Category: Wrongful Death
Dr. Vodka’s Wife sites/default/files Lawsuit
Family Shows Forgiveness to Driver in Fatal Accident
Rather than file a lawsuit against the driver, the Johnson family showed forgiveness during the sentencing of the drunk driver who killed their daughter. On July 11, 2012, Regan Johnson was working in a construction zone on Highway 99 near Clinton Avenue in Fresno when Alyssa Villanueva, a 28-year old mother of three who had been drinking, struck and killed 24-year old Johnson. Johnson had been wearing reflective clothing, had a blinking light on her helmet and carried a lit flashlight at the time of the crash. Judge Don Penner said that Villanueva could have avoided the crash if she had taken the advice of a friend who asked her to spend the night – an offer Villanueva refused.
Escalator Death Settlement
Lawsuit Filed in 2006 Death of Two Teenage Girls
The families of two teenage girls who died in a crash in 2006 have filed suit against General Motors, despite the automakers legal immunity from liability after being restructured in 2009. The personal injury lawsuit claims that GM failed to disclose information related to faulty ignition switches in their Cobalt models that may have been linked to as many as 12 deaths. Accident Details
Settlement Reached in Teen’s Wrongful Death
A settlement has been reached in the wrongful death suit filed by the parents of a 15-year old boy who died after being swept away while on a kayaking and hiking trip in Hawaii. The terms of the settlement between Michael and Marianne Madoff, the boy’s parents, and the defendants—Bold Earth Teen Adventures and Hawaii Pack and Paddle—were sealed. Accident Details
Camarena Case Cited as Precedence in Wrongful Death Suit
The United States Department of Justice is citing precedence in a civil case filed by the family of slain ICE special agent, Jaime J. Zapata. According to court documents, the DOJ is using the dismissal of a case in which a Mexican physician, Dr. Humberto Alvarez-Machain— whose suit against the department was dismissed by the Supreme Court because the harm occurred in Mexico—as the basis in requesting dismissal of the Zapata suit.
Second Lawsuit Filed in Construction Accident that Killed Two
The family of a second man killed in a construction accident on Highway 80 East near Montgomery, Ala., has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The family of Lomax Phillips filed a lawsuit in January 2014, just a few days after the family of David Lee White filed a similar lawsuit. Accident Details
Widow Resites/default/files Suit in Helicopter Crash
The widow of a prominent tax attorney refiled a $100 million lawsuit against a Florida billionaire regarding the 2012 helