Recently in Negligence / Other Torts in Boston:

New federal standards for mercury, the heavy metal with a toxic impact on humans and animals, have been released, reports The New York Times.

Methylmercury, which is the most potently toxic form of mercury, was found to be widespread in the Northeast. This includes lakes, rivers, forests, and marshes.

Mercury is released into the air when coal is burned. It causes neurological disorders in humans, especially children, causing learning disabilities. Mercury's dangers go further: it causes up to 100,000 heart and asthma attacks per year, reports the Environmental Protection Agency.

After State Trooper John Bergeron accidentally shot his neighbor, a hunter’s advocacy group is calling for his head, well, at least the head in his picture on his hunting license, reports the Boston Globe.

The Sportsmen’s Alliance sent a letter to various police departments around the state, telling them that the incident had cast a negative light on all hunters. The Sportsmen’s Alliance wants Bergeron charged under a law that says, “”A person shall not use any firearm, bow and arrow or other weapon or article in a careless or negligent manner so as to cause bodily injury or death to another while engaged in hunting or target shooting.”

One of the committees inside the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has advised the CDC should lower the threshold for lead poisoning in children, reports the New York Times's Motherlode Blog.

Lowering the threshold for lead poisoning would mean a lot more children would meet the standard for lead poisoning. Lead is likely to be present in most homes built before 1978, says The Times, and a high level of lead can lead to developmental delays, organ failures and other physical consequences.

Nipmuc Regional High School's ski team member, John "Jack" Street was killed when he possibly suffered a seizure and fell 25 feet down from a ski chairlift at the Ski Ward ski area, reports the Boston Globe.

Jack Street's death is under investigation by Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.'s office, though from the reports it sounds like the young man suffered a seizure before falling.

Brittany Murphy, the young actress that appeared in movies like Clueless and Uptown Girl, who passed away in 2009 from pneumonia, is back in the news after her mother claimed that the actress may have died from toxic mold, reports the Huffington Post.

Brittany Murphy’s mother, Sharon Murphy, claims that the people that built the Hollywood home that Brittany was living in are to blame for the mold and the death. Oddly, Brittany Murphy’s husband, Simon Monjak, died a few months after his wife. Now Sharon Murphy is claiming that she was tricked into signing a settlement that would prohibit her from suing the construction company.

When winter comes one of the perennial popular articles at the Boston Globe is Paul Makishima's 2009 effort 40 Great Places to Sled Around Boston. He lists some well known, and other more difficult to find hills where people might sled. A useful tool.

A great majority of the places listed are public properties, like parks and schools. But the article raises the question that if people are looking for sledding spots in Boston they are apt to use just about any good-looking hill. And that could mean, if you are a homeowner, that people might be stopping by your own personal hill.

With the holiday shopping season in full-swing, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and the Retailers Association of Massachusetts teamed up to offer tips for safe holiday shopping.

These tips are broken down for in-store shopping and online shopping.

Schools across the country are being sued for bullying and hazing. While bullying has happened for many years, it seems that the media has placed a greater spotlight on the dangers of bullying and the psychological and physical effects on the victims.

In an effort to stop bullying, the Andover school system took affirmative action and disciplined nine members of the basketball team for participating in these activities. For the Andover school bullying, some students were expelled and others were suspended, reports The Boston Globe.

A 12-year-old student died over the weekend from a probable cause of bacterial meningitis. The Boston Latin Academy meningitis death will probably spur action by the school to protect those who may have been exposed to the bacteria.

The student was not identified given patient confidentiality, reports The Boston Globe. However, it was reported that about 50 students and faculty may have had close enough contact with the girl to be at risk.

Child sex abuse is dominating the headlines. With the national spotlight shining brightly on Pennsylvania and the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky scandal, another child sex abuse victim has come forward bringing a lawsuit against Camp Goods News in Cape Cod.

The Camp Good News lawsuit is yet another sexual abuse case against the Christian summer camp made famous for its apology to Senator Scott Brown who had wrote about being sexually abused at the camp himself, reports The Boston Globe.