Massachusetts Injury Lawyer Blog

September is the month when thousands of college students across Massachusetts settle into campus life. And many students enjoy the extra freedom of bringing a car from home to school.

But students often forget one essential step in the transition to college life and this mistake can be costly. Students who have Massachusetts car insurance policies are required to inform their insurance companies about where the car is primarily kept. Otherwise, if there is a car accident, the insurance company might disclaim coverage, leaving the accident underinsured or uninsured completely.

Even if a student is relocating a short distance, such as from Dedham to a dorm in Boston, he or she must inform his car insurance of the new location where his vehicle will be kept. The reason? Car insurance companies rate the coverage -- and therefore the cost -- on where the car is principally kept. If the car moves from a low-rated area (with fewer accidents) to a higher-rated area, the cost goes up. And if you are not paying the premium for the place where the car is principally kept, the insurance company has the legal right to disclaim coverage. And that can be nasty. 

Students who fail to report their change of address and get into a car accident can be denied the Optional Insurance coverages on their policy. Optional Insurance coverages include:

Bodily Injury: This protects you from claims against your personal property if you cause a serious car accident.

Uninsured Auto: This coverage protects you and the people in your car if the person who causes the motor vehicle accident has no insurance.

Medical Payments: The first $8,000 in medical bills and lost wages are covered under the Personal Injury Protection (PIP), part of the Compulsory Coverage all Massachusetts drivers must purchase. Medical Payments provides policy holders extra protection for medical and health insurance.

Collision Comprehensive: If you are involved in a car accident, this coverage insures the damage to your vehicle.

Insurance issues can be very complicated, and you should not hesitate to call your agent if you have any questions. 

Click here to read our article, "Understanding and Buying Massachusetts Car Accident Insurance."

Continue reading "Massachusetts Car Insurance Tips for College Students" »

Now that Tropical Storm Irene has passed, residents and businesses throughout Massachusetts have started the extensive clean-up. Many remain without power.

An estimated 4.5 million homes and businesses along the East Coast lost power, including 700,000 in Massachusetts, officials reported. Utility and state officials estimate it may take several days to restore power in some communities.

The storm caused 26 deaths across the country. In Massachusetts, a public works employee on his way to join recovery efforts was electrocuted Monday by a downed power line outside his Southbridge home.

From Storrow Drive in Boston to Interstate 91 in western Massachusetts, many roads were shut down by flooding. Residents in several communities were evacuated from their homes, including in several western Massachusetts towns, Southboro and New Bedford,

Whether you are cleaning up your yard, driving or waiting for power to be restored, it is essential to think safety for you, your family and property. Here are safety tips from the Boston personal injury lawyers at Breakstone, White & Gluck:

• Be prepared for intersections without working traffic lights or police officers to direct cars.


• When driving, travel farther behind the vehicle in front of you than normal. Road detours and single-lane roads may not be visible until just before you reach them.


• Give even more room when traveling behind tractor trailers carrying heavy loads of branches and storm debris.


• If your home is still without power, make sure you have enough flashlights and plenty of extra batteries. Avoid using candles.


• Natural gas or propane valves that have been under water should be replaced. Smell and listen for leaky gas connections that may trigger an explosion.


• If you believe there has been a gas leak, there is risk for a home explosion. Immediately leave the house, leave the doors open and contact a gas system professional before you return.


• Take measures to avoid food poisoning. Throw away any refrigerated foods that are held at above 40 degrees for more than two hours. Food can generally keep for up to 4 hours in a refrigerator that is not opened and between 24 to 48 hours in a freezer.


• Watch news reports to see if your local health department has cleared tap water for safe consumption. If you are without power and cannot watch television or access the Internet, call your town or city hall to ask.


• Watch out for and stay away from downed power lines.


• Do not enter and avoid walking near damaged buildings.


• Be careful walking under trees as there may be loose branches.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Safety Tips After Tropical Storm Irene" »

Several weeks after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public notice about the dangers of transvaginal mesh surgery, a consumer advocacy group is calling for the recall of all surgical mesh products used in the procedure.

Public Citizen of Washington D.C. petitioned the FDA on August 25, calling for the recall of all surgical mesh products made of non-absorbable synthetic material used in transvaginal mesh surgery. This type of mesh is used during transvaginal surgery to repair pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI). POP occurs when organs bulge into the vaginal and bladder areas. SUI is a loss of bladder control.

In 2010, approximately 300,000 women in the U.S. had surgery to repair POP, including 75,000 of whom had surgical mesh transvaginally implanted, according to the FDA.

Public Citizen is further calling for a ban on marketing all surgical mesh products made for transvaginal mesh surgery and for any future versions of the mesh to be classified as Class III medical devices. This would provide stricter approval requirements.

Nine companies manufacture transvaginal mesh products, including Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, C.R. Bard, Tyco Covidian and AMS.

On July 13, the FDA issued an urgent public notice on the medical devices after receiving thousands of reports about painful complications. The notice updated a public health notification issued on October 20, 2008.

The agency reported it had received over 2,800 reports of complications between January 2008 and December 2010. It said serious complications associated with surgical mesh for transvaginal repair of POP are not rare. It advised healthcare providers that in most cases, POP can be treated successfully without mesh surgery.

Finally, the FDA said mesh surgery should only be chosen after health care providers and patients carefully weigh out the risks and benefits over other options.

In September, the FDA will convene a panel to make recommendations for transvaginal mesh surgery.

Complications from transvaginal mesh surgery include vaginal mesh erosion, infection, bleeding, pain during sexual intercourse, organ perforation, urinary problems, vaginal scarring and neurovascular muscular problems. Remedies include surgery and hospitalization.

Public Citizen issued the petition along with a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University in St. Louis and a urologic surgeon specializing in female urology and POP at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

The Boston product liability lawyers at Breakstone, White & Gluck are experienced in handling cases involving defective medical devices and dangerous medications. If you have been injured by transvaginal mesh surgery, contact us today for a free legal consultation. We can be reached at 617-723-7676 or use our contact form.

An appeal by a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case involving a failure to diagnose cancer has led to a new trial. The Appeals Court reversed the directed verdict, entered by Superior Court Judge Patrick Brady, after finding that the judge had improperly allowed the defendant's motion for a directed verdict.

The case arose from the treatment of a patient who was having complaints of hoarseness and acid reflux. After several months of delay, a CT scan on the neck was finally performed, which revealed the presence of tumor near the esophagus and in the lung; the tumor was affecting the nerves which controlled the vocal cords. A biopsy revealed a non-small cell cancer which was staged at Stage 3B. Treatment was unsuccessful, and the patient died a year and a half later.

Claims were brought for medical malpractice resulting in conscious pain and suffering, wrongful death, and negligent infliction of emotional distress, among others. At trial, the plaintiff's expert was prepared to testify that if it had been diagnosed in a timely manner, the cancer would have been at Stage 2 or possibly Stage 1. Judge Brady would not permit the testimony of "possibly Stage 1" and eventually foreclosed any meaningful expert testimony on his opinion about the stage of the cancer. Those rulings set the stage for the judge's allowance of the defendant's motion for a directed verdict.

On appeal, the Massachusetts Appeals Court found that the testimony about the tumor being "possible Stage 1" was properly excluded, but that the testimony about the tumor being likely Stage 2 was improperly excluded. Accordingly, the judge's ruling was reversed, and the plaintiff will now have a second chance at trial.

The Appeals Court also recapitulated the necessary evidence for cases involving the loss of a chance when a physician fails to diagnose cancer. Loss of a chance cases require opinion evidence on the stage of the cancer at the time the diagnosis should have been made. The evidence does not require exact staging; a range of stages is permissible. Also required is evidence on the likelihood of survival after a timely diagnosis. The evidence must include an opinion about the difference in likelihood which more probably than not resulted from the delay. Citing Matsuyama v. Birnbaum, 452 Mass. 1 (2008), the Court noted:

Under a loss of chance theory, a "plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the physician's negligence caused the plaintiff's injury, where the injury consists of the diminished likelihood of achieving a more favorable medical outcome." Id. at 17. The court explained: "[P]robability of survival is part of the patient's condition. When a physician's negligence diminishes or destroys a patient's chance of survival, the patient has suffered real injury. The patient has lost something of great value: a chance to survive, to be cured, or otherwise to achieve a more favorable medical outcome.... Thus we recognize loss of chance not as a theory of causation, but as a theory of injury." Id. at 16.

The case decided was Carreri v. Isihara, Mass.App.Ct. No. 10-P-109 (August 25, 2011).

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Appeal Leads to New Trial in Massachusetts Superior Court" »

Local cyclists have long known Cambridge and Somerville offer some of the best riding in Greater Boston. But a popular website now says they are among the foremost biking destinations in the nation.

