Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer - Wrongful Death

Mother Files Wrongful Death Claim Against City and State

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 20:09:28 GMT

A mother of two small children is preparing to file a $12 million wrongful death claim for the deaths of her two small children - ages four and five.

The claim is asking the state for $8 million in wrongful death damages and the City of Tucson for $4 million.

The mother alleges she was abused by her ex-husband both during her pregnancy and after the children were born. A term in the divorce stipulated the children's father was not to have any visitation with the children.

The mother claims both CPS and Tucson Police ignored that point when she attempted to get her children back. That was nearly a year before her 4-year-old daughters body was found in a storage facility in February.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Wal-Mart Pharmacy Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit during Mediation

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:30:55 GMT

Wal-Mart Pharmacy in Frederick, Maryland, has settled a wrongful death lawsuit during mediation without admission of liability or fault.

On December 13, 2005, a customer walked into Wal-Mart Pharmacy and ordered over-the-counter Humulin R (u-100(. However, the pharmacy allegedly gave him the wrong prescription and he left with Humulin R (u-500), a prescription drug that has five times more insulin then the medication he ordered.

On December 20, 2005 he injected the insulin and soon after lapsed into a diabetic comma. He died on January 2, 2006, according to the lawsuit filed by his family.

For more information, please visit our section on wrongful death lawsuits.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

911 Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Chrissie Cole — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 22:42:06 GMT

The parents of a 7-year-old girl who died in 2004, from an asthma attack, is suing the City of Memphis for her death.

The wrongful death lawsuit alleges the dispatcher didn't follow the proper procedures. The dispatcher had only been on the job for a few days.

When the ambulance didn't arrive, the family drove her to the nearest fire station for help. At the fire station, the emergency workers didn't properly treat the child. An expert witness testified in court that had the child received proper care quickly, she would likely have survived her asthma attack.

The case is expected to continue for at least three or more days.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Lawsuit Against Nursing Home Alleges Wrongful Death

Christina Cole — Wed, 16 May 2007 22:54:39 GMT

Two Physicians and two health care facilities have been listed in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Split Rail and facility employees are at the core of the suit which also names South West Arkansas Counseling and Mental Health Center as defendants.

Randolph, 41, was a resident at Split Rail, according to the lawsuit, at the time of his death in March 2005. The suit alleges the man suffered from schizophrenia and mental retardation and was dependant upon the staff for around the clock medical and mental health care.

According to the information on file at the Nevada County Circuit Clerk's Office, Randolph complained of feeling ill on March 23 and staff reported that he was "visibly short of breath" on March 24. On March 25, Randolph was lethargic, had difficulty breathing and a weak pulse, according to the records. Randolph was even exhibiting a "jerky-like motion." According to the lawsuit, those observations were part of the nursing staff records.

After reaching this point, he was reportedly taken to the Medical Park Hospital at Hope. The lawsuit alleges that the staff at Split Rail and the emergency room doctor who saw Randolph upon his arrival at the hospital "failed to properly assess and diagnose." The lawsuit indicates that Vermont, as the primary care professional, also failed to perform treatment that would have saved his life.

It wasn't until the shift change when Randolph was turned over to the care of another physician that the necessary steps were taken, the lawsuit alleges. The information indicates that the next doctor in charge of his case had him moved to a larger hospital but Randolph died April 4, 2005.

The lawsuit alleges that Split Rail is negligent by continuing failure to provide sufficient staff to maintain their fundament care needs and by failing to keep adequately trained staff. The lawsuit further alleges that the health care facility and physicians failed to assess his needs.

The suit also indicates they failed to notify his family within a timely manner of his becoming ill.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Rappers Family Pushing for Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Christina Cole — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 01:05:44 GMT

The family of rapper Biggie Smalls is continuing with a wrongful-death lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, in spite of several setbacks, based on a theory that a "crooked" LAPD detective was involved in orchestrating the murder.

With a trial date for this summer in federal court, new disclosed documents are shedding light on how the theory took shape from the start and how the police themselves ignored key parts of it almost immediately.

Biggie Smalls was gunned down and killed March 9, 1997 after a music industry party. The 24-year old rapper also known as Notorious B.IG., was waiting at a stoplight in an SUV when the killer pulled up in a dark Chevy, opened fire and sped away.

While the murder has spawned books, documentaries and magazine articles exploring possible conspiracy theories, the rapper's family continues to subscribe to the rogue cop account publicly championed by Russell Poole, an LAPD detective assigned to the case who later left the police force and became an expert witness for Wallace's family.
Poole's theory: Los Angeles rap impresario Marion "Suge" Knight conspired with a corrupt LAPD detective, David A. Mack, to kill Wallace as part of a bicoastal rap feud linked to the Las Vegas killing six months earlier of Tupac Shakur.
Both Knight and Mack, who is now in prison for robbing a bank, deny any involvement and have been dropped as suspects by both the LAPD and the FBI. No one has been charged in the killings of Shakur and Wallace.
Perry Sanders, the attorney representing Wallace's family, said that "there are documents that we have looked at in the LAPD file that support our theory. The documents indicate that David Mack killed Christopher Wallace."

