Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

The family of a 19-year-old Kent State student killed when her car was struck by a cargo van on March 21 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Delaware against the driver of the van and his employer.

According to the Ohio Highway Patrol, the driver of a Dara Toy Company 2006 Chevrolet Express cargo van became distracted while reaching for his cell phone charger and lost control of his vehicle. The van crossed the highway median, all three southbound lanes and the rest area exit ramp before hitting the 2001 Pontiac Grand Am driven by Carli Woodruff as she was leaving the rest area.

Woodruff, a native of Loveland and an intervention specialist major, died at Grant Medical Center in Columbus.

The family of Daniel Brown has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Metro Nashville for the drowning death of their son in May of 2010.

Daniel and two friends were swept out of a yard by flood waters and into Mill Creek on an inner tube. The two friends made it to safety and reported Daniel was still out in the water, but Metro Nashville did not take any action to save him. His father found his son’s body several days later.

The medical examiner reported the death occurred on May 12 at 1:15 p.m. If the autopsy is correct, Daniel survived for several days and could have been saved if Metro had done more to help. The lawsuit claims Metro had 10 days to find Daniel and they weren’t even looking although they had been notified he was still out in the water. The family wants the city held accountable for Daniel’s death.

The Gering, Nebraska family of a man who was killed when his car collided with a semi in December 2009 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit for an unspecified amount against the truck driver in federal court, reports the Fremont Tribune.

The lawsuit alleges the driver of the semi, Jwanna Gilzeane of Georgia, was driving recklessly and carelessly when Kenneth Vanderveen’s car collided with the truck on Interstate 80 near Grand Island. The suit also names several trucking companies linked to Mr. Gilzeane.

Wrongful Death

On Thanksgiving Day in 2008, a 5-year-old boy crawled into a transformer box and was electrocuted. WSBT reports the city of Mishawaka has reached a settlement with the boy’s family for an undisclosed amount. According to state law, there is a $700,000 cap on lawsuits with municipalities.

Mishawaka Utilities owned the box which had been left open that day at the Carriage House apartment complex.

The family also sued the Carriage House Apartments and Gene Glick, manager, for wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress. This lawsuit has not been settled.

A couple who fled Africa to save their granddaughter’s life has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against their ex-landlord for her death and for their own injuries in a 2009 house fire, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Their apartment caught fire as the result of the man next door falling asleep with a lit cigarette. The grandparents were unable to open the second-floor windows to escape and lost consciousness along with their granddaughter and were pulled from the building by firefighters. The 10-year-old died the following day from smoke inhalation and the adults were in comas for several months with severe burns and have been left disabled.

The lawsuit alleges the former landlord did not warn them of either the neighbor’s history of starting fires and of his mental disorder or that the upstairs windows could not be opened.

The parents of a 17-year-old boy who was killed in 2009 when the 2000 Mitsubishi Montero in which he was riding rolled over has filed a wrongful death suit against the automaker, reports The Salem News.

The Ipswich, MA teen and a 16-year-old girl were thrown from the back seat when the young driver who was unfamiliar with the road, lost control and rolled over on a curve just north of Route 60 in Revere. Both were killed.

The lawsuit claims the “unreasonably dangerous” design of the Montero is to blame and that Mitsubishi Motors North America is liable. This lawsuit adds to the already numerous ones around the country filed against Mitsubishi which alleges the SUV is top heavy – thus making it more likely to roll – and the manufacturer should have put an electronic stability control on all of its models. Claims of seat belts coming undone under stress and that the roof and pillars were more likely to collapse on Mitsubishi that on other vehicles have also been noted.

The family of a 21-year-old girl has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against three defendants as a result of her death in a tragic vehicular accident, reports NewsChannel5.com. The young woman and her boyfriend were turning left at an intersection when a pick-up ran into her car on the driver’s side. Both young people died at the scene.

The lawsuit alleges the 21-year-old driver of the pick-up had a blood alcohol content that was two times the legal limit at the time of the accident. The driver of the pick-up was injured and taken to the hospital, and he was later charged with two criminal counts of vehicular homicide.

In addition to the driver, the lawsuit names his brother, who owned the truck, and Sam’s All American Sports Grill in Henderson where the driver had been drinking shortly before the crash occurred. The lawsuit alleges if the Sports Grill had not served the driver enough liquor to make him intoxicated, or if they had stopped him from driving while intoxicated, the crash would have not happened.

The family of a Missouri man who died following a scuffle with a man trying to steal the tip jar from a Crestwood Starbucks has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the coffee giant, reports CBS.

The patron followed the 19-year-old thief out of the store when he grabbed the tip jar from the counter. After a physical altercation, the older man was knocked to the ground where he was hit by the car as the thief escaped. The Missouri man later died from head injuries he suffered in the incident.

The lawsuit alleges Starbucks invited criminal activity by leaving tip jars near customers and by “not employing security to prevent the perpetration of such crimes.” The 19-year-old is not named in the lawsuit.

Nebraska’s York News-Times reports representatives of a 23-year-old York man’s estate have filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming his work-related death by electrocution on August 21, 2009 was preventable.

The personal representative of a Muncie woman who died in 2009 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Delaware County Emergency Medical Service, reports thestarpress.com.