Posts Tagged ‘Massachusetts’
Baby Stroller Recall Affects Massachusetts Consumers
Graco Children’s Products of Atlanta, Georgia, has recalled approximately 1.5 million baby strollers which may cause finger amputations in small children. The company is offering a free repair kit to eliminate the hazard caused by the defective product.
The defective strollers were sold throughout Massachusetts at stores such as Burlington Coat Factory, Babies “R” Us, Toys “R” Us, K-Mart, Sears, Target, Wal-mart. The defective products affected include the following stroller lines: Graco’s Passage, Alano and Spree Strollers and Travel Systems.
The defective strollers are known to have caused at least five fingertip amputations and other personal injuries in children who got their fingers caught in the stroller’s canopy hinge mechanisms.
Our attorneys have experience with fingertip amputations caused by defective strollers. While the industry has long been aware of these risks, defective strollers continue to be manufactured.
Fingertip amputations often lead to permanent and disfiguring injuries. Often, attempts to reattach the affected fingertips are unsuccessful, and in most cases children are left with scarring and a loss of function. Many children suffer lasting psychological injuries, not just from the injuries themselves, but also from the taunting they often must endure in school as they grow up.
If you need legal assistance with a personal injury caused by a defective stroller or other product liability claim, please contact us for a free consultation. Our lawyers would be pleased to help you recover any damages sustained by your child as a result of the negligence of a manufacturer. Please call us toll free at 800 379 1244.
In-car Electronics Create Distractions and Impair Driving
One of the leading causes of motor vehicle accidents for Massachusetts drivers may be the device in the driver’s pocket. A recent Harvard University study concluded that 2,600 wrongful deaths and 570,000 personal injuries are caused each year by cell phone distractions. According to a Virginia Tech study, drivers using cell phones are more impaired than a legally drunk driver. Despite the known dangers of in-car electronics, car makers are taking driver distractions one step further with in-car “infotainment” systems.
As recently unveiled at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, car makers and internet companies are teaming up to equip cars with interactive screens on the dashboard that display maps, videos, and internet sites. Safety advocates are concerned about the risk of car accidents and pedestrian accidents caused by distracted drivers watching the screen instead of the road. A recent New York Times article on these new systems discusses how the danger of crashing dramatically increases when a motorist looks at a screen, even a GPS screen.
Car makers assure that safety mechanisms will be in place to minimize the risk of driver distractions, such as voice controls or blocking internet use when the car is in motion. However, some safety advocates are questioning whether car manufacturers are placing profit concerns above safety. It only takes two seconds for the likelihood of a crash to increase exponentially.
New Technology Prevents Pedestrian Accidents and Saves Lives In Massachusetts
Pedestrian accidents at crosswalks cause some of the most serious personal injuries, including spinal cord injury, and wrongful death. In 2006, pedestrian accidents accounted for 14% of roadway fatalities in Massachusetts. Public education campaigns and strict traffic laws have not prevented the death toll from climbing. However, new technology may be the solution for preventing many pedestrian accidents.
Communities across the country, including some in Massachusetts, have started installing “in roadway warning light systems” or IRWLs, at dangerous crosswalks. Flashing beacons are installed on the side of the road, in the crosswalk pavement, or in an overhead mast. When a pedestrian activates the system, either by automatic detection or manually, lights flash outwards toward the approaching vehicle. As an intentional design factor intended to prevent a feeling of false security, pedestrians cannot see the flashing lights. Studies have shown these IRWL enhanced crosswalk systems are effective in reducing pedestrian accidents.
Pedestrians can protect themselves further by being aware of whether they or motorists have the right-of-way. Massachusetts laws and regulations set forth the rights-of-way of pedestrians and motorists where traffic control signals are not present. Where a pedestrian is crossing at a crosswalk where no traffic control signals are in operation, Massachusetts law requires that motorists must yield to the pedestrian. Pedestrians crossing at a point in a road that does not have a crosswalk must yield to the right-of-way of motorists. Further, once they being to cross, pedestrians should continue to look in the direction of on-coming or turning traffic. Pedestrians should always face the on-coming traffic when walking or running in the road.
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center has additional information on pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Massachusetts Drivers Should Take Precautions Against Winter Hazards on the Roads
As if plummeting temperatures and shoveling aren’t reason enough to dislike winter in Massachusetts, snowy and icy weather creates hazardous road conditions. Car accidents, truck accidents, and pedestrian accidents are more likely as slippery roads increase both the distance required to stop a vehicle and the chance of sliding. Taking certain precautions against winter hazards can reduce drivers’ and pedestrians’ risk of personal injury or wrongful death.
First, try to avoid driving in bad winter conditions. If driving is necessary, try to drive during daylight hours only, plan ahead to avoid rushing, and wait until snow removal crews have eased road conditions. Check wiper blades and tires and make sure they are suited for winter driving conditions. Also, if you are traveling far from home, equip vehicles with a winter emergency kit including blankets, food, water, matches, candles, flares, sand for traction, and jumper cables.