The theory lends that story that Knight wanted to kill Wallace to revenge the rappers suspected involvement in Shakur's murder. Mack was a "covert agent" and security guard for Knight.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against (4) Officers

Christina Cole — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:05:49 GMT

The family of a man whom died after a struggle with the police, who mistook his diabetic state for being drunk, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against four officers and the city of West Chicago.

Four Chicago police officers tried to subdue Jerome Clement in August after they discovered him hunched over the wheel of his car. When Clement resisted, police allegedly used force causing Clement to have a heart attack, fell into a coma and died two weeks later. No alcohol was present in his system.

The five count suit filed Friday in Lake Superior Court cites the defendants for wrongful death and negligence; negligent training, hiring and supervision, excessive force, wrongful arrest and detention; and civil rights violations. The suit seeks undetermined compensatory and punitive damages, lawyer fees and other relief.

The lawsuit singles out Officer Timothy Leimbach as being prone to using excessive force and violence and it contends the city condoned excessive force by its officers and failed to put policies in place to protect citizens.

On September 8, 16 days after suffering a heart attack when struggling with four officers, Clement died. The autopsy showed he died from natural causes from complications of diabetes. The police reports indicate the officers arrived at the scene believed Clement to be drunk, but the paramedics suggested to the officers that Clement showed signs of having a diabetic episode.

The lawsuit claims Leimbach and two other officers forcibly removed the unconscious Clement from his car and placed him under arrest while battering him. When Clement did not follow officers' order to roll over into a prone position, Leimbach is alleged to have sprayed Clement in the face with a two-second burst of pepper spray before forcing him into a prone position and handcuffing him.
Clement began to struggle, and a fourth officer arrived to assist the officers. With Clement continuing to struggle, Leimbach reportedly struck Clement in the leg with a baton. Medics called to the scene discovered Clement was not breathing and took him to a hospital.
The city had no immediate comment on the lawsuit. An FBI investigation into the case has been concluded and is awaiting a decision by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to FBI Supervisory Special Agent Tom Gancarz.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Inquest Postponed in Death of Las Vegas Robbery Suspect

Christina Cole — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 15:21:23 GMT

The Clark County coroner has postponed an inquest of the October death of robbery suspect James Lewis that struggled with the Las Vegas Police. A lawyer representing Lewis' family says they intend to file a federal wrongful death suit against police.

Coroner Michael Murphy says the proceeding was delayed a day due to a scheduling conflict. Murphy ruled the death of James Lewis was due to cocaine intoxication - with contributing factors that include heart disease and "police restraining procedures."

Police said Lewis struggled with officers who chased him and used tasers to restrain him after a robbery of a neighborhood lounge.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Clark County Inmate Dies; Family Filing Wrongful Death Suit

Christina Cole — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 06:10:01 GMT

Police say an inmate at the Clark County Detention Center died last week after he injured his head in a fall. But, the man's family does not trust what authorities are saying happened and they are planning to file a wrongful death suit.

According to the Las Vegas Police, David Davell Reece, 36, injured his head on December 2nd after falling in his disciplinary isolation cell.

Reece, who refused to be housed with the other inmates, told correction officers that he fell off his bunk and hit his head, Las Vegas police Sgt. Russell Shoemaker, said. When officers spoke with Reece after the incident, he was very upset and officers had to restrain him while the nurse examined him.

Jail staff stitched up a wound above Reece's eye and moved him to a medical isolation cell, said Shoemaker. Two days later, December 4th, a corrections offer on a routine tour of the cells saw Reece lying facedown inside his jail cell. He was bleeding from the same injury and there was a small puddle of blood on the ground, said Shoemaker. Authorities took Reece to University medical Center and he died on Wednesday, two days after being admitted.

The Clark County coroner's office determined that Reece died from blunt-force trauma to the head from a fall and that the death was an accident.
Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said Saturday that the death won't be reviewed in a coroner's inquest because it was determined through the investigation that Reece did not die at the hands of law enforcement.
But some members of Reece's family, who came to Las Vegas from Los Angeles to claim Reece's body, said they suspect wrongdoing by jail staff caused Reece's death.
"It's something that's just not right, and they expect us to accept it," said Monique Fordham, Reece's cousin.
According to the family, Reece had been in the county jail since early July, after he was arrested in Las Vegas on a warrant. It wasn't known what the warrant was for.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole