Salem MA Personal Injury Law Blog

Massachusetts nursing home cited for poor patient care

On behalf of Law Office of Colonna & Doyle posted in Medical Malpractice on Thursday, January 17, 2019.

Many Massachusetts residents look to nursing homes as places of refuge and supporting care. Unfortunately, not all nursing homes deliver on this promise. The Sweet Brook Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Williamstown, Massachusetts has recently been cited by both former patients and government regulatory officials as failing to provide adequate care to residents.

One former patient accused the nursing home of allowing him to sleep under urine-soaked blankets without making any effort to supply fresh bedding. Another ex-patient said that he was not bathed even once during his one-month stay in the home. Both men said they still suffer from disabilities that were caused by the nursing home's negligence. One of the men is diabetic, but he says that he never received food that was appropriate for his illness.

Speeding car strikes apartment building, ignites fire

On behalf of Law Office of Colonna & Doyle posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, January 10, 2019.

Most car accidents involve only other vehicles. Occasionally, however, vehicles leave the roadway and strike objects or buildings that are near the right of way. A car accident involving an apartment building fire occurred recently in Fall River, when a vehicle hit the side of a three story apartment building.

The accident happened at about 9:30 a.m. A car traveling at a high speed left the street and crashed into the apartment building. The vehicle traveled about 15 feet into the interior of the building. The car apparently struck one or more natural lines that served the apartment building and ignited a fire. The 72-year-old woman who was driving the car was killed in the collision, and her passenger was taken to a nearby hospital. The woman died at about noon on the day after she was hospitalized. The cause of the accident is being investigated.

Roofer dies in fall down elevator shaft

On behalf of Law Office of Colonna & Doyle posted in Workers' Compensation on Friday, January 4, 2019.

Any time a construction worker is required to work either above the ground or below it, the risk of death or serious injury greatly increases. The bereaved family of a Haverhill construction worker learned this sad lesson when their husband and father died in an unexplained fall down an elevator shaft.

The police were called to the site at 10:20 a.m. on December 18 when co-workers discovered the body of a roofer at the bottom of an elevator shaft in a building undergoing renovation. The exact cause of the fall was unknown, but investigators for the Essex State Police Detective Unit and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on the scene delving into the accident. The building is located at 98 Essex Street in Haverhill. The building is being remodeled to create 62 units of residential space and related commercial space.

Big rig roll-over kills driver, seriously injures another

On behalf of Law Office of Colonna & Doyle posted in Truck Accidents on Thursday, December 27, 2018.

Anyone who travels Massachusetts' modern highway system with any frequency sees a large number of semi-trailer trucks hauling many different kinds of loads, from building materials to machinery to liquids. These vehicles travel at high speeds and often pose a hazard to other drivers. A recent truck accident on Highway 24 near Fall River appears to have been caused by the rollover of a semi-trailer tanker truck.

The accident occurred at about 5:15 a.m. on Route 24. The tanker truck rolled over, and its driver was killed. The tanker truck hit another vehicle, and that driver was hospitalized with serious injuries. The driver of the truck was 67-years-old, but no additional information has been released about him. The injured driver was hospitalized in a Rhode Island hospital.

Did you receive substandard care in a Massachusetts hospital?

On behalf of Law Office of Colonna & Doyle on Monday, December 24, 2018.

When you seek medical treatment, you expect your doctors to be able to help you heal. Like all Massachusetts patients, your ultimate hope is that when you leave the hospital, you'll be on the road to a full recovery.

Since all medical procedures include inherent risk, it is critical that your doctor or surgeon (or both) talk to you ahead of time to explain any procedures or care you are going to receive and any known risks associated with it. The licensed care providers entrusted with your care are also obligated to take appropriate action to resolve problematic situations that arise that place you at risk for injury.

Two killed in wrong-way crash

On behalf of Law Office of Colonna & Doyle posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, December 20, 2018.

One of the goals of the Interstate Highway System is increasing the safety of drivers and passengers. The medians on Interstate Highways are intended, among other things, to reduce the incidence of head-on collisions. Unfortunately, the metal railings and grass strips that separate opposite lanes sometimes fail to accomplish their duties. A recent head-on car accident near Lawrence, Massachusetts, demonstrates the tragic results of such failures.

The accident occurred when a southbound Kia crossed the median strip and sideswiped a northbound pickup truck. The driver of the pickup was not injured, but the wrong-way vehicle was not finished causing mayhem. After striking the pickup, the vehicle slammed into a northbound Honda Pilot. After hitting the Pilot, the Kia crashed into a Toyota RAV4 that was carrying two women. The passenger in the Pilot and the driver of the Kia were both killed in the collision. The driver of the Honda was taken by helicopter to a Boston hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the RAV4 and her passenger were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Protections for truck accident victims

On behalf of Law Office of Colonna & Doyle posted in Truck Accidents on Friday, December 14, 2018.

Truck accidents can result in catastrophic injuries and death so it is important for victims and their families to be familiar with the legal rights and remedies available to them. Legal options can help victims address the damages and difficulties they face following a truck accident such as the physical, financial and emotional damages they have suffered.

When a negligent truck driver or trucking company has caused harm to victims because of a truck accident, victims may face challenges related to their medical care and treatment; an inability to work; and the emotional harm that goes along with all of the challenges they are facing. Truck drivers and trucking companies may be negligent if they drive while distracted; are speeding; impaired; or the truck is not properly maintained.

Crash results in mass-casualty accident, multiple injured

On behalf of Law Office of Colonna & Doyle posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, December 5, 2018.

Though driving gives one a sense of power and control over their vehicle, people often relinquish that control in order to simply enjoy the journey or travel together in a large group. Those who go down this route often hire buses to transport them from one location to another and seldom give another thought to the driver of the vehicle -- it is assumed that the company responsible for the driver would have vetted him or her and ensured that they would follow traffic rules. When a driver fails to do so, he or she might end up causing a bus or car accident with many injuries, depending on the number of people in the vehicle in question.

A similar event took place in Massachusetts recently, where a school bus carrying 23 occupants, both adults and children, crashed into the woods. The school bus was owned by a company that operates in another state, and was transporting employees of the company, along with their families, to a company trip in Massachusetts. According to state police, the occupants ranged from adults to children and the injuries of all were of varying degrees. It was considered a mass-casualty incident and several ambulances were called in order to transport the victims to hospitals.

What are common winter workplace accidents?

On behalf of Law Office of Colonna & Doyle posted in Workers' Compensation on Thursday, November 29, 2018.

Many Massachusetts residents may be watching the snow fall from their windows and from the safety of their home without realizing that construction workers continue to work outdoors to complete projects regardless of the prevailing weather. These workers put themselves at risk of contracting workplace injuries and illnesses from cold stress.

How does business classification affect workers' comp benefits?

On behalf of Law Office of Colonna & Doyle posted in Workers' Compensation on Thursday, November 22, 2018.

Though injured workers are entitled to receive workers' compensation benefits if they have become injured in a workplace accident, it is important to know that the rates of pay an injured worker receives depends on the classification assigned to the business one is working in. Employers who are assigned the same classification must pay the same rate in the same state. Workers' compensation therefore, is an equitable system not an equal one.