Wrongful Death

• The Full Scope of Arizona's Wrongful Death Statute is Still Uncertain

  Geoff Trachtenberg | April 21, 2007 11:13 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Arizona's wrongful death statute still has some ambiguity. For example, ARS 12-612 permits a wrongful death claim to be brought "on behalf of the surviving husband or wife, children or parents, or if none of these survive, on behalf of the decedent's estate." What does this last part mean?What damages can the estate recover in a statutory wrongful death action (as opposed to a statutory...

• Wrongful Death Suit Filed After Woman Murdered

  Jamie G. Goldstein | April 20, 2007 5:30 PM | 0 CommentsChicago, IL

  Angela Alvarado was shot and killed by her husband James Alvarado on October 10, 2006. The murder of the 36 year old woman happened inside her Streator, Illinois home. Angela Alvarado leaves behind three children. Her husband, who called the police after shooting Angela, was charged with first-degree murder. Angela Alvarado's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit last week against James...

• Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Police Department

  Christina Cole | April 18, 2007 9:19 PM | 0 CommentsGalveston Bay, TX

  A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, seeking damages from Wichita Falls Police Department and one of its officers for a car accident that resulted in the death of a 29-year-old man in April 2005. Two relatives, heirs to the man's estate, are suing the department and unnamed officer. Court documents describe the officer as "an unknown...

• Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Unborn Child's Death

  Christina Cole | April 18, 2007 5:47 PM | 0 CommentsIndianapolis, IN

  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...

• Another Death Linked To Fraternity Drinking

  Jamie G. Goldstein | April 18, 2007 2:15 PM | 0 CommentsChicago, IL

  A 19 year old student at Fresno State in California died in January of 2006 after consuming four times the legal limit of alcohol. Danny Daniels' death is not the first death linked to a fraternity and caused by excessive drinking. There have been numerous other lawsuits filed for the wrongful deaths of other students that were partaking in fraternity activities and resulted in death, all...

• Motorcyclist's Death Blamed on Drunk Driver

  Craig Cannon | April 18, 2007 10:13 AM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  On October 19, 2006, the night before the official start of Biketoberfest, Clifford L.R. Atkinson, 68, was killed when his motorcycle collided head-on with a car on State Road 100 in Flagler County west of Bunnell. After completing its investigation, the Florida Highway Patrol is blaming the driver of the oncoming car, Bunnell resident Michelle K. Bohn, 36. Bohn was driving west when she crossed...

• Foster Child's Death From Child Abuse

  Larry Buckfire | April 18, 2007 6:59 AM | 0 CommentsDetroit, MI

  A very tragic end to a young innocent life. The death of a 3-year-old boy who was living in a Van Buren Township foster home was ruled a homicide Tuesday. He suffered from child abuse and died from significant trauma to the head. This is the third case of a child dying in a licensed foster care home in Michigan in the last year alone. Foster care agencies, foster care parents, and others may...

• Parents Allowed to File Wrongful Death Suit Past Statute of Limitations

  Shannon Weidemann | April 16, 2007 3:49 PM | 0 CommentsLittle Rock, AR

  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...

• Iowa Court of Appeals Denies Parents of Girl Killed New Trial

  Christina Cole | April 14, 2007 11:49 PM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  The parents of a Bondurant girl killed during a 2002 ski trip, that was supervised by Bondurant Mayor Marla McCoid, was denied a new wrongful death trial by the Iowa Court of Appeals.The parents were suing McCoid, for $500,000 for loss of potential estate and damages after the death of their 11-year-old daughter. The girl was killed when she lost control and crashed into a rock, while the girls...

• The Nature of the Wrongful Death Remedy

  Geoff Trachtenberg | April 13, 2007 10:33 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Unlike most injury claims, wrongful death claims are governed by statute. This has some important and surprising consequences.By way of some background, the reason wrongful death statutes were enacted was because, at common law, there was no such cause of action. As a result, it was often cheaper to kill someone than it was to simply injure them (there was a saying that, "if your carriage runs...