Seat belts can save lives but only if they are worn properly. A properly fitting seat belt will fit tightly across the lap, snugly across the chest, and will cross at the shoulder. A seat belt should never cross at the neck or back Seat belts with lap restraints only are ineffective and should be avoided. An improperly fitting belt can actually make personal injuries worse. Heavy jackets will intefere with proper seat belt operation and should be avoided or removed once the car is warmed up.
Pedestrians face special problems since sidewalks are not always plowed and it may be necessary to walk in the street. One should walk facing the traffic in order to be able to observe the approaching traffic–and to take evasive action if necessary. At night, lightly colored clothing is important. Motorists need to be especially aware of pedestrians and even bicyclists during the winter months. Massachusetts General Laws c. 89, Section 14 requires motorists to slow when approaching pedestrians or bicyclists, and to pass only when it is safe to do so.
Finally, focus on safe and strategic driving. Stay at least nine car lengths behind the vehicle ahead to allow plenty of room to stop. Unless you have anti-lock brakes, If brakes begin a lock, ease off the brake. Be aware that bridges and overpasses freeze before the road. To regain control of a vehicle if rear wheels begin to skid, ease off the gas and steer in the direction the car should go. If the car starts to go too far in one direction, keep steering opposite ways until the vehicle is under control. If the front wheels are skidding, ease off the gas and let the vehicle slow down until traction is regained. If stuck in the snow, do not hit the gas. Try to remove snow and ice from around the wheels, and use sand for traction. Some vehicles can also be “rocked” by alternating between drive and reverse, while gently pressing the gas.
For more information on winter safety, please see the following articles:
State Police Issue Winter Driving Safety Tips
Uncleared Sidewalks Imperil Pedestrians
Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency–Tips to Ensure Safe Winter Driving
Defective Cribs Recalled Due to Risk of Infant Suffocation and Entrapment–Massachusetts Consumers Urged to Immediately Stop Using Affected Cribs
In late November, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Stork Craft Manufacturing was voluntarily recalling approximately 1.2 million cribs distributed in the United States and 968,000 distributed in Canada. This recall comes in the wake of reports of several infant wrongful deaths. Due to flaws in the cribs’ drop-side plastic hardware, the drop-side can detach creating a space between the crib mattress and the drop-side. As a result of this product defect, infants can become trapped in the space and suffocate. Where the drop-side detaches completely, infants run the risk of falling.
CPSC, Stork Craft, and Health Canada are aware of 110 incidents of drop-side detachment; 67 incidents occurred in the United States and 43 in Canada. The incidents include 15 entrapments, with four entrapments resulting in suffocation. Included in these incidents are 20 falls from cribs with personal injuries ranging from concussion to bumps and bruises.
This recall involves Stork Craft drop-side cribs distributed and manufactured between 1993 and 2009, and Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo sold after 1998. The recall does not involve cribs without a drop-side or with a non-plastic drop-side. Major Massachusetts retailers sold these recalled cribs in stores, including BJ’s Wholesale Club, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Sears, and Wal-Mart stores, and online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com.
Massachusetts consumers should immediately stop using the recalled cribs, and contact Stork Craft for a free repair kit that converts the drop-side to a fixed-side. Consumers should not attempt to fix the cribs without the repair kit and should find alternative and safe sleeping arrangements for infants until the crib is repaired. For additional information, contact Stork Craft toll-free at (877) 274-0277 anytime to order the free repair kit, or log on to www.storkcraft.com.
CPSC also provides several tips for general crib safety Parents should not use any crib with missing, broken, or loose parts. Hardware should be tightened from time to time to keep the crib sturdy. When using a drop-side crib, parents should check to make sure the drop-side or any other moving part operates smoothly, and should always check all sides and corners of the crib for disengagement. Any disengagement can create a gap and entrap a child. In addition, do not try to repair any side of the crib, especially with tape, wire or rope. Complete information is available at the CPSC website.
Strangulations Trigger Massive Recall of Blinds and Shades–Massachusetts Consumers Urged to Eliminate Hazards
This week, the U.S. Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) announced the recall of millions of Roman shades and roll-up blinds due to the risk of strangulation to young children from the defective products. Massachusetts consumers are urged to take immediate measures to eliminate the risks to young children.
Since 2006, the CPSC has received reports of 5 wrongful deaths and 16 near strangulations involving Roman shades and 3 wrongful deaths since 2001 in roll-up blinds. In the case of Roman shades, children may place their necks between the exposed cord and the fabric on the back of the shade, or they may pull the cord out and wrap it around the neck. With the roll-up blinds, children may become entangled in the lifting loop on the side of the blind.
These defective products have been sold at a wide variety of retailers in Massachusetts, from Wal-Mart to Pottery Barn to ACE Hardware, to name but a few. If you have either type in your home, please contact the WCSC at its website or at (800) 506-4636 to receive a free repair kit.
The CPSC and the WCSC has also provided safety tips that apply to all window coverings, not just those involved in the recall. These include inspection of all shades and blinds in the home to make sure there are no loose or accessible cords (in fact, cordless window coverings are recommended where children live or visit), keeping cribs, beds, and furniture away from windows, and installing tension devices on looped chains or cords to keep them taut. Complete information is available at the CPSC website.
