This time of year, many people will be heading outdoors and taking advantage of the many exciting activities available in the fall and winter in Massachusetts. Two of the more popular activities are snowmobiling and riding ATVs. While ATVs are often used in the summer, many people use them on snow as well, and this can certainly be exciting.

mhitxxOHowever, using an all terrain vehicle (ATV) or snowmobile can be very dangerous as well, and they have been the cause of a significant amount of personal injury, especially among children. While, from a factual standpoint, the cause of most of these accidents involves falling off an ATV or running into a low tree branch, there are variety of different legal theories of causation that can be used in a personal injury lawsuit; however, we are still generally dealing with a negligence case. Continue reading

Each year, approximately 12,500 new spinal cord injuries will occur within the United States. The National Spinal Cord Injury Model System explains these statistics do not reflect the number of people who die at the scene of accidents as a result of spinal injuries. Males account for 80 percent of new spinal cord injury patients, and the average age at which a person sustains a spinal cord injury is 42 years old. This is a 29 year increase in average age since the 1970s. access-w3c-1423514

Spinal cord injuries are permanent when they occur, and can cause profound changes to the lives of victims and their families. Treatment of spinal cord injury is limited and is often focused on managing symptoms and conditions resulting from full or partial paralysis. However, Reuters reports there is new research currently underway which may be showing promise for improving treatment options.

New Research Leading to Advances in Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

One of the most serious injuries that a person can sustain is injury to the brain. Injuries to the brain are invasive and can impact all aspects of a person’s life. Brian injuries can be fatal or, in severe cases, can leave an individual permanently incapacitated or with significantly impaired cognitive function. Even brain injuries that seem relatively mild, like concussions, can have profound and lasting impacts that can affect health decades after the original injury occurred. medical-cross-4-971654-m

Brain injuries are not only life-changing for many victims, but they are also very difficult to treat effectively because there is a great deal that medical professionals do not yet understand about the human brain. Research is ongoing with the goal of providing more effective treatments for symptoms and health problems affecting brain injury victims, and recently Breakthroughs reported a new drug was showing some promise in early testing.

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Parking lots can be a dangerous place both for people walking and for people driving. During the holiday season and the rest of the winter months, the risk is exacerbated because of the potential for slippery conditions. parking-lot-1450508

Motorists should be alert to the risks they face when in parking lots, and should do everything possible to try to avoid getting hurt when they get out of their cars to head to their destination. Unfortunately, often it is drivers or parking lot owners who are negligent in a manner that leads to an accident.

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During the holiday season, consumers like to hit the malls to find the perfect gifts for loved ones. Unfortunately, holiday shopping can be stressful on the body. While there are some risks from lifting heavy items and carrying stacked shopping bags, the biggest dangers occur when stores and shopping malls don’t have effective safety plans and protocols in place. christmas-star-1420864 copy

Stores and malls can be held accountable in situations where there is an injury caused by negligence. Consumers need to know their rights and must be aware of the risks associated with holiday shopping so they can stay safe throughout the season.

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Brandner v. Pease, a case from the Supreme Court of Alaska, involved a plaintiff who suffered a heart attack in late 2009. He was admitted to a local hospital to undergo an emergency bypass operation. A doctor and an anesthesiologist took part in the surgery. The plaintiff also happened to be a board certified doctor in plastic surgery.

medical-equipment-1342025-mPlaintiff was in surgery for around six hours. It took two attempts for the anesthesiologist to intubate plaintiff, and the drug used to put patient under anesthesia was propofol. During the surgery, plaintiff’s blood pressure began to drop to a dangerously low level, but he did not suffer complete cardiac arrest, according to the surgeon. At this point, surgeon performed CPR, and nurses gave plaintiff medications to raise his blood pressure back to a normal level. After his blood pressure was normalized, the surgery resumed as scheduled. Continue reading

According to a recent report in the Boston Herald, one of the world’s leading Ebola experts was serious injured in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) crash. Prior to her accident, she had just given a presentation on genetics research involving Ebola.

mIJhKSUFollowing her talk, she went with a tour group on an ATV tour through the mountains. She was a passenger on one of the ATVs being used for the tour. As they were riding in the tour, her ATV collided with a curb, and the driver lost control. It drove off a cliff and tumbled down its face. Fortunately, they crashed into trees that prevented her from falling to her death, but she was seriously injured. Continue reading

According to a recent news article from 12 News Now, a volunteer firefighter who was badly burned in a fire has undergone the most extensive face transplant performed to date.   As part of the operation, he received a new face, scalp and neck tissue. After being left legally blind following his accident, because his face was too damaged for his eyes to see, he expects he will finally be able to regain his vision and drive again, which has been his dream.

stethascope1The first face transplant surgery was performed in France around a decade ago, and it is the same doctor who headed up the transplant and reconstruction teams for this volunteer firefighter. He considers this latest surgery to be his most successful operation ever, and it was far more involved than earlier ones, due to the extent of burn damage and what they are able to do to repair it. Continue reading

Most personal injury cases are filed under a theory of negligence. This means that plaintiff is alleging defendant owed a duty of care to plaintiff, breached this duty of care, the breach was the actual and proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries, and damages resulted. These are the four elements of a negligence cause of action in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

soup-2-1329592The duty of care can be owed to plaintiff as a matter law, due to a contract, or as a result of the defendant placing plaintiff in harm’s way. An example of a legally imposed duty involves a motorist. Anyone who gets a driver’s license owes a duty to act as a reasonable and prudent person to prevent foreseeable to harm to foreseeable persons and property while behind the wheel of a car. Continue reading

While it is not the favorite pastime of everyone in the greater Boston area, deer hunting is actually quite popular in much of Massachusetts and throughout New England. As we find ourselves in hunting season, it is not surprising to hear about hunting accidents on the news.   While not every routine accident will make the news, some capture the public attention more than others.

deer-1387132According to a recent news feature from M Live, one woman, who is not a hunter, was apparently walking through a plowed-over cornfield with her daughter when her daughter saw a deer through her binoculars. It was a buck deer that they assumed had been shot and was dead. At this point, she decided they should take the deer and use the meat to feed the family. It is not unheard of for a hunter to shoot a deer, but the deer gets away only to die a short time later. Continue reading

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