Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyer - wrongful death

Scott Peterson Wrongful Death Trial Delayed

Chrissie Cole — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:05:00 GMT

Scott Peterson, convicted of killing his pregnant wife, is heading to court again – this time civil court.

Laci Peterson’s parents have filed a multimillion-dollar wrongful death lawsuit against him for their daughter’s murder.

On Friday, a Superior Court Judge, in Stanislaus County, ruled Peterson would stand trial in the civil case. In 2003, he was found guilty of murdering his pregnant wife and dumping her body in the San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve 2002.

A videotape made by Peterson, from prison, was showed at Friday’s hearing alleging his innocence.

The civil trial was originally scheduled to begin on July 8, but the judge granted a motion for delay until July 21, when lawyers will meet in court and a judge will set a new trial date.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Widow Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Disney Cruise Lines

Chrissie Cole — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:57:52 GMT

A widow has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Disney Cruise Line, blaming the company for her husband's death from injuries he suffered last year while on an 11-day cruise out of Barcelona, Spain. He died August 14th, he was 78.

The suit alleges that her husband died because a poorly designed, raised threshold on a bathroom doorway caused him to trip and fall; because the ship's medical staff initially misdiagnosed his injuries; and because efforts to evacuate him to a shore hospital for emergency medical treatment were slow, poorly planned and poorly executed.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday, in Orlando, on behalf of her husband's estate. The complaint names Disney Cruise Line's corporate entity, Magical Cruise Co. Ltd., and Disney cruise Vacations and defendants.

The suit alleges they are responsible for her husband's wrongful death and seeks over $75,000 in damages.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Indiana Court Reinstates Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Chrissie Cole — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:40:16 GMT

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled, on Wednesday, that the estate of an Allen County woman can proceed with a wrongful death lawsuit filed against a Fort Wayne nursing home.

In August, Martha, fractured her hip. After surgery, she was transported to Bethlehem Woods Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. In the days following the surgery, her incision was torn due to the wheelchair, provided by the nursing home, was too small.

At one point, she was left on a bed pan for six hours, resulting in severe ulcers. Then on Sept. 22, after a dialysis treatment, a Bethlehem employee discovered her lying in a pool of her own blood, the ruling said.

She was transferred to the hospital on the same day, but she died Nov. 6.

In October of 2003, her estate filed a wrongful death suit against the nursing home. The nursing home argued that the case should be handled under medical malpractice law, which has a statute of limitations of two years from the date of malpractice. Originally, trial court agreed and dismissed the suit.

Attorneys for the state appealed and argued the case should be handled under wrongful death statute of limitations which is two years from the date of death.

The estate met the wrongful death limitations but filed a month too late for medical malpractice.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Sister of Accident Victim Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:00:03 GMT

The sister of a Fort Wayne man that lost his life in a car accident, in February, has filed a wrongful death suit against the driver of the car responsible for causing collision that led to her brother's death.

The accident happened when a woman driving a minivan, ran a red light and struck a pickup truck, causing the driver to lose control and crash into a parked 2007 Pontiac which killed her brother while he was putting coins in the meter.

Conner walked everywhere for much of his adult life and was often seen walking all over Allen County, far away from his apartment near the Fort Wayne Newspapers building. He had bought the Pontiac just a few months before he was killed.

The lawsuit was filed in Allen Superior Court this week and seeks unspecified damages against the driver of the minivan and her employer, Correctional Management Co, of Indianapolis, the owner of the vehicle.

The suit claims the woman was driving the minivan in a dangerous and negligent manner and the company was negligent for hiring her and allowing her to drive in a dangerous manner.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Nursing Home Facing Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Chrissie Cole — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:02:53 GMT

An 82-year-old woman died, in May, at Lemont Nursing Home where she resided since 2004. Now, her daughter has filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming the facility contributed to her mother's death with abuse and neglect.

The lawsuit was filed on July 18 in Cook County Circuit Court. The suit alleges Lemont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center failed to provide her mother with efficient care that could have prevented the injuries that lead to her death.

The woman died three days after she fell and fractured her leg and hip at the home.

"The daughter is very disappointed and angry at the care her mother received," said Thorp's attorney Steven Levin. "She was clearly an individual at risk for falls, and she believes that the nursing home, despite what they told her, did not take the simple precautions necessary. She's also concerned that something like this doesn't happen again."

The lawsuit also names the nursing home's owner - the Evanston-based Care Centers Inc - who also runs facilities in the metropolitan Chicago area and northwest Indiana.

The suit alleges that while she resided at the home, she suffered other injuries including an infected sore on her leg and cuts on her face after being attacked by another resident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Gas Explosion

Christina Cole — Tue, 08 May 2007 19:53:10 GMT

Two large companies are being sued in a wrongful-death lawsuit. by the husband and daughter of a Huntington woman that was killed in November in a natural gas explosion.