The Street.com recently released its 10 Best U.S. Bike Cities of 2011 list, naming Cambridge the fifth best bicycling city and Somerville the ninth. Boulder, Colorado was the leader.

Cambridge was praised for the strong network of bicycle lanes and shared lane space along the Massachusetts institute of Technology (MIT) campus and nearby technology companies, such as Genzyme, Sanofi Aventies, Biogen Idec and Akamai.

Cambridge bicyclists make up 8.5 percent of the city's population. The city has several bike shops. Cambridge Police are active in educating the public about taking steps to prevent bicycle accidents. The Cambridge Bicycle Committee has been working to improve safety conditions and reduce bike accidents since 1991.

Somerville was recognized for its bicycling infrastructure and the strong community support for bicyclists. Some 5 percent of the city's residents are cyclists. Many riders are college students, who account for 16 percent of the population. The city neighbors Medford, home to Tufts University, and Cambridge, where Harvard University, MIT, Leslie University and Cambridge College are all based.

Somerville was praised for its "walkable, accessible squares," and bicycle-friendly businesses, which offer Tour de France specials, bicycle valet services and benefits for local bike groups. Businesses also host an annual bike party that shuts down a portion of Davis Square.

Somerville has several bike shops and formed the Somerville Bicycle Committee in 2001. The committee has overseen development of new bike lanes, sharrows and multi-use paths to prevent bicycling accidents and personal injuries. It has also guided the development of on-street bike parking in corrals and the ongoing installation of bike racks.

To read the 10 Best U.S. Bike Cities of 2011 report, click here.

Click here to learn more about Massachusetts bicycling laws.

Continue reading "Cambridge and Somerville Ranked Among Top U.S. Cycling Cities" »

A new pilot program shows drivers in three Massachusetts communities are failing to stop for school buses, a violation of state law and a safety concern as students prepare to head back to school.

The program is underway in Medford, Quincy and Seekonk, where school buses have been equipped with video cameras behind the vehicle's long stop-sign arm. The cameras capture the license plates of cars which violate the law and cause school bus accidents.

In Medford, the cameras captured 112 motor vehicle violations in 105 days, according to The Boston Globe. Some 57 violations were recorded over 55 days in Quincy while Seekonk had 45 violations over 53 days.

Under Massachusetts law, drivers cannot be issued citations based solely on video evidence. A police officer or bus driver must observe the violation and testify to it. Fines start at $250 and drivers with two or more offenses can have their license revoked.

Massachusetts is one of many states that allow traffic cameras, but they are currently only used to catch toll-evading drivers on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Proposed legislation aims to prevent school bus accidents by allowing cities and towns to submit video footage as evidence.

Drivers can keep children safe and avoid motor vehicle citations by paying close attention this September. The Boston personal injury lawyers at Breakstone, White & Gluck offer these safety tips to prevent school bus accidents:

• State law requires drivers to stay at least 100 feet behind a school bus at all times.
• Drive slowly and watch for children walking in the street, especially in areas with no sidewalks.
• Watch for children playing at bus stops.
• Yellow flashing lights signal the bus is slowing down to stop.
• Red flashing lights and an extended arm indicate the bus is stopped to let children on or off.
• Do not start driving again until the stop arm folds back up and the bus starts moving.
• Do not attempt to pass a school bus.
• Watch for children when backing out of your driveway. If you see children, ask them to move to the sidewalk until you drive away.

Click here for the state law on driving near school buses in Massachusetts.

Click here for The Boston Globe article about the new pilot program.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Drivers Not Stopping for School Buses" »

A deadly motor vehicle crash involving a National Grid truck hauling a backhoe on I-495 has put the focus on the safety measures commercial trucks must take to protect other drivers.

The National Grid dump truck was being taken on a test drive Friday, Aug. 12, 2011 when the 2007 Case backhoe/front-end loader it was hauling rolled off and landed on top of a 2000 Toyota Sienna van. The backhoe and the van were sent down a 20-foot embankment off I-495 in Southborough.

The van was carrying four people. A Westford woman in her 70s was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, a 10-year-old and a 13-year-old, were transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with serious personal injuries.

The driver of the National Grid truck did not sustain injuries. The Registry of Motor Vehicles has suspended his license indefinitely, pending the outcome of the investigation of the National Grid backhoe accident. Prior to the truck accident, he had no recent driving violations, but minor infractions in the 1980s, including citations for speeding, failure to stop, an unregistered or improper equipment, reported the Boston Herald.

