July 2011 Archives

The OSHA investigation of the Revere murder of Stephanie Moulton at a group home may lead to increased safety measures at all Massachusetts group homes and also help Moulton’s family win a wrongful death lawsuit.

According to The Boston Globe, in January, the 25-year old Moulton was killed at a group home in Revere run by the North Suffolk Mental Health Association. At the time of the killing, Moulton was alone in the group home with a potentially violent resident, Deshawn James Chappell. Chappell allegedly killed Moulton inside the home and dumped her body in Lynn. Chappell has been charged with murder and is currently awaiting trial.

Michael Skehill was allegedly attacked over the weekend in a Tim McGraw concert fight. The 19-year old Skehill is reportedly in serious condition at a Boston hospital after attending the concert at the Comcast Center in Mansfield.

The details of the attack are still vague. According to The Boston Globe, a man jumped on Skehill's back, knocked him down, punched him several times, and kicked him in the head. Other witnesses have said that Skehill was attacked by anywhere from two to four people. Police are investigating and searching for more information.

Several children injured in a series of unrelated summertime Boston accidents last week, as two children died while playing sports while a third was injured in the parking lot of a water park.

In Holden, The Boston Globe reports that a 12-year old boy collapsed and died while at soccer camp. Joshua Thibodeau was attending Zalgiris Soccer camp and was doing some light warm-up drills when he collapsed about 35 minutes into practice. An autopsy has been performed and may explain why the apparently healthy boy died. Officials said it was not particularly hot at the time of the accident and that there was plenty of water on hand.

A Fall River city health inspector allegedly signed off on the safety of a Fall River pool as a dead woman’s body lay submerged beneath the surface.

Last month, Marie Joseph drowned at Veterans Memorial Swimming Pool. The swimming death made headlines because her body was not discovered for days and all the while, the pool remained open to the public. Her body remained hidden from view partly due to the cloudy conditions of the pool.

Now, The Boston Globe is reporting that two days after Joseph drowned, and as her body remained in the pool, a health inspector visited the pool and issued a permit allowing the pool to remain open. The inspector did note that the pool appeared “cloudy.”

Steven Woods was killed in a boating accident over the weekend when he was thrown overboard from a pleasure craft and apparently drowned. The boating death in Marshfield has led to criminal charges against the pilot of the boat, Justin McDonald, and may involve federal maritime admiralty law if a wrongful death lawsuit is eventually brought against him.

According to The Boston Globe, Woods and his best friend McDonald were alone on the 20-foot pleasure craft when they were both thrown overboard. McDonald claims that the steering wheel on the boat pulled uncontrollably to the left throwing the two men off the boat.

A deadly Boston plane crash almost happened, as there was a runway collision between two planes preparing for takeoff at Logan Airport.

According to The Boston Globe, an Atlantic Southeast plane carrying 74 passengers bound for Raleigh-Durham collided with a much larger Delta flight bound for Amsterdam carrying 204 passengers as the two planes were preparing for takeoff.

Elaine Joyce sued the town of Dennis over three years ago claiming that she suffered emotional injuries when the Dennis Pines Golf Course refused to let her compete in a men's golf tournament.

Joyce, an accomplished woman's golfer who has more than 20 club championships and was ranked among the top female golfers in Massachusetts, sought to play in a partners event at Dennis Pines with her father, Pat Joyce. However, the elder Joyce was told that while he could play, his daughter could not at the men's-only event.

Another deadly Amtrak train crash leaves one person dead, this time involving a Boston-to-Portland train.

According to The Boston Globe, the Amtrak Downeaster train originating from Boston was carrying 109 passengers when it struck a tractor-trailer at a railroad crossing in North Berwick, Maine. The driver of the truck was killed, while several Amtrak passengers were injured -- none fatally. Officials are still investigating the cause of the accident.

This train accident follows the deadly train accident last month when a Chicago-to-California Amtrak train struck a big rig in the Nevada desert killing six people.

A 58-year old employee of Bay State Sweeping, Patrick MacDonald, died in a street sweeper accident in Norwood prompting an OSHA investigation.

According to GateHouse News Service, MacDonald was the operator of the street sweeper and his body was found apparently wedged in the machinery towards the front-end of the vehicle. At the time of the accident, MacDonald was reportedly driving the street sweeper behind a machine tearing tar off of the road. It is still not clear what caused his death.

As the accident occurred on the job, GateHouse reports that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the incident.

A Massachusetts woman was hospitalized in a fuel gel accident that follows a rash of similar accidents nationwide.

According to the Patriot Ledger, Joan Shaughnessy was at a party when she attempted to refill a pot of bug repellant fuel gel. The pot of scented gel is meant to be lit so that the fumes can ward off insects.

But as Shaughnessy poured the fuel gel into the already lit ceramic pot, the pot and gel exploded shooting flames onto her. Shaughnessy’s clothes caught on fire and she suffered burn injuries reports the Ledger. She was later taken to a hospital and is reportedly in good condition.