Trucks Found to Have High Rates of Safety Violations, Inadequate Insurance
Many of the over 9 million trucks on the roads in this country are operating with serious safety problems, according to a recent study performed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Twenty-eight motor carrier companies, representing more than 200,000 trucks, were found to have trucks in violation of federal safety laws. These violations include defective brakes, overly worn tires, excessive loads, and undertrained or impaired drivers. All of these factors contribute to the likelihood of a serious truck accident.
While the public is largely unaware of the problems with the nation’s large truck fleet, it is at significant risk due to these safety violations. Although trucks make up fewer than 4 percent of vehicles on the road, they are involved in 12 percent of motor vehicles fatalities, with over 4,000 deaths and 80,000 serious injuries occurring every year. Government data shows that many trucking accidents are not reported, suggesting the numbers above are underestimates. Citizens of Massachusetts, with its older highway system, are left at risk.
Many of these deaths and injuries are preventable, and would be avoided if trucking companies fully complied with safety laws. Unfortunately, many companies fail to perform critical maintenance and repairs in order to save money. As the government’s inspection and enforcement resources are limited, the chances of being caught are small, and the companies that are forced to take its trucks off the road simply change their name and continue operations as before.
Compounding this unsafe situation is the fact that many trucking companies carry insurance in amounts that are inadequate to compensate the victims of trucking accidents, especially when someone is seriously injured or there are multiple victims. Congress set the minimum level of insurance for tractor trailers at $750,000 in 1980, and has not changed it since. Although many companies carry higher amounts, carrying the minimum insurance is common in small trucking companies, which is of great concern, as 87 percent of the companies in violation of safety standards had fleets of ten trucks or fewer.
Breakstone, White & Gluck Earn Recognition as New England and Massachusetts Super Lawyers for Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice
For the fifth year in a row, all of the lawyers in our Boston law firm have earned top rankings as Super Lawyers in New England. The rankings of the best attorneys in the region were posted in the New England edition of Super Lawyers 2009, published by Boston Magazine.
Marc L. Breakstone earned recognition as one of New England’s top 100 lawyers, and again as a Super Lawyer in representing plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases.
Ronald E. Gluck was again recognized as a Super Lawyer for his achievement as one of New England’s top plaintiff’s personal injury lawyers.
David W. White again achieved recognition as one of New England’s top 100 lawyers, and again as a top plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer.
The top lawyers in New England earn these recognitions as a result of an extensive polling process among their peers, as well as a check on ethical standing, and other factors.
To learn more about the types of cases we handle, including medical malpractice, wrongful death, and other personal injury cases, please visit our website.
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.
Massachusetts Appeals Court Allows Dog Bite Case Against Landlord to Proceed
The Massachusetts Appeals Court has allowed the claim of a child who was bitten by a dog to proceed to trial against the landlords, even though the landlords did not own the dog. The ruling reverses a lower court ruling in favor of the landlord.
The plaintiff was ten years old when he was attacked by a pit bull named Tiny. Tiny belonged to another tenant in the same 4-family building. Tiny had been found in the woods and adopted by the family. Tiny had demonstrated some aggressive behavior prior to the date of the incident. The plaintiff’s family maintained that they had lodged multiple complaints with the landlords about not just the presence of the dog, but also its aggressive behavior. The landlords were also informed that Tiny was allowed to roam unrestrained, a violation of the Waltham leash law. The landlords claimed they had no knowledge that the dog might be dangerous.
The landlords had a no-dog policy for the premises, but failed to enforce that policy with regard to Tiny. In fact, the plaintiff’s family had previously given up its dogs because of the landlords’ policy.
On the date of the incident, Tiny was sitting on a porch, unrestrained, then ran across the yard, jumped a fence, and bit the plaintiff who was playing in the neighbor’s yard. The ten-year old had mulitiple dog bite injuries to his leg.
The Superior Court judge ruled that the landlords were not negligent, and that the fears of the pit bull were “subjective.” The Appeals Court disagreed.
In Massachusetts, a third party such as a landlord, is not liable under the Massachusetts strict liability statute governing dogs. While a dogs owner or keeper is strictly liable for injuries caused by their dog, a third party can be liable only if he or she is negligent. A landlord does not insure that the property will be safe, and has a duty to use reasonable care for the premises. Thus, in this case, the plaintiff is required to prove that the landlord knew or should have known of the dangers of the dog. The landlords could not be held liable just on the fact that the dog was of a dangerous breed, but could be held liable if they had knowledge of its dangerous behavior.
The Appeals Court also noted that negligence cases are ordinarily best left to a jury’s consideration, since the cases often turn on disputed facts. Given the disputed facts in this case, namely whether the landlord had received reports of the dog’s dangerous behavior, the case was sent back to the Superior Court for trial.
The name of the case is Nutt v. Florio, Appeals Court No. 08-P-81 (October 19, 2009).