Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog

May 30, 2010

Massachusetts boating accidents near record highs as Memorial Day signals start of boating season

This week is National Boating Safety week and an unusually high number of serious and fatal Massachusetts boating accidents have safety advocates preaching caution as the boating season begins in earnest with the Memorial Day weekend.

The Daily Item reports the area has already seen a record number of boating deaths so far in 2010 — a total of 21 people have already died in boating accidents off the coast of Massachusetts.

“Sadly, during the last decade on the waters of the Northeast, we’ve averaged 50-53 boating and paddling fatalities per year,” said Al Johnson, a recreational boating safety specialist for the First Coast Guard District in Boston.

As we reported recently on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, two Boston women were killed last week in a boating accident in Narragansett Bay.

A total of 55 fatal Massachusetts boating accidents occurred in 2008, while 58 occurred in 2007, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Safe Boating Council offers the following safety tips:

-Boat Responsibly and Wear It: Always remain alert and careful while boating and always wear your life jacket. About 90 percent of those who drown were not wearing a life vest.

-Know the Navigation Rules: You wouldn’t drive a car without understanding the rules of the road. So don’t drive a boat without learning the rules that can help keep you safe on the water. Understanding the rules for meeting, crossing or overtaking another boat can help keep you and your passengers safe. Maintain a proper lookout and a safe speed.

-Boat Sober: The same rules for driving a car while intoxicated, apply to piloting a boat. Operating a boat while intoxicated is illegal in all 50 states and is also a violation of federal law. An intoxicated boater is 10 times more likely to die in a boating accident.

-Be Aware of Carbon Monoxide: Engines produce carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. Proper cabin ventilation and well-maintained equipment is critical.

-Take a Boater Safety Course: Seventy percent of boating accidents are caused by operator errors, including inattention, carelessness, recklessness, inexperience, speeding and failure to watch for hazards. A boater safety course is essential to learning the rules on the water that can help keep you safe.

-Get Your Boat Checked: A well-maintained and properly equipped vessel is a safer boat for all who board.

The Massachusetts Environmental Police’s Boat and Recreation Vehicle Safety Bureau offers answers to frequently asked boating safety questions.
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May 28, 2010

Massachusetts swimming pool accidents, drowning accidents, a summer danger

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Memorial Day weekend and the end of the school year is an excellent time to talk to your children about swimming pool and water safety. Massachusetts drowning accidents occur almost exclusively between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Tragically, most Massachusetts swimming pool accidents involve small children. Whether an accident occurs at a residential swimming pool or in a commercial pool, such as those at apartment complexes, hotels and public parks, families dealing with a drowning or near-drowning accident should contact a Massachusetts child injury lawyer to help protect their rights.

Property owners have an obligation to provide a safe environment for visitors and guests. A premise liability claim should be filed in the event of a pool accident. Near-drowning accidents are complex medical and legal cases and frequently involve cognitive impairment that is not always readily apparent in small children.

While the majority of swimming pool accidents occur in warm weather states, including Florida and Arizona, there is evidence that children in northern states are at increased risk because of their inexperience around swimming pools.

In response to the high number of child deaths, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is launching a Nationwide Pool Safety Campaign, which is aimed at improving pool safety in all 50 states through the long, hot summer months.

“It is important to keep in mind that these numbers represent family tragedies. Preventing child drownings year round is a priority for the CPSC,” said Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “The Pool Safely campaign will start a national conversation with parents and children, pool owners and operators and industry professionals about the simple safety steps they can take to protect themselves and their families in and around pools and spas.”

-Each year, an average of 385 children die in swimming pool accidents — 299 of those involve young children under the age of 5.

-About 4,200 children younger than the age of 15 are treated in emergency room each year as a result of a swimming pool or spa accident.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission offers the following safety tips:

-Teach children to float or swim as soon as possible.

-Always provide adult supervision for swimming children.

-Even an adult should not swim alone.

-Teach children about the dangers of rough play, running, or diving.

-Never push anyone into a pool.

-Always go feet first on slides.

-Make sure other swimmers are out of the way before entering a pool.

-Keep rescue and first aid devices near the pool.

-Teach children what to do in case of an emergency.

-Keep electrical appliances out of the pool area to avoid a shock hazard.

-Never swim after drinking alcohol, eating or taking medication.

Massachusetts Law (105CMR435.00) includes strict rules and regulations governing swimming pool construction, maintenance and safety. Failure to comply with the law can leave a pool owner liable in the event of a serious or fatal pool accident.
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May 26, 2010

Two Massachusetts residents killed in boating accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Two Massachusetts women are being remembered by friends and family after a fatal boating accident in Narragansett Bay, South Coast Today reported.

The women, both 23, were residents of Dighton and Assonet. They were killed last weekend when their boat crashed into Despair Island off the coast of Rhode Island. Relatives said the two women were thrown from the 22-foot recreational vessel when it crashed. Three other boat occupants were treated at local hospitals.

Rescue workers from the Warwick Fire Department found the overturned boat about 2:45 a.m. Cause of the accident is under investigation by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office.

May 24, 2010

Employee pulled into sausage machine in Massachusetts work accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A Danvers man was hospitalized for injuries sustained in a Massachusetts work accident after being sucked into a sausage machine at the DiLuigi Sausage Company, the Salem News reported.

The man was working as part of a cleaning crew when he was partially sucked into a seasoning machine as he was cleaning inside a “vacuum-type cylinder,” according to police.

The machine was somehow switched on while he was still inside, causing him to be pulled underneath; his head and shoulders were lodged in the machine. He was removed from the machine and taken to Beverly Hospital to be checked for internal injuries.

Police say a language barrier prevented them from speaking with the man at length about the accident. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was called to the scene to investigate.

OSHA received reports of nearly 3.7 million work accidents in 2008 and investigated 5,214 fatal work injuries. The most common injuries involved sprains and strains, followed by back injuries and falls.

Highway accidents were the most common cause of fatal work injuries (1,044), followed by falls (658) and workplace homicide (453).
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May 23, 2010

Massachusetts worker’s compensation claims can go unreported in face of aggressive work-safety programs

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In one Massachusetts case, an employer called in 17 union workers and told them they had too many work injuries — one more and they would be fired. The union called the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which called the employer about the illegal action.

In another case tracked by Labor Notes, a trade labor organization, a food warehouse with 150 workers handed out prizes for months with no accidents. If an employee was injured, no prize. Then the company reportedly decided that injured employees had to wear a fluorescent orange vest for a week — like a Scarlet Letter — so everyone would know who cost them their prizes.

Hiring a Boston worker’s compensation attorney can be critical to protecting your rights in the wake of a serious Massachusetts work accident. The laws are complex. And, as these cases illustrate, employers do not always comply with the labor laws in place to protect the health and welfare of employees. Obtaining fair and just compensation for a serious work injury can have an enormous impact on the future financial well-being of you and your family.

Labor Notes reports such blame-the-worker programs are flourishing even as companies cut employees and contribute to the understaffing and high work loads that are frequently responsible for workplace accidents.

Such behavior-based safety programs frequently run afoul of the law and can include:

-Safety incentive programs.

-Injury discipline policies, including termination.

-Post-injury drug testing.

-Peer-review programs where one worker observes another.

Such programs encourage the belief that workplace behavior — and not management and environmental factors — are the primary cause of work accidents. However, reducing work hazards is the most successful course for reducing work injuries. Behavior-based programs often do little more than discourage claims and drive injury reporting underground.

Labor Notes blames such practices for deceptively low injury rate figures leading up to a catastrophic event and points to the low accident rates reported at a Texas oil refinery before a 2005 explosion killed 15 employees and injured 180.
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May 21, 2010

Massachusetts nursing home won’t face criminal charges in resident’s death

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled the owner of a Massachusetts nursing home cannot face criminal charges for the death or a nursing home resident who fell down a set of steps in a wheelchair, the Boston Herald reported.

Falls are one of the leading causes of deaths in nursing homes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Massachusetts nursing home neglect and abuse lawyer can help residents and families hold nursing homes accountable when neglectful care results in a serious or fatal fall. However, in this case the state’s high court ruled the owner cannot be criminally charged if no nursing home employee committed a crime.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office charged Life Care Centers of America Inc. with involuntary manslaughter following the 2004 incident, arguing various staff errors contributed to the fatal fall.

The Supreme Judicial Court said the Attorney General could not combine actions of negligence to charge the company with a crime. At least two other companies in Massachusetts have been charged recently with involuntary manslaughter.

-In 2007, a New York manufacturer of tile fasteners was charged after a motorist was killed by a falling ceiling panel in a Big Dig tunnel. The company pleaded guilty last year to a charge of making false statements.

-A sportsman’s club was charged after an 8-year-old boy shot himself in the head with an Uzi at a gun show in 2008. The club pleaded no contest and paid a $1,000 fine. Three men unaffiliated with the club face involuntary manslaughter charges in that case.

In the nursing home case, a 74-year-old resident suffering from brain damage and dementia was killed after her wheelchair fell down a set of steps outside the facility. A doctor had ordered the patient to wear a signaling device to help prevent her from attempting to leave the facility unattended. She was not wearing it at the time of her death.
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May 19, 2010

Bike week begins with fatal Newton bicycle accident

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Massachusetts’ Bike Week began with a fatal Boston bicycle accident that claimed the life of a 21-year-old man, the Boston Globe reported.

As we reported last week on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, authorities are pleading with motorists to use caution as the spring and summer bicycling season begins. More than 700 serious cycling accidents occurred in Boston in 2008. Nationwide, 716 people were killed and more than 52,000 injured in bicycle accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In this case, the rider was killed in an accident with an SUV at a Newton intersection. In Authorities believe the cyclist may have ran the red light while traveling eastbound on Commonwealth. He collided with a Honda SUV driven by a 48-year-old Newton woman, who was northbound on Homer Street.

May 14, 2010

Trio of Boston pedestrian accidents have authorities urging motorists to use caution

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A Boston pedestrian accident fatally injured a man early Wednesday morning near the entrance to the Ted Williams Tunnel.

It is the third serious pedestrian accident to occur in the Boston area in as many days. As we reported on our Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, authorities responded to a pair of pedestrian accidents on Monday that killed a man and seriously injured a woman walking her dog.

In Wednesday’s accident, the vehicle was driven by a 42-year-old Orange resident, Mass Live reported. The accident remains under investigation and no citations have been issued.

Police were called to Albany and Herald streets shortly after midnight. The pedestrian was taken to New England Medical Center with serious injuries.

The Boston Globe reported the man, who was in his late 30s, died as a result of his injuries.

The Globe reported that the man may have been crossing against the light and that the car’s speed is not believed to be a factor in the crash.

Seventy-five people were killed and more than 350 were seriously injured in Massachusetts pedestrian accidents in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Statewide, pedestrian accidents account for about 1 of every 5 traffic fatalities.

The Boston Public Health Commission reports that nearly 2 million pedestrians are in Boston during the workday, despite a residential population of just 600,000.

Boston Pedestrian Facts
-Only about 12 percent of pedestrians obey “Walk” signals.

-One-third of pedestrians jaywalk or disregard crosswalks.

-While 95 percent of drivers yield to pedestrians who have the right-of-way, only about half yield to pedestrians crossing against a light and fewer still yield to jaywalkers.

Safety Tips for Pedestrians

-Use the crosswalk.

-Always check for traffic in all directions before entering the street.

-Wait for walk signals.

-Pedestrians have the right-of-way at crosswalks without a traffic signal. But make sure a driver sees you before proceeding.

-Wear bright colored clothing after dusk.

-Watch for cars in driveways and parking spaces.

Safety Tips for Drivers

-Pedestrians have the right-of-way in crosswalks without traffic signals. Failure to yield to a pedestrian is punishable by a $200 fine.

-Always yield to pedestrians when making a turn.

-Give elderly pedestrians and small children a break; allow for extra time to cross the street.

-Always watch for pedestrians when backing up, or exiting a driveway or parking space.

-Yield to school buses. Remain alert for young pedestrians in school zones or near parks.

-Take your time. Reckless driving and speeding account for nearly one-fourth of all Boston car accidents.
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May 13, 2010

Boston trucking accident seriously injures dump truck driver, snarls traffic on I-93

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A dump truck rollover on I-93 seriously injured the driver and caused headaches for motorists this morning, the Boston Globe reported.

Thankfully no motorists were involved in the Boston trucking accident. Large trucks, including semis and dump trucks, are heavily regulated precisely because of the dangers they pose to motorists on the road. A 4,000 pound passenger car doesn’t stand a chance in an accident with a dump truck weighing 20,000 pounds or more. The height of large trucks can also cause a passenger vehicle to become wedged beneath the truck, frequently resulting in serious or fatal injuries.

In this case, the driver was seriously injured. Massachusetts work injury claims frequently result from motor vehicle accidents while on the job. While many people do not associate a car accident or trucking accident with a work injury, the reality is that work-related traffic accidents are a leading cause of employee injuries in Massachusetts and across the country.

The dump truck was carrying a load of mulch, which spilled across the roadway, snarling traffic and causing long delays on a major artery into Boston. The accident happened near exit 6 in Braintree, closing at least three lanes. Massachusetts State Police worked to get traffic moving again by opening the breakdown lane.

The 9:30 a.m. accident briefly closed the entire roadway and caused long delays well into the day.

The driver was taken in serious condition to Boston Medical Center.
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May 10, 2010

Proposal aims to shield residents from Massachusetts nursing home neglect and abuse

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A Boston resident is behind the proposed Act to Protect Nursing Home Residents, which aims to safeguard elderly residents from Massachusetts nursing home neglect and abuse.

Dr. Rachel Geller wrote the act three years ago after a bad experienced with her aunt, who suffered from Alzheimer’s and was shuttled between five nursing homes over a seven year period, according to the Newburyport News. Her aunt spent several weeks in a hospital’s locked psychiatric ward after being kicked out of a nursing home. At one point, the elderly woman was reportedly released with no place to go.

Geller has teamed with state Rep. Ruth Balser, D-Newton, in backing a law that will better inform patients and family members about nursing home regulations.

“The existing problem is there are already very good laws on the books, yet nursing homes routinely lie, break the laws, follow illegal procedures and omit information,” Geller said. “Because we as ‘consumers’ of nursing homes are unfamiliar with the nursing home regulations, we are automatically inclined to believe everything told to us by a nursing home.”

She said better informed families and patients will force homes to obey the law.

“Nursing homes follow standard operating procedures that violate the laws. How can it be that so many nursing homes have been allowed to develop procedures that violate the regulations which govern them?” Geller said. “I’m very pleased nursing homes will be required to give families a copy of the law in clear and understandable layperson’s terms to enable us to better advocate for our loved ones in nursing homes.”

While the bill still has a ways to go before becoming law, it was moved out of the Joint Committee on Health Care Finance last week, a critical step to making it to the floor for a vote.
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