Glendale Personal Injury Lawyer - Wrongful Death

Ritter Family Presses Wrongful-death Suit

Greg Owen — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:14:09 GMT

You may recall that 54 year-old actor/comedian John Ritter of Three's Company fame died most unexpectedly in September 2003 on, of all days, his 5-year-old daughter's birthday. At the time of his death, Ritter was married to actress Amy Yasbeck. Yesback and Ritter's four children have now filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Los Angeles. Two doctors are named in that suit.

According to court records, to date, the family has received more than $14 million in settlements. The doctors at St Joseph Medical Center, where Ritter died, treated him as if he was having a heart attack. That point is not in dispute. However, both sides agree that what Ritter was actually suffering from was an aortic dissection, which was not identified until after his death. Ritter's wife feels that sign of her husband's condition were missed by his doctors until it was too late.

Additional information pertaining to wrongful death

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Did a Pit Bull or a Person Cause this Child's Death

Greg Owen — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:47:04 GMT

Sharon, a seven-year-old Kingston girl, was found dead in the basement of her family home a decade ago. She had suffered more than 80 wounds and part of her scalp was torn from her head. Eventually, the child bled to death.
The cause Sharon's death is what has experts and police alike at raising questions.

The cause of death given by the family of the victim was a pit bull attack. However, one of Ontario's top forensic expert, Dr. Robert Wood, is not buying it. He still believes that a dog attack is not the only explanation for the death. Yesterday, he gave testimony rejecting the opinions of other experts who concluded that the dog attack caused all of Sharon's injures and indeed her death.

Both Woods and the police are much more inclined to believe that some of the 80 wounds on the child were stab wounds. Particularly a wound to her neck. "I would like someone to explain to me ... how that could be made by a dog's tooth," said Woods. It is interesting to note that a man by the name of Gordon Strowbridge, was in the house at the time Sharon died and he was convicted of a brutal stabbing murder in Nova Scotia after Sharon's death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Wrongful-death suit filed against Red Robin

Greg Owen — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:04:54 GMT

When the parents of a 20 year old young man allowed him to go the grand opening of a new Red Robin restaurant in January 2006, they felt secure in the fact that their young son would be supervised by the management of the restaurant while he was away from home. After all, they had been assured by Pete Cardillo, a manager for Red Robin, that not only would there be supervision, but that he (Cardillo) would be staying in the rented townhouse with their son, Kyle Watz, along with other employees. The last thing the Watz family expected was the wrongful death of their son.

While it is true that Red Robin rented a townhouse for the male employees and another for the female employees, neither Cardillo nor any other supervisor stayed in the same townhouse with the employees as promised. On January 7, 2006 some of the employees who were over the age of 21 purchased alcohol and made it readily available to Watz. In fact, they celebrated the 20th birthday of Watz with that alcohol. Red Robin supervisors knew or should have known of this party. No supervisors were even on hand. During the early morning hours of Jan. 8, 2006, Watz died at the townhouse after celebrating his 20th birthday. Red Robin management breached its duty to supervise Watz. Accordingly, the suit is seeking unspecified monetary damages in this wrongful death case.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Wrongful Death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Elderly Man Dies in Nursing Home Due to Negligence

Greg Owen — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:37:44 GMT

A Pike County nursing home is facing wrongful death allegations for the second time in one month. Before being transported to Good Shepard, were he later died, John Young, Jr. was a resident at Parkview from May 2005 until November 2005

Young's daughter Elvie Slone claims that officials at Good Shepherd caused Young to loose as much as 17 pounds in one month. Additionally, through various alleged acts of negligence, Young suffered with "infections, sepsis (blood poisoning caused by infection) pressure sores, abuse, Pneumonia, malnutrition, skin tears during transfers and a wound on his penis that was not treated." Within 16 days of being transferred to Good Shepard, John Young died.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Nursing Home and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Four Million Verdict to Family of Boy Who Drowned

Greg Owen — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:33:55 GMT

On June 22, 2006, 5-year-old Connor Freed's lifeless body was found floating in the swimming pool of the Crofton Country Club in Maryland at 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon.

On that day young Conner had gone swimming along with a 36-year-old friend of the family and two other children. At the time of the incident there was a 16-year-old lifeguard on duty. That particular lifeguard had only been on the job for three weeks.

DRD Pool Service Inc. was found negligent for failing to adequately train its lifeguards and properly staff the pool. The family were awarded $4 million dollars. As Conner's parents put it "Just hearing that the jury thought that DRD was negligent, it definitely helped us out. To hear that verdict, it took a load off our shoulders."