Filed in Huntington Circuit Court, the lawsuit names Comcast Corp., Comcast Cable of Indiana, a Comcast employee and Indiana Gas Co., doing business as Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana.

The woman, 75, died on November 20, from smoke inhalation in a horrific explosion caused by a gas leak at her home. Her husband was also home at the time and suffered severe burns over most of his body. He is also suing for damages from personal injury. Also killed in the explosion was an employee of Vectren Energy Delivery.

Borne went to the home to do maintenance and repair work. While grounding the cable line, he drove a copper stake in the ground, which struck and penetrated a plastic natural gas line that is operated by Vectren Energy Delivery. He pulled the stake out and the gas line began leaking into the air, according to court papers.

The lawsuit alleges the emergency response personnel operator at Vectren Energy Delivery took the report but was negligent, claiming the utility provided inadequate and vague warnings for safety measures.

Vectren sent an employee to the home, but before the employee began working on the line, the escaping natural gas had penetrated the Wilsons' home and ignited, causing a huge explosion and fire, according to court documents.

According to the lawsuit, the Wilson family alleges that Borne was negligent in failing to contact utility locator services, that Comcast was negligent in properly training Borne for the safe grounding of cable television line in the vicinity of natural gas service lines and that Vectren was negligent in failing to properly train emergency telephone responders to instruct service workers and residents to evacuate a home when a gas line is cut, as well as in failing to dispatch an employee to shut off the natural gas.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Unborn Child's Death

Christina Cole — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 17:47:15 GMT

Just two days from her planned birth, Savannah, an unborn child, was killed with her mother in a collision involving a semi-trailer last month.

Her father and grandmother have filed a wrongful death lawsuit, against the trucker and the trucking company. This case can help change the way state laws view unborn, viable children who are killed.

Witnesses told police, a driver with Suzy-Q Trucking of Indianapolis, was traveling west on Indiana 10, when he tried to pass another truck while in a no-passing zone. The mother, 21, was traveling east on Indiana 10 when the trucker crossed over into her lane, causing her to crash head-on into the rear of the semi-trailer. The mother along with her unborn child, died at the scene.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for funeral, burial, hospital and estate administration costs, along with for loss of love, affection and companionship.

At the heart of the case are Savannah's and her father's rights under the state's Child Wrongful Death Act. Indiana is one of 10 states which have no civil provision regarding unborn viable children who are killed.

Attorneys argue that current interpretations of the wrongful death act -- which deny legal standing to the fathers of killed unborn children in court actions -- violate the Equal Privileges and Immunities section of the Indiana Constitution.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Settled Between Southwest and Family

Christina Cole — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 17:34:47 GMT

The family of a six-year-old Indiana boy killed when a jet skid off an airport runway slamming into their car, has reached a settlement with Southwest Airlines.

The parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Southwest and Boeing Company, the manufacturer of the planes, in Cook County Circuit Court, almost a year ago.

The lawsuit claimed both companies made mistakes that lead to the December 2005 accident that occurred at Midway International airport. Financial details regarding the settlement have not been released. A Southwest spokeswoman says the airline and parents were the only parties involved in the reached settlement.

After the accident Midway International Airport has installed a lightweight concrete bed to help prevent planes from skidding off the runway.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Poor Police Training Leads to Wrongful Death Suit

Christina Cole — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 23:16:42 GMT

A survey conducted by the Associated Press reveals at least 30 states - Indiana included - let newly hired local law enforcement officers hit the street entirely too early with little to no training at all.

In most cases, recruits are to be supervised by full fledged officers, but that doesn't always take place. These states allow for a grace period prior to rookies being sent to a police academy.

Many speculate the risks of this practice are too high, leading to unfortunate incidents such as one in 2003, when a 24-year old rookie at Ball State University shot and killed an unarmed student.

The officer is now being sued in a wrongful death lawsuit for shooting the student in the head and three times in the chest.

There are no estimates for the number of untrained recruits working but the practice is entirely too common amongst smaller town police forces and sheriff's departments.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against ConAgra

Christina Cole — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 03:00:18 GMT

A family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against ConAgra Foods Inc., alleging a relative has died from eating salmonella-tainted peanut butter.

No deaths have been confirmed to date in the salmonella outbreak, but the family is claiming the peanut butter did in fact kill her, while also making her husband and daughter sick.

Opened peanut butter jars obtained from people that have been sick with salmonella poisoning, has tested positive for the dangerous germ, reports the Centers for Disease Control.

Federal Officials report the outbreak has made at least 329 people sick since a nationwide breakout began in August.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole