Posts Tagged ‘lawyer’
Beef Products Recalled Due to Possible E. coli Contamination–Brockton, Massachusetts Meat Packer Blamed
A Brockton, Massachusetts meat packaging company has voluntarily recalled over a thousand pounds of ground beef patties and steaks due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7 bacteria, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. People exposed to the contaminated meat have suffered personal injuries.
Crocetti’s Oakdale Packing Company, also known as South Shore Meats, was investigated by Massachusetts and Rhode Island health officials after approximately twenty students at a Plymouth camp became ill following a meal using ground meat traced to the company. The USDA has declared a class I recall, due to the potential for serious illness and death from the O157:H7 strain of E. coli.
This type of bacterial infection usually manifests as diarrhea, which is often bloody, and several days of abdominal cramping. More severe cases may progress to hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), which causes breakdown of blood cells, kidney failure, and sometimes death. Children under five and the elderly are at the highest risk for the severe forms of illness.
Contaminated meats are the most common cause of E. coli O157:H7 infection, but the bacteria may come from other sources, as seen in the recall of prepackaged cookie dough this past June.
Click here for a list of contaminated products.
Safety Tips: Proper preparation and storage of meat can help to prevent illness. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Newly purchased meat and poultry should be refrigerated promptly, as should leftover cooked meat. Proper washing of hands and utensils that touch raw meat is also important, in order to avoid contaminating other food or surfaces with bacteria.
Click here for more information from the USDA.
MBTA Refuses to Add Key Safety System to Prevent Injuries to Passengers
Despite recent accidents, the MBTA continues to maintain that the automated operating systems that have been very successful at preventing accidents in other parts of the country are an unnecessary expense for the citizens of Boston. It is no secret that these systems could have prevented two serious rear end crashes on the Green Line in the last year alone. These systems would virtually eliminate driver error by automatically stopping trolleys from running red lights or getting dangerously close to other trolley cars. While some MBTA officials have argued that the safety systems would not be a good allocation of funds, recent events have made it fiscally irresponsible for these delays in adequate safety to continue.
There have been five crashes since 2007, and the most recent crash will cost the agency more than 10 million dollars in property damage and the medical claims of the victims. The crash on May 8th near government center epitomized the need for the system upgrades as nearly 50 peoples were admitted to the hospital as a result of their injuries sustained in the crash. The accident appears to be the result of carelessness by the operator who was text messaging at the time. This is the exact type of accident that would have been avoided with this proven technology in place.
This is hardly the first time that the safety regulations at MBTA have been brought into question. Last year, following the death of MBTA operator Ter’rese Edmonds, former MBTA engineer John Weiser could not hold back his criticisms of the way MBTA is falling behind the safety standards followed by their peers in other parts of the country. Weiser, who personally investigated more than a dozen crashes and more than 1,200 derailments during his twenty-six years of service to the MBTA, argued that the lack of modern equipment was directly responsible for the injuries sustained by its patrons. The Boston Globe quoted Weiser as saying “…from a safety point of view, had the T installed positive train stops, when the train went through the red light, the brakes would automatically be applied.”
Implementation of the new safety measures in other cities has been very successful. One example of this is San Francisco. The Muni Metro in San Francisco was experiencing many of the same problems in 1998 that Boston is dealing with now. After a week of the new system, even initial critics of the state spending were glad to have the automated system in place. Not only were the trains safer, but they were actually able to reduce the time between trains for their customers. Instead of two minutes or more between trians the automated system was able to run them every minute. Since the inception of this safety precaution in 1998 there has not been a single rear end crash. It is past time for the MBTA to invest in the safety of its system to protect its passengers.
For More Information
Trolley safety system put off The Boston Globe May 25, 2009
Safety review ordered after Boston trolley crash Associated Press May 27, 2009
Safety Review Ordered After Boston Trolley Crash Associated Press May 26, 2009
Massachusetts Car and Truck Drivers: Slow Down and Move Over to Prevent Accidents–It’s the Law!
Massachusetts drivers now have another law to obey: Drivers need to slow down and move over when approaching stationary police, emergency response, and construction vehicles that have their lights flashing. The penalty: $100, and your insurance rates will probably also go up.
This well intentioned bill was enacted to prevent injuries caused by car accidents. First responders to accident scenes and work crews have suffered serious injuries as the result of negligent drivers who fail to slow and move over, and the legislation is designed to make their work safer.
But can you legislate this kind of safety? The bill itself is quite vague. A driver is required to change lanes “if practicable.” A driver is required to reduce his or her speed to a “reasonable and safe speed for road conditions.” How will that be judged? And will emergency vehicles leave the scene to chase down violators of this new law?
Saving lives and preventing injuries are, of course, important goals. But real safety comes from a broader awareness of our duty to ensure the safety of emergency and construction personnel, and that awareness begins with proper driving training. It also begins with simple common sense and courtesy.
Defective Refrigerator Recall Affects Massachusetts Consumers; Threat of Fire and Serious Injury or Death
On March 10, 2009, 1.6 million Maytag refrigerator units (also sold under other brand names) were voluntarily recalled due to several reported fire hazard incidents. Due to an electrical failure in the relay, the component that turns on the refrigerator’s compressor, units can become 
overheated and pose a serious fire and injury hazard.
Before initiating the recall, Maytag had reports of 41 related relay malfunctions. Sixteen of those reports included information about property damage, ranging from smoke to serious kitchen fires. Though there have been no reports of personal injury or wrongful death, the serious repercussions of this defect place many Massachusetts consumers in harm’s way.
The refrigerators in this recall were sold between January 2001 and January 2004; some were sold in Massachusetts. A number of refrigerator brands are included in this recall: Maytag, Jenn-Air, Amana, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag, and Crosley.
Read More
Massachusetts Changes Laws to Increase Bicycle Safety, Reduce Bicycle Accidents
Good news for Massachusetts bicycle riders! Legislative changes have finally come which help protect bicyclists, and which place greater requirements on drivers of cars and trucks to prevent injuries to bicycle riders.
Bicycle riders are at risk when riding on the road for a number of reasons. First, motorists are often not looking for bicycles when driving; they are looking for larger vehicles, such as other cars or trucks, and they often simply fail to see bicycles (and the same is true, or course, for motorcycles). The risk is magnfied because cyclists are largely unprotected from serious injury if there is a crash.
The new law targets the most common types of accidents, and places new, explicit requirements on drivers to prevent these accidents. These are some of the most common accidents:
- Drivers try to pass a bicycle when there is not enough room
- Drivers cut back into the lane where the bicycle is operating, cutting off the cyclist
- Drivers overtake cyclists, then turn right, right in front of them, cutting them off
- Drivers fail to recognize that bicycles are traveling to the right of traffic–which is perfectly legal–and turn left in front of them, failing to yield the right of way
- Drivers fail to recognize the cyclists passing them on the right, and move to the right or turn to the right without checking blind spots or mirrors
- Drivers and passengers fail to recognize approaching bicycle riders, and open their doors directly in the path of the bicyclist
The new laws, which are part of Chapter 525 of the Acts of 2008 (click for full text of enacted statute), prohibit all of these acts, and create fines for drivers who fail to follow the law.
Hopefully the new legislation will help reduce the incidence of serious injury and wrongful death caused by collisions between bicycles and motor vehicles.
For more information on the legislative changes, please see our article, Good News for Bicyclists in Massachusetts: Important Changes in Massachusetts Statutes Favor Cyclists–Drivers Must Use Greater Care.
Information
What the New Bicycle Law Means for You: A Practicle Guide. MassBike
Boston Magazine Recognizes Breakstone, White & Gluck as Super Lawyers for 2008 in Massachusetts and New England
All four attorneys in the Boston personal injury firm of Breakstone, White & Gluck were again recognized in the annual Best of Boston Magazine’s Massachusetts Super Lawyer edition. We are pleased to share the news that Marc Breakstone, Ronald Gluck and David White were all recognized as Super Lawyers in various personal injury fields, and Heather Engman was recognized as a Rising Star. Recognition was also given in the New England edition.
The recognitions from Boston Magazine are not the first for our firm. All of the attorneys have achieved Super Lawyer or Rising Star recognitions in the past, and the firm has garnered other awards and recognition. Please visit our website, and our personal injury lawyers pages, for more information about our Boston personal injury law firm.
Read the full story on the Firm News page of our personal injury web site.