Posts by Breakstone, White & Gluck
Toyota Recalls Lexus Models: What to Do if You’re a Lexus Owner
Toyota recalled 270,000 Lexus and Crown vehicles sold around the world this week due to possible contamination during valve spring manufacturing. The company has now recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles for sticking gas pedals, anti-lock brake software glitches and a host of other safety problems.
Massachusetts Lexus owners impacted by the motor vehicle recall will receive official notice from Toyota by first-class mail. Owners will be asked to contact their local Lexus dealer to have the engine’s valve spring replaced at no charge.
Toyota said a foreign substance involved in manufacturing may have contaminated a small number of the valves. If a vehicle is defective, drivers may notice idling or abnormal engine noise. The engine could also stop while the vehicle is in operation.
Of the 270,000 recalled vehicles, 138,000 were sold in the United States, 91,903 in Japan, 15,000 in Europe, 10,000 in the Middle East, 6,000 in China and 4,000 in Canada.
The vehicles were sold between July 2005 and August 2008. They include Lexus models GS350, GS450h, GS460, IS350, LS460, LS600h, LS600hl and Crown models.
This Lexus recall comes just days after Toyota recalled another Lexus model – the Lexus HS250h – because it spilled too much gasoline during crash tests. The tests were part of yearly safety reviews by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In May, Toyota paid a record $16.4 million fine in the United States for responding too slowly when motor vehicle safety problems emerged. The fine was the largest civil penalty ever assessed against an auto maker by the NHTSA.
The NHTSA has linked 89 motor vehicle deaths and 57 injuries over the last decade to Toyota accelerator problems. Overall, it has received more than 6,200 complaints involving unintended acceleration in Toyota’s cars.
Toyota faces more than 200 lawsuits in the United States. The cases involve defective automobiles, lower resale value of Toyota vehicles and stock price declines. The lawsuits, including 130 class-action lawsuits, are being heard in Southern California, near Toyota’s Torrance headquarters.
Read More
Massachusetts Bars Must Now Carry Liquor Liability Insurance
It’s always a tragedy when someone leaves a bar after a night of drinking, steps in his or her car, and causes a motor vehicle accident resulting in personal injury.
For years, that tragedy was compounded by Massachusetts law, which let bars and restaurants operate without liquor liability insurance. Like other businesses, Massachusetts restaurants and bars have traditionally carried general commercial liability insurance covering on-site problems, including slip and falls and other injuries. But this insurance offers no assistance to drunk driving accident victims.
In late May, Massachusetts lawmakers corrected this and passed a law requiring restaurant and bar owners to carry liquor liability insurance. Establishments must carry a minimum of $250,000 per person/$500,000 per accident coverage. In other words, policies must provide a minimum $250,000 for bodily injury or death of one person and a total of $500,000 per incident involving bodily injury or death.
Innocent victims of drunk driving accidents still face the traditional hurdles in proving their cases against bars. One hurdle is strong juror bias. Juries do not hesitate to hold the drunk driver responsible. But juries are often reluctant to blame a drinking establishment for over-serving a patron, even though the law is perfectly clear that a bar has a legal duty to not serve someone who is intoxicated.
Restaurants and bars seek to avoid liability for over-serving patrons, and they typically claim they did not recognize that the patron was intoxicated. The recent Massachusetts Appeals Court case of Rivera v. Club Caravan, Inc., 77 Mass. App. Ct. 17 (2010), reviewed the legal standards for “dram shop cases.” Generally the plaintiff must prove the patron showed outward signs of intoxication by the time he or she was served her last drink. However, circumstantial proof can also be sufficient. If the patron had consumed excessive quantities of alcohol, a jury can draw an inference that he would have been visibly intoxicated. So, where a patron is served fourteen drinks in two hours, as in the Rivera case, or was served six or more white Russians, as in another Massachusetts case, the circustantial evidence is strong enough.
Personal injury attorney Ronald Gluck called the new law “a step forward” for the safety of Massachusetts residents. “Restaurants and bars will want to have strong policies in place–and to follow them–not just to avoid liability but also to avoid large increases in their insurance premiums. The new liquor insurance law should help reduce drunk driving accidents in Massachusetts.”
Click here for the full text of the law.
Massachusetts Law Will Ban Text Messaging While Driving
Welcome news today as the Massachusetts Legislature has finally agreed on a new law that will make it illegal to text while driving. Once the bill is signed by the Governor, Massachusetts will be in line with twenty-eight other states that have already outlawed text messaging while driving.
