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Legal News January 2010 Patient Hits Her Head After Stretcher Tips Over The Plaintiff, 71, was suffering from end-stage renal disease. The Defendant, an ambulance company, was transporting her on a stretcher from her dialysis center to an ambulance so she could be driven home. As she was being wheeled through the parking lot to the ambulance, one of the wheels of the stretcher became lodged in a large hole in the parking lot. This caused the stretcher to tip over, which caused the Plaintiff to fall and strike her head on the pavement resulting in her death three days later. Since she was completely secured to the stretcher, she had no ability to brace herself for the fall. The ambulance company claimed its employees took all steps necessary considering the condition of the parking lot, and the property owner claimed the defects were minimal but open and obvious to the ambulance personnel.
Remember, it's winter in New England, so:
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Pedestrian Hit By Car The Plaintiff was walking on the sidewalk of a strip mall when a motor vehicle being operated by an 88-year-old jumped a two-inch curb onto the sidewalk and struck and pushed the Plaintiff through a storefront window. The Plaintiff sustained significant injuries including two broken legs, a broken right ankle, severe scalp laceration, two broken ribs, and a punctured and collapsed lung.
The case settled prior to trial for $950,000. Intersection Collision
The Plaintiff was med-flighted to a Boston hospital and was diagnosed with a right hip dislocation and fractured right hip socket. The Plaintiff underwent surgery the next day and remained in the hospital for several days. He was confined to his home for several months while undergoing home physical therapy and then was released to outpatient physical therapy. 911 Call Admitted Into Evidence
The Court recently outlined the factors necessary for a 911 recording to be admitted into evidence primarily in domestic disputes against a Defendant at trial. This is particularly important because when the victim has made a 911 call that qualifies under the various factors, the Defendant can be convicted based upon a 911 recording and statements to the police even if the victim does not testify. |
Failure to Pay Accrued Vacation Time Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 149, §148 Once accumulated vacation time has been earned according to a company’s vacation pay policy it becomes due under the definition of wages and, therefore, constitutes wages earned. An employee had accumulated five weeks of vacation time which could be used during the following calendar year. In this case the Attorney General handled the case. In a case handled by a private attorney with permission from the Attorney General, an employee may receive up to three times the amount owed under the statute together with payment of attorney’s fees and costs. Thus, free legal help for an employee who is owed wages or benefits.
Springfield Massachusetts Chicopee Massachusetts |
The Plaintiff alleged that the ambulance company’s employees were negligent in that they failed to keep a proper lookout of a parking lot which was in obvious disrepair. The Plaintiff also claimed that the property owner was negligent as they failed in their duty to maintain the parking lot in a reasonably safe condition.
The Plaintiff brought suit against the strip mall owner and alleged that they failed to follow safety regulations and standards regarding curb heights, wheel stops, bumper guards, or other devices to protect pedestrians on the sidewalk. At the time of the incident the Defendant’s parking lot was covered by two inches of hard packed snow, which provided no barrier between the parking lot and sidewalk. 
The Plaintiff, 54, was operating his motor vehicle through an intersection when the Defendant failed to stop for a blinking red light and crashed into the Plaintiff’s vehicle, forcing him off the road and into a fire hydrant, electrical box, streetlight, and telephone pole.
Prior to his involuntary discharge on April 8, 2005, the employee had only used one day. His employer refused to pay what he had earned the previous year. The employer produced a company policy manual which provided that if an employee leaves employment voluntarily he or she will forfeit all unused vacation pay. The court reasoned that the policy manual of forfeiture was in direct contravention to the laws as set forth in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 149, section 148, and the employer was ordered to pay the vacation time owed with penalties. 