Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

The Edmund Pettis Bridge, constructed in 1939, carries U.S. Highway 80 over the Alabama River in Selma, Alabama.  On March 7^th, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and over 500 civil rights activists conducted a peaceful march across the bridge.  Dr. King’s message was simple, but effective: Peaceful advocacy for equal rights for all Americans.  Unfortunately, many Americans at the time, including the police, were unwilling to listen.  Dr. King and his followers were met by hordes of policemen, who beat the marchers with clubs. 17 people were hospitalized on that “Bloody Sunday.”

Years later, police brutality has moved to the forefront of our country’s most heated debates.  Public outrage has boiled over into violent conflicts.  Angry protests have sprung up in major U.S. cities, yet the number of police shootings seems to be never-ending.  Cell-phones, which are owned by nearly every American, are the tools by which these horrific incidents are surfacing.  They have documented the grisly details, the circumstances in which people are beaten or killed by police.

One of the most recent police brutality tragedies to occur took place in North Charleston, South Carolina.  On April 5, 2015, Patrolman Michael Slager pulled over 50-year-old Walter Scott after his taillight was out.  Somehow, Scott managed to flee from the scene after Slager began walking over to his car.  Slager chased him down behind a pawn shop in North Charleston.

A cell phone video from an onlooker captured a sickening sequence of events.  The video shows Scott in a brief scuffle with Officer Slager, then running away from him.  Officer Slager then drew his sidearm pistol and fired it eight times at Scott’s back.  After being riddled with bullets, Scott crumpled to the ground and lay there motionless.  He died before EMTs could arrive.

Police initially alleged that Slager had been protecting himself because Scott had taken his tazer away from him.  In the video, however, that claim is clearly refuted; Slager dropped the tazer on the ground once he stood next to Scott’s body.

When asked about the incident, Slager allegedly laughed and said that his “adrenaline was pumping.”

If you or a loved one have suffered injuries stemming from an incident with police, please call our Massachusetts personal injury advocates.  Call us, 24/7, at 617-787-3700.

The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2004 in order to improve food labeling for the millions of Americans who suffer from food allergies. The Act requires that foods containing certain ingredients classified as “major food allergens” be labeled appropriately to alert consumers of the hazard. There are eight major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans. These eight allergens comprise 90% of food allergies and account for the allergens that cause the most severe and life-threatening reactions. Failure to properly label foods that contain these allergens can result in civil liability, as well as fines and other sanctions.

An Alabama family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Publix Super Markets Inc. after their 11-year-old son suffered a fatal allergic reaction to a mislabeled cookie purchased at the Publix store in Clarksville, Tennessee. Eleven-year-old Derek “Landon” Wood suffered from an allergy to tree nuts. The family had been aware of this allergy since Landon was four-years-old, and his mother always carried an epinephrine pen in case of emergency. While visiting an aunt in Clarksville, the family went to the bakery counter of the local Publix super market. There were no signs at the ready-to-eat dessert display and no list of ingredients of allergens.

According to USA Today, the family asked a supermarket associate about a chocolate cookie called the “Chocolate Chew,” and she indicated that the cookie did not contain any tree nut allergens. When the family returned to their home in Tennessee, the boy ate his cookie and immediately recognized something was wrong. His mouth was on fire. They later learned that the cookie had walnuts in it. Landon’s mother gave him Benadryl and administered the epinephrine pen. Still, his condition worsened. Landon’s throat swelled up, and he died en route to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The family hopes that their lawsuit will raise awareness and increase compliance with food allergen labeling laws. The family is seeking damages for wrongful death, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and punitive damages.

If you have lost a loved one due to the negligence of another, call our Boston personal injury lawyer experts today at 617-787-3700.