More information on the subject of wrongful death

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Lack of affidavit knocks case out of court

Greg Owen — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 12:28:41 GMT

Madison County Circuit Judge Dave Hylla dismissed with prejudice a wrongful death lawsuit because the plaintiff's attorney, Stephen Evans, failed to produce an affidavit of merit on time despite the fact that he had he had Hinnen's medical records in his possession for more than a year.

The Illinois Code of Civil Procedure requires that an affidavit of merit must be filed within 90 days of the suit being filed. It was argued by defense counsel, Hunsaker, that pursuant to section 2-622 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure that the case should be dismissed. The judge agreed.

Further information pertaining to wrongful death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Woman Dies in Airport Holding Cell

Greg Owen — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 12:10:14 GMT

On Friday, a 45 year old woman, Carol Anne Gotbaum, was attempting to travel through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in route to an alcohol rehabilitation center. She was late for her flight, and when it was made clear to her that she would not be allowed to board, according to witnesses, she began yelling and running throughout the terminal.

As a result of her disturbing behavior, she was handcuffed by officers and was taken to a holding room sans a surveillance camera. While in holding room she continued to scream. When she suddenly became quiet, officers checked on her only to find her unconscious. To their surprise, she died while in the holding room.

An autopsy will be preformed in the presence of a representative of the decedent's family. The attorney representing the family, Manning, said "We're not going to jump to any conclusions without any evidence. We want to see what the autopsy reveals. We want to see what exactly happened to her."

Update: Preliminary autopsy - inconclusive.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Wrongful Death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

CITY SETTLES A WRONGFUL DEATH CASE

Greg Owen — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:36:09 GMT

In November of 2004, Justin Faust, 9, was hit by a vehicle as he ran across a road while trying to catch the family dog. The family sued the city of Lee's Summit for wrongful death due to the fact that the posted speed limit was excessive in addition to inadequate street lighting.

After almost two years of litigation, the parties settled their lawsuit on Thursday. Neither side would disclose the terms of the settlement. According to Gordon Faust "money was never their goal." He further stated that the couple's goal in filing the lawsuit was to make the city "right a wrong..."

The city has now reduced the speed limit in that area to 35 miles per hour, however many of the residents continue to fight for reduced speed limits, better lighting in addition to pedestrian crosswalks in their subdivision. As one resident put it "We want to be treated like every other subdivision in Lee's Summit. We want to have the safety we feel we deserve."

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Wrongful Death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Widow of Slain Officer Ordered to Pay

Greg Owen — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:12:02 GMT

Elizabeth Bernoskie's husband, a police officer, was gunned down in a robbery gone wrong in 1958. No charges were filed until 41 years later after the suspect's sister reveled that her brother and her cousin had talked about committing the murder.

However, after the prime suspect, Zarinsky, was acquitted in the criminal trial. The decedent's wife filed a wrongful-death civil suit wherein the jury awarded $9.5 million of which she received Zarinsky's $150,000 mutual fund as a down payment.

On Thursday, the state appeals court ruled that the wrongful-death suit should never have been allowed due to the fact that he was acquitted of the murder charges. "While Zarinsky's lawyer called the ruling satisfactory, Bernoskie's attorney said it was the "end of the line" for victim's family." Stay tuned to see if the family will challenge the decision in the Superior Court.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Wrongful Death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Wrongful Death of a Young Man Due to Negligence

Greg Owen — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 15:09:07 GMT

A Dallas jury awarded $18.9 million to the widow of a man who was killed in an explosion at a TXI facility in Midlothian, Texas. Gordon Rutherford, 34, was killed in January 2003 while employed by a contractor to TXI. He was working in an area that was close to a scrubber that contained materials that were extremely hazardous and flammable.

While working, more than 5 tons of combustible plastics caught fire and completely engulfed Mr. Rutherford. To add to that tragedy, a crane malfunctioned at the site of the incident. As a result, he was left suspended 90 feet in air. The other workers at the scene were burned and had to be rushed to hospital.

It was deemed that the company's equipment was not properly maintained. Additionally, the crew was not adequately warned or properly equipt with fire extinguishing devices. "This trial was about determining how seriously companies should take plant safety. After hearing evidence about the wrongful death of Gordon Rutherford for almost four weeks, the jury rejected the notion that industrial plants can maintain a blind eye to the dangers their workers face," said Michael Heygood attorney for Mrs. Rutherford.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen