Arkansas Personal Injury Blog - Wrongful Death

New Shoes for Trial

Sach Oliver — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:28:00 GMT

While I was in law school (2003), my mentor, Frank Bailey, allowed me to sit second chair on a trial in Jonesboro, Arkansas. It was a wrongful death trial with a very sad situation. The trial was scheduled for several days. I was extremely nervous. I wanted everything to go just right.

On the morning of the first day of trial Frank had me running errands quite frequently. I had to run out to the vehicle to grab a visual aid. I had to go find some case law. After voir dire (jury selection) Frank had me run down to the clerk's office and copy a document he wanted to use during opening. This Courtroom was on the second floor and the copy machine was on the first. I ran down the stairs, met the clerk, made copies of the document, and ran back up the stairs. When I say run, I mean run. As I was coming up the stairs, the toe of my left shoe caught the one inch lip of the top stair and it ripped the sole of my shoe off all the way back to the heel of my shoe. So when I walked my sole would flap and make the most awful motion and sound.

My face turned red. I panicked. I did not know what to do. Fortunately, there was no one at the top of the steps in this area outside of the courtroom doors. There was a small room where attorneys can meet with their clients before hearings and trials in the hallway a few feet away from me. I slipped inside. There was a roll of scotch tape laying on the table. I took the tape and proceeded to wrap my left shoe, strapping my sole back onto my shoe. I wrapped it from my toe to the shoe laces. Well, I thought this was a pretty good solution other than it looked funny with the tape across the top of my foot and it wasn't a little bit of tape.

My adrenaline was rushing, so I went into the courtroom with the document in my hand. Frank proceeded with opening and the jurors and the defense attorney listed intently. About half way through, Frank motioned for the document. I stood up and started walking toward him. If you have been in a courtroom, during opening statements the room is deathly quiet if the attorney is not talking. As I walked my left shoe went crunch...crunch...crunch with each step and it sounded like someone was ringing a bell, at least to me. When I sat down, the jurors were staring at my feet and whispering to each other. I couldn't hear what they said, but I know I heard something about that boy needs shoes.

Honorable Judge John Fogleman was presiding over this case. And naturally, he is very serious when he is on the bench. That morning, on the first break, Judge Fogleman said, "Mr. Bailey and Mr. Oliver, approach the bench." I sure thought we were in some sort of trouble. When we were listening intently, Judge Fogleman smiled and said, "Mr. Bailey, as soon as this trial ends today, I want you to go and buy Mr. Oliver a new pair of shoes." Well, you can't argue with the judge.

That evening, Frank took me to Dillards and bought me the most expensive pair of black Cohans in the store. I'm still wearing those shoes. However, I give them a thorough inspection the day before trial.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Sach Oliver

Medical Helicopters, Are They Safe?

Frank Bailey — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:22:22 GMT

Medical helicopters can save lives and they can also take lives. Sixteen people have died in crashes this year alone. There have been a total of seven crashes. Thirteen of these deaths occurred in May and June.

We have about 750 medical helicopters nationwide. That amount is double what we had ten years ago.

The National Transportation Safety Board began to investigate the industry after a rash of accidents in 2004 and 2005. It found operators failed to develop comprehensive flight risk programs; operators did not have good weather information; and there was a lack of equipment to alert operators of dangerous terrain.

The F.A.A. is putting new weather requirements for flights and stricter rules for pilot instrument competency in place, but too late to save the lives taken this year.

Can companies eager to profit from flights be sending helicopters to pick up patients who could have been transported safer by ground ambulance? Is this another case of profit over safety?

The crash on Sunday involved two Bell 407 models. Two days earlier a medical helicopter crashed just outside Prescott, Arizona. And in early June four people were killed when a helicopter crashed near Huntsville, Texas.

There have also been crashes near La Crosse, Wisconsin and South Padre Island in Texas.

I rode on lots of helicopters in Viet Nam when I was young. I for one am not going to press my luck and will ask for a ground ambulance if the need arises.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Frank Bailey

Shooter Ruins Wedding Ceremony In Arkansas

Frank Bailey — Tue, 27 May 2008 05:27:51 GMT

I woke this morning to find another tragic story making the headlines in Arkansas. How can people do things like this? According to AP, a stranger shot the bride and groom along with two other people at an outdoor wedding in rural Arkansas.

Apparently the wedding was just ending Saturday when the shooter approached with a pistol and opened fire. The ceremony was being held along Piney Creek about 60 miles northwest of Little Rock, Arkansas.

The shooter was arrested later, but the condition of the injured was unknown.

Sometimes it is better just to not read the newspaper in the mornings.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Frank Bailey

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Man Accused of Murder In Illinois

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 21:18:32 GMT

A man that has been charged with the first degree murder of his wife is now facing a civil trial as well. The woman's sister has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in DuPage County Circuit Court.

Prosecutors allege that the successful Naperville financial adviser slipped his 42-year-old wife the date-rape drug GHB so she would be unable to resist his attack when he fatally smothered her body with his.
Although the state's criminal case against Svenstrup is still weaving its way through the judicial system, Palumbo's brother has filed a wrongful death suit against Svenstrup, seeking more than $200,000.

His trial for the six counts of first degree murder is set to begin on August 21st. The civil trial has a status date in September.

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Child Killed on Carnival Ride in Hope

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:27:22 GMT

A boy and his mother were riding a carnival ride when they were thrown from the ride and then hit by cars from the ride. They were both taken to a local hospital. The 7-year-old boy was transferred to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. He died from his injuries at the hospital.

The operator of the ride, Dewayne Mathis of Hope, said the accident occurred about a minute into the Sizzler's ride sequence. He said that, after the two fell from the car they were riding in, they were struck by other cars of the ride before it came to a halt. He said that, though the motor driving the ride had been shut down, momentum kept the machinery moving.
Mathis said that, after the two were taken to the hospital, he inspected the ride car, and believes a pin that was supposed to secure the safety bar and doors came out of the hole that should have kept it in place. Mathis believes the initial jolt of motion when the ride started broke the spring-loaded mechanism free.

The ride is being inspected and a full investigation is taking place. The ride is not in use until it can be deemed safe.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Propery Owners' Liability.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Wrongful Death Suit Filed in Eells Death

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 16:30:02 GMT

The family of Billie Joe Burton have sued KATV in Little Rock for wrongful death after she was killed last year in a car accident on Interstate 40. Paul Eells, the football broadcaster, was driving the KATV car that hit Burton's car. Both Burton and Eells died in the crash. His car crossed the center median of the interstate.

In its response Thursday, the television station denied negligence. In its filing, it acknowledged only that Eells worked for it, that he and Burton died of injuries suffered in a car accident and that Eells played golf and worked for the station on the day he died.
The Burton family lawsuit, initially filed March 9 in Russellville, said Eells was negligent and that KATV, because Eells worked for the station and was driving a car that the station owned, was also at fault.

A jury trial has been requested by both sides. The police report found that Eells' car did not slow down on the median.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Parents Allowed to File Wrongful Death Suit Past Statute of Limitations

Shannon Weidemann — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:49:10 GMT

The parents of a 16-year-old girl are able to file a wrongful death lawsuit six years after she was killed despite the statute of limitations running out. A Judge has ruled that due to the investigation being ongoing and the driver of the car being unknown that the statute does not apply.

The plaintiffs learned the defendant's identity when he was indicted on March 4, 2002. They brought a wrongful-death claim against him, his business, another individual and his insurance company on May 4, 2004.
The defendants initially brought a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss the claim, arguing that the action was time-barred. Bohn denied the motion in June 2005, ruling that the defendant's fraudulent concealment of his identity tolled any limitations period that might apply to the case.
Next, the defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing again that the plaintiffs' complaint was time-barred because it was not brought within three years of the date of the accident as required by G.L.c. 260, Sect. 4B, the statute of limitations for hit-and-run accidents.

The parents had received an anonymous letter a year after the accident with information on who was responsible for the accident. The police took the letter and told the parents to not investigate the matter on their own.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Jurors Tour Accident Site

Staff Writer — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 10:14:10 GMT

Jurors in a wrongful death lawsuit toured the facility yesterday where a teenager died when he was crushed by a recycling paper and cardboard baler. Jordan Dalrymple was on his next-to-last day on the job at Jefferson County Landfill and Recycling Center in Pine Bluff when he was trying to clear a jammed conveyor belt on the baler and fell into the hopper where the machine's compactor crushed him.

Plaintiff attorneys are suing the machine's manufacturer as well as its distributor claiming the baler equipped with sufficient safety devices such as handrails and satisfactory power controls. Jordan's fall activated the a sensor on the baler which, in turn, started the device's compacting ram.

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

â€œI heard a holler,â€ said Ron Via, an employee at the recycling center who testified Tuesday. â€œI looked down in the machine and saw him laying on his back.â€
Via shut off the baler, but it was too late. Emergency workers pulled Jordan Dalrympleâ€™s body from the machine about two hours later. A summer employee, Jordan Dalrymple died on a Thursday, the day before his last scheduled day of work at the recycling center. According to a published report after his death, Jordan Dalrymple was about to move to Jonesboro and attend Arkansas State University.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer