damages that result — both to compensate injured victims and to ensure that corrective action is taken that prevents a similar incident from occurring in the future.
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The Massachusetts State Police superintendent announced a safety study will help determine ways to reduce the risk of serious injury or death resulting in Massachusetts car accidents involving state troopers.

As our Boston injury lawyers have been reporting both here and on our sister site, Boston Car Accident Lawyers Blog, one trooper was killed and four others have been injured in the last month in car accidents that resulted from being struck while conducting car stops at the side of the road.

Patrol Col. Marian McGovern was joined by representative of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts.

Nationwide, car accidents are responsible for more than half of all work injuries involving law enforcement.

“When we sign up for this job, we know that we will be working on the shoulder of busy highways, with cars speeding by, inches away,” McGovern said. “We accept this because it is necessary for the protection of the public we serve and the very essence of our core mission.”

About half of the 87 police officers who have been killed in the line of duty so far this year have died in motor vehicle crashes. In fact, car accidents are a leading cause of all Massachusetts work accidents, not just accidents involving law enforcement officers.

So far this year, 10 cruisers have been hit by drunk drivers. Last year, 20 cruisers were struck by impaired motorists.

The patrol will also conduct a lighting study to see if improvements can be made to a trooper’s visibility while at the side of the road. A decade ago, Ohio troopers switched the color of their cruisers from “asphalt gray” to “bright white” in an effort to make themselves more visible.
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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has voted unanimously to approve new mandatory safety standards for full-size and non-full-size baby cribs.

But families who think the government is vigorously reviewing products marketed to children to ensure safety, or that companies that sell children’s products are especially vigilant, would be sadly mistaken on both counts. Hundreds of defective products in Massachusetts are recalled each year by the federal government — many of them marketed to children. And hundreds more are undoubtedly sold to consumers despite serious safety defects that go undetected or unreported. A Boston child injury lawyer should be consulted whenever a child is seriously injured or killed by a defective product.
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As CNN reports, the new rules come nearly 13 years after a New York mother began advocating for stiffer safety measures as a result of losing an infant in a tragic crib accident.

The infant got his neck stuck between the side rail and the headboard after a screw came loose. The new rules will essentially ban the manufacture and sale of drop-side cribs. The rules will also require better mattress support, better wood and hardware, stronger construction, and testing that does not permit tightening of screws between tests.

The CPSC has reported that an average of a dozen children a year are dying in drop-side cribs.

Consumers have the right to expect products that they purchase and bring into their home are free from serious or fatal flaws. Unfortunately, companies frequently put profits before consumer safety. Tragically, companies that market products to children are among the biggest offenders. Eighty-seven child products, not counting toys, have been recalled by the federal government so far this year — including at least 12 cribs.

Another 20 toys have been recalled by the CPSC
Drop-side cribs have been a frequent offender and can present a strangulation, choking or fall hazard to infants.

Last week, 82,000 Pottery Barn Kids drop-side cribs were recalled.

In June, Beco recalled a million drop-side cribs.

Seven other cribs were recalled just in the month of June.

Here is the full list of recalled child products, including cribs, issued by the federal government in the last several years.
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FedEx Ground has agreed to a settlement of $3 million with the Massachusetts attorney general’s office over a dispute that alleged the company misclassified drivers as independent contractors, the Associated Press reported.

Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorneys continue to fight on behalf of misclassified employees who are injured in a work accident in Boston or elsewhere in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office claimed the company’s actions denied state payroll taxes, worker’s compensation and unemployment assistance contributions and said it gave the company an unfair competitive advantage.

FedEx Ground denied liability in the settlement and is still facing a lawsuit by drivers. Money from the settlement will go to the state’s general fund as well as to 13 drivers named in the complaint.

Being classified as a contract worker can prevent you from seeking workers’ compensation benefits from a company in the event that you are injured on the job and can also have serious tax consequences. Additionally, you may be unable to collect unemployment benefits in the event that you are terminated or laid off from your job. Companies are increasingly seeking to classify employees as contract labor in order to realize the associated tax savings and to limit their liability in the event of an accident.

Anyone who is injured on the job in Massachusetts should consult a work injury lawyer right away to ensure that their rights are protected.
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Boston Office
1 International Pl Unit 1810
Boston, MA 02110
Phone: (617) 777-7777Fax: (617) 722-9999
Taunton Office
60 Court St
Taunton, MA 02780
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Quincy, MA 02171
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Worcester, MA 01609
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Disclaimer – The settlements above are only a sample of cases represented by our office. Each case is different and the amount of a potential resolution of your case will vary considerably depending on a substantial amount of factors. Some case results were worked in conjunction with partnering law firms.

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