The Worcester County District Attorney's Office and State Police are investigating the National Grid truck accident. A National Grid spokesman told the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester that the truck was being taken on a test drive because employees had identified safety considerations with the vehicle.

State Police are investigating whether the vehicle, a 2010 Freightliner truck, had been recalled by Daimler Trucks North America, according to local media reports.

State Police are also investigating whether driver error and mechanical problems were involved, as well as whether the backhoe was properly secured.

Continue reading "National Grid Backhoe Accident on I-495 Puts Focus On Safety" »

You may think winter snowfall makes for treacherous driving. But government figures show August is actually the most dangerous month on the roads, making it an important time to take precautions.

Based on records dating back to 1994, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports more Americans die in car crashes in August than at any other time of the year. In August 2009, that number totaled 2,864 deaths.

September had the next highest rate of traffic fatalities, followed by July. Weekends are the deadliest time on the roads throughout the year. Nationwide in 2009, there were an average of 123 deaths each day on Saturdays and 107 deaths on Sunday.

Experts say motor vehicle deaths rise in August because more people are on the road traveling for vacation, taking day trips and attending summer events.

Because of these factors, it is paramount to practice safe driving. Here, our Massachusetts personal injury lawyers offer safety tips to protect you and your family:

• Do not drink and drive.
• Travel slowly at night and make sure you are familiar with your route.
• Reduce distractions by putting away your cell phone and GPS.
• When traveling with children, explain you must concentrate on the road.
• On the highway, make sure children have distractions such as books and games.
• Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle.
• Wear your seat belt.
• Do not speed.
• Talk to teenagers about taking safety precautions such as limiting passengers and avoiding night driving.

Continue reading "Drive Safe in August as Motor Vehicle Accidents Rise" »

Boston has a new bicycle sharing program, implemented on July 28th, and it is off to a great start. The program, which is known as Hubway, stations bicycles throughout the city at terminals. You can rent a bike for a short period of time, or become a member and have a year of privileges.

Hubway is another step in making Boston a bicycle-friendly city. The city, under the inspiration of Mayor Menino and with the guidance of Olympic cyclist and Bicycle Program Director Nicole Freedman (shown at right with David White, at the Government Center Hubway Station), has expanded its bicycle lanes and its bicycle parking, and it now has added convenient bicycle rentals. 

Hubway deploys 600 bicycles at around fifty stations around the city. A bike can be picked up at one station and parked at another, making the program convenient for commuters, students, and tourists. There is even an phone application called Spotcyle which gives up-to-the-minute data on which terminals have bikes or available parking docks.

David White, one of the attorneys at Breakstone, White & Gluck, called these efforts "great steps to making Boston a safer place to ride your bicycle." The program will also reduce pollution and promote fitness.

White explained, "Cycling becomes much safer as motorists become more aware of bicycles sharing the roadways. Populating the city with hundreds more bicycles will actually increase safety for all bicyclists."

Hubway also promotes safe cycling by urging cyclists to always wear a bicycle helmet, and to always observe traffic laws, which apply equally to bicyclists. 

White urges Boston cyclists to observe Massachusetts bicycle laws (read more here). He also urges cyclists to check their automobile insurance policies to make sure they have adequate uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which provides protection if there is a bicycle accident (read more here). 

Congratulations to the City of Boston and Hubway!

Two major manufacturers have issued car recalls impacting more than three million drivers.

Ford last week announced the recall of more than 1.22 million pickup trucks because of a corrosion problem that can result in a gas tank falling off and catching on fire. The recalled trucks include the popular F-150.

The Ford recall affects older trucks sold between 1997 and 2004 in Canada, Washington D.C. and 21 cold-weather states where salt is used on the roads to prevent icing in the winter. Massachusetts is among those states.

The Michigan car manufacturer plans to notify affected owners in September and will repair the trucks for free. The models include: Ford F-150 (1997-2003), the 2004 F-150 Heritage, the F-250 (1997-1999) and the Lincoln Blackwood (2002-2003).

Ford said it has received eight reports of tanks falling, resulting in three injuries.

This is the second recall action involving Ford trucks in four months. In April, Ford expanded a recall of F-150 pickups to about 1.2 million trucks. In that case, the problem was the front-seat airbags could deploy without a motor vehicle crash.

