Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

According to the Philadelphia Daily News, the parents of a 2-year-old boy will sue Fairy Tales Daycare and its owners in the boy’s death.

On July 1, 2009, the child died after being left in the back seat of a locked van with the windows rolled up and temperatures exceeding 80 degrees. The lawsuit alleges the boy’s parents paid their neighbor and co-owner of the daycare center to take the child to the center at least three times a week.

On this day, however, the child was left in the van where he was not discovered until about 4:30pm in the afternoon. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead of heat stroke, also known as hyperthermia.

The family of a Blufton Middle School boy who died after a fight on campus reached a $200,000 wrongful death settlement with the school district and local government. Francisco Belman – 14, died in 2002, several months after being punched in the chest by two fellow students as part of a gang initiation. The two teens plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and were sentenced to probation.

The loss of a loved one is a tragic occurrence that can turn the lives of the deceased families upside down. No dollar amount can be attached to a life, but when deaths occur due to the negligence of another person or entity, it is important to send a message to the negligent parties through litigation. In this case, the financial loss suffered by the school board may force stricter schoolyard rules and monitoring, preventing future injuries and loss of life.

A wrongful death claim allows the survivors of a wrongful death to ease their financial troubles as well as seek justice from wrongdoers. The family of the wronged person may ask for money that helps them ease the financial effects of their loved one’s premature death, such as funeral costs, medical bills, and a lifetime of lost wages. They may also ask for damages for non-economic harm, such as their loss of companionship, protection or care, mental anguish or pain and suffering. Under some circumstances, survivors of a wrongfully killed person can sue for exemplary damages (also called punitive damages) that punish a wrongdoer for recklessness, malice or willful acts.

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The mother of Jason Goss, who was killed while he was an inmate at Wateree River Correctional Institution, has filed a suit against the South Carolina Corrections Department. The suit alleges that the prison failed to protect her son from assault by other inmates, according to an Associate Press Report published on October 3rd.

The suit was filed independently of the criminal charges involved in the case. Two inmates were charged with murder in Goss’ death. They each face 30 years to life in prison if convicted. Goss was found unconscious on October 6th, 2006 at Wateree River Correctional Institution. The agency said at the time that emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.

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Drunk driver Humberto A. Orduna hit and killed Francisco Rivera, Jr., a 20-month old baby, in a Florida mobile home park in 2004. After his arrest for DUI, he fled the country to Mexico – but his actions have incurred a hefty price in the United States, where he was recently convicted in absentia. The family, who was emotionally traumatized by witnessing the accident and who endured both the sight of their baby son’s brain injury and death and a bill for nearly $17,000, was awarded $7.25 million by the jury in Orduna’s absence. Now they’re going after the defendant’s insurance company, who allegedly failed to pay the entire $10,000 covered by Orduna’s insurance policy.

This tragic incident demonstrates not only the harsh toll wrongful death can take on a family, but the rights surviving family members have under the law when wrongful death is involved. The family not only recovered direct medical costs related to the drunk driving accident – they filed for and received damages covering their severe emotional distress.

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