This law comes in the wake of several tragic text message-based accidents. In May 2009, 62 people suffered personal injury after a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority trolley collided with another trolley because the driver was texting his girlfriend. In September 2008, a California commuter train engineer missed a stop signal while trading texts with a friend, leading to a train accident resulting in the wrongful death of 25 people. In addition, there have been several high profile motor vehicle wrongful death cases in recent memory which were caused by inattentive drivers who were texting as they drove.
The law has several other public safety improvements. The new law will require that older drivers renew their licenses in person and take an eye exam every five years beginning at age 75. Older drivers were involved in several serious car accidents in 2009 in Massachusetts. Further, the law will forbid anyone under the age of 18 from using a cell phone while driving.
Boston personal injury attorney David White said of the new law, “Distracted driving is a serious safety problem. The use of cell phones and text messaging are two of the biggest distractions for drivers. These new provisions will vastly increase the safety of Massachusetts roadways.”
A recent study found that texting while driving makes a person twenty times more likely to get into a car crash or near-crash. The problem is most severe for inexperienced drivers. It is hoped that this new law will raise awareness to this growing epidemic of serious personal injuries caused by careless texting motorists.
If You Have Been Injured By a Careless Driver
Breakstone, White & Gluck has successfully represented hundreds of victims of careless and inattentive motorists, including bicycle accident victims, truck and train accident victims and car accident victims. Our firm remains committed to all efforts by the legislature and law enforcement agencies to raise awareness to the serious risk of injury caused by careless motorists. If we can help you or a family member with your claim for serious injuries, we would welcome the opportunity to evaluate and handle your claim. Contact us toll-free for a free consultation. 800-379-1244.
Thinking Pool Safety Saves Lives
Summer is here and that means it is time to enjoy the pool – and think safety. Each year, thousands of children are injured in the pool and hundreds lose their lives in drowning incidents. So while we want you to enjoy your pool this summer, we ask you to commit to protecting your children and family.
Keep these safety tips in mind:
- Supervise children at all times. If you’re in a group, it’s easy to get distracted so consider designating someone a “pool watcher.”
- Learn how to swim and teach your children.
- Get CPR training.
- Keep a phone with you at the pool.
- Make sure you have proper rescue equipment and keep it nearby.
- Keep your pool inside a fence at least four-feet tall and secure it with a durable lock when not in use.
- Remember small children can drown in kiddie pools and watch them accordingly.
- Check your pool’s drains. Suction from a pool’s drain can be powerful enough to trap both children and adults underwater. Do not use any pool or spa with broken or missing drain covers. At community pools, ask the operator if the pool complies with the Pool and Spa Safety Act.
Why it’s important:
- Pools were involved in the overwhelming majority of emergency room visits for drownings and submersion injuries from 2006 to 2008 across the country. They accounted for the majority of reported drowning fatalities from 2004 to 2006.
- From 2006 to 2008, there were on average 3,100 pool and spa related emergency department visits nationwide involving drowning injuries.
- Children ages one and two accounted for 62 percent of drowning injuries from 2006 to 2008 nationwide.
For more information on pool safety, visit www.poolsafety.gov.
The statistics from this article come from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and is available here.
Massachusetts Bicyclists Can Protect Themselves With Car Insurance
If you’re a bicyclist, you know safety’s first. Knowing the rules of the road and riding defensively are the best ways to protect yourself from harm. But you must also think finances in case of personal injury. Between lost wages and medical costs, the bills can add up fast. Even if a motorist’s involved, their car insurance may not cover all your expenses.
There’s good news. You can protect yourself financially in a bike accident with a few changes to your own car insurance. The two smartest things a cyclist can do are:
- Purchase adequate amounts of Underinsured and Uninsured Motorist coverage
- Purchase adequate Medical Payments coverage
These coverages are affordable. In fact, you can access up to $100,000 of Medical Payments coverage for just $71! Read on as Boston personal injury lawyer David White shares his advice to cyclists for keeping safe and protecting their wallets.
Click here for full article.
Product Safety Alert: Maytag Recalls 1.7 Million Dishwashers
Maytag Corp. has recalled 1.7 million dishwashers across the United States, citing an electrical failure.The company, which is owned by Whirlpool Corp., issued the recall last week after 12 reports of electrical problems which pose a fire hazard.
Maytag recalled its Maytag, Amana, Jenn-Air, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag and Crosley brand dishwashers with plastic tubs and certain serial numbers. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Maytag officials say the electrical failures caused by the defective products have caused property damage.
“Product safety is a major concern here because we use our dishwashers daily,” said Boston product liability lawyer Marc L. Breakstone. “We advise consumers to immediately stop using the dishwashers and to have them repaired or to replace them as soon as possible.”
The 12 electrical failure reports included one case of extensive kitchen damage. No injuries have been reported in Massachusetts or other states.
The CPSC advised consumers to immediately stop using the recalled dishwashers and disconnect the electrical supply by shutting off the circuit breaker or pulling the fuse.
Consumers can obtain free in-home repair of the recalled Maytag dishwashers or a $150 to $250 rebate toward a new model. The Maytag dishwasher recall impacts models priced $250 to $900.
If you suspect your dishwasher’s involved in the product safety recall, click here for the full list of serial numbers and for how to obtain a refund or repair.
Scheme at the MBTA Results in Buses Going Uninspected
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has concluded a three month investigation into a scheme resulting in 200 buses not receiving inspections for mechanical problems and routine maintenance services. The MBTA provides public transportation services to Massachusetts residents throughout the Greater Boston area.
At the close of the investigation, 13 managers were fired for falsifying the mileage records of 200 buses to avoid scheduled inspections. Six other managers received three day suspensions for lesser roles in the scheme. Unless additional information becomes known, the MBTA does not anticipate terminating any other individuals.
According to MBTA General Manager Richard Davey, the MBTA has mostly caught up with the inspection backlog. Officials also stated that the deferred inspections did not cause any known safety problems or accidents because bus drivers visually inspect the buses before use. The MBTA requires bus inspections every 6000 miles. According to reports, some of the affected 200 buses went over 35,000 miles without inspections.
An anonymous terminated superintendent is claiming that the disciplined managers are taking the fall for a widely recognized policy of pushing off routine inspections and were reacting to pressure from higher management to keep buses in service. He says he is considering legal action against the MBTA. The terminated superintendent says it is common within the MBTA to treat serious issues immediately but postpone the scheduled inspections if the buses were needed for service due to emergencies or track repairs and that management was aware of this policy.
State Transportation Secretary Jeffrey B. Mullan said several government departments have been notified about the inspection issue and the agency is reviewing whether any criminal or civil laws have been violated by the false records or missed inspections.
For more information on the MBTA inspection issue, see this Boston Globe article.
Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month Time for All Road Users to Think Safety
As Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month draws to a close, we ask both motorcyclists and automobile drivers to take a moment to think safety this summer.
Motorcycling continues to grow in popularity in Massachusetts and around the country, and so do fatal crashes between cars and motorcycles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports in 2008, motorcyclist fatalities increased for the 11th consecutive year. Some 5,290 motorcyclists lost their lives in fatal highway crashes. Almost 50 percent of all motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes collided with other motor vehicles. Over 90 percent of all fatal two-vehicle crashes involving a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle occurred on non-interstate roadways. About half of all fatal crashes between a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle occurred at intersections. Often the driver of the car or truck involved in the accident simply failed to observe the motorcyclist.
Here are some motorcycle safety tips:
- Wear a helmet. NHTSA statistics show you have a 29 percent better chance of surviving a crash than without a helmet.
- If you’re concerned helmets interfere with your ability to see and hear on the road, read this NHTSA study. It found helmets caused no substantial impact: drivers wearing helmets had to turn their necks only slightly farther at times and there was no significant difference in hearing.
- Remember to turn off your flash signal if it’s not self-canceling.
- Make sure you’re experienced enough to ride with a passenger. It changes the way the bike handles and requires more skill.
- Take turns slower than you think is necessary.
Here’s a few tips for passenger vehicle and truck drivers:
- Never drive while distracted.
- Remember a motorcycle has the same rights as any other vehicle on the road.
- Do not attempt to share a lane with a motorcyclists. Allow the motorcyclist a full lane width to maneuver safely to avoid motorcycle crashes.
- Remember to use your signals to change lanes or merge with traffic. Motorcyclists depend on those signals even more than other drivers.
- Check your vehicle’s blind spot! Motorcyclists are even easier to miss due to their small size.
- Don’t rely on a motorcycle’s flashing turn signal. They may not be self-canceling and riders sometimes forget to turn them off or can’t do so immediately due to road conditions. Wait to make sure the motorcyclist is really going to turn to avoid motorcycle collisions.
- Remember motorcyclists often change speed or adjust position within a lane suddenly in response to road and traffic conditions. Allow the motorcyclist extra room – at least three or four seconds.
Massachusetts Cities and Towns Need Strong Dangerous Dog Laws and Fines
A Lowell dog attack last week highlighted the need for communities to adopt strong dangerous dog laws and properly enforce them.
Last December, the Lowell City Council passed an ordinance defining a dangerous or vicious dog as one that has attempted a dog bite or dog attack on a person, has a tendency to threaten the safety of domestic animals or is involved in dog fighting, drug trafficking or gang activity.
Once a dog is deemed dangerous, its owner has to obey certain conditions to protect public safety. First, the dog must be kept indoors or in a locked pen. A sign must be posted warning the public that a dangerous dog resides on the property. If the dog is taken off the property, it must be muzzled and kept on a leash no more than 4-feet long. The dog’s owner must also hold $100,000 in liability insurance.
Dog owners found to be in violation are subject to fines up to $300. The real muscle behind the ordinance is each day of non-compliance is considered a separate offense.
“I have been called upon to represent children whose bodies have been disfigured by vicious attacks from dogs,” said Boston personal injury attorney Ron Gluck of Breakstone, White & Gluck. “In several of the cases, towns had leash laws that were violated by the dog owners. These violations by the dog owners were the direct cause of the serious injuries which will affect these children for the rest of their lives. The stronger the penalties for each violation, the safer children will be.”
Lowell also has a “potentially dangerous” dogs ordinance, which seeks to stop dogs who show aggressive behavior before an attack.
In the case of last week’s attack, David Spaulding was attacked by his own two 16-month-old pit bulls, Venom and Rampage. A neighbor broke down the padlocked fence to Spaulding’s backyard and threw pickets from the fence at the dogs.They eventually ran off and Spaulding was taken to the hospital with injuries to his head, arms and torso. The dogs were immediately euthanized.
The Boston law firm of Breakstone, White & Gluck is experienced at handling pit bull attack cases and typically sees cases of dogs attacking neighbors and children, not homeowners themselves. There are red flags about this attack that we don’t have enough information to address – including a newspaper report that the dogs had been involved in a previous attack of a puppy.
But the Boston lawyers at Breakstone, White & Gluck believe if properly enforced, Lowell’s dangerous dogs ordinance has the teeth to protect the public.
Read about a proposed Andover pit bull ban.
FDA Issues Tylenol Safety Warning
The Food and Drug Administration is urging parents to choose generic children’s medications over Tylenol as it broadens its investigation into manufacturing facilities operated by Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, McNeil Consumer Healthcare.
New product safety concerns have arisen in the weeks after an April 30 recall involving McNeil’s Fort Washington facility in Pennsylvania, prompting the FDA to start investigating other manufacturing sites. McNeil recalled 43 over-the-counter children’s medicines it manufactures for Johnson & Johnson, including various flavors of liquid Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and Zyrtec. The FDA has not said how many facilities are being investigated.
McNeil Consumer Healthcare issued the April 30 recall voluntarily in consultation with the FDA. In a visit to McNeil’s Fort Washington facility, FDA officials uncovered inconsistent active ingredient concentrations, extremely potent metal particles in some medicines, an inadequate testing facility, poorly trained employees and drums of raw materials contaminated with bacteria.The full inspection report is available here.
Meanwhile, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is scheduled on Thursday, May 27, 2010 to hold a hearing on the recent Tylenol recalls and whether McNeil properly handled consumer complaints. In a recent Fortune Magazine interview, Johnson & Johnson Chief Executive William Weldon admitted that his company owed an apology. Mr. Weldon has been invited to testify at the May 27 hearing.
The Pennsylvania facility has since been shut down but may resume operation once, according to Johnson & Johnson spokesman James Freeman, “we have taken the necessary corrective actions and can assure the quality of products made there”.
Tylenol has been involved in other product safety recalls in recent years. In 2008, McNeil recalled 51 types of Tylenol after consumer complaints of diarrhea, vomiting and other illness. The company said the medications – mostly all for children and infants – had been contaminated by trace amounts of a chemical used in shipping.
In 2008, McNeil recalled 21 types of children’s and infants’ Tylenolbliquid products, saying an active ingredient did not meet all quality standards.
For additional information on the Johnson & Johnson recalls, see the FDA’s website.