Also last week, Honda Motor Co. announced the recall of more than 2.49 million cars, SUVs and minivans with defective transmission software. The defect can affect a car's transmission if the software cannot keep up with movements, such as a vehicle trying to emerge from the snow or a driver moving between gears.

The Honda recall includes 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S., about 760,000 in China and 135,000 in Canada.

Globally, the recall affects four-cylinder Accord sedans (2005 - 2010). In the U.S. and Canada, the car recall also includes the CR-V crossover (2007 to 2010) and the small Element SUV from (2005 to 2008).

The company said no injuries or wrongful deaths have been reported due to the defect.

Honda will begin contacting U.S. consumers at the end of August about updating the software. The update will be free.

Continue reading "Honda and Ford Recall More than 2 Million Vehicles" »

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public notice on transvaginal mesh surgery after receiving thousands of reports about harmful complications. The notice advised patients and healthcare providers to consider alternatives to mesh surgery. The FDA has not issued a product recall, but will convene a panel this fall to make recommendations for the procedure.

Transvaginal mesh is a medical device implanted surgically to treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) and Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI). These conditions can emerge after childbirth and pregnancy. POP occurs when organs bulge into the vaginal and bladder areas. SUI is a loss of bladder control.

Over 1,000 adverse events involving transvaginal mesh devices were reported to the FDA between 2005 and 2007. On October 20, 2008, the FDA issued a Public Health Notification reporting the figures. From January 2008 to December 31, 2010, there were an additional 2,874 reports of complications.

From 2006 to 2011, the FDA conducted a systematic review of published scientific literature and reported transvaginal POP repair with mesh has no advantage over traditional non-mesh repair. The FDA is advising health care providers to only choose mesh surgery after carefully comparing the risks and benefits with other surgical options.

The most frequent complications associated with transvaginal mesh surgery is erosion throughout the vagina, pain, infection, bleeding, pain during sexual intercourse, organ perforation and urinary problems. There were also reports of emotional problems, vaginal scarring and neurovascular muscular problems.

Many of these conditions involve painful remedies, including medical treatment, several surgeries and hospitalization.

Several companies manufacture transvaginal mesh, including Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific, C.R. Bard, Tyco Covidian and AMS. Injuries have not been linked to a single brand of mesh.

If you have been injured by a transvaginal mesh repair, you may be entitled to compensation. It is important to speak to an experienced product liability lawyer as soon as possible so you can obtain the proper medical attention and compensation for your injuries, loss of time at work and pain and suffering.

For a free legal consultation, contact the experienced Boston product liability lawyers at Breakstone, White & Gluck today. Call us at 800-379-1244 or use our contact form.

Continue reading "FDA Issues Warning About Transvaginal Mesh Surgery" »

Student-athletes in Massachusetts will add a new drill to their warm ups this fall: concussion training aimed at preventing deaths, long-term injuries and disabilities.

In 2010, the state Legislature passed a law requiring training and education for anyone involved in public middle school and high school sports. The Department of Public Health issued guidelines in June detailing the requirements, which include:

• Parents, players, coaches, school nurses, volunteers and others involved in sports must participate in annual state-approved training on how to recognize the symptoms of concussions.
• Schools have a few options for fulfilling the training requirement, including offering training materials at parent meetings and online trainings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Federation of State High School Associations.
• Student-athletes who suffer a head injury must be immediately removed from play and get medical clearance before returning.
• Student-athletes diagnosed with a concussion must have a written plan for returning to the game and the classroom.
• Student-athletes with a history of head injuries must file an injury report before every season.

Across the country, an estimated 136,000 student-athletes suffer concussions in high school sports each year.

Concussions are often referred to as a "metabolic cascade," a series of changes in which the brain's nerve cells stop functioning properly and blood flow slows down.

Concussions can occur when athletes collide with other players, equipment or the ground. It is important for people who suffer concussions to reduce physical and cognitive activity. When there is a subsequent injury, concussions can be fatal and result in long term injuries impacting memory, mood and impulses.

Concussions can be difficult to diagnose in part because the effects are not visible on imaging tools such as CT scans or MRIs.

Massachusetts schools are making changes as awareness about concussions increases throughout the sports and medical community. Starting this fall, Ivy League football players are limited to suiting up for two full-contact practices each week. The pending contract agreement will implement new guidelines for National Football League (NFL) players as well.

For more information, click to read this article in The Boston Globe.

Continue reading "Head Injury Guidelines Begin for Student-Athletes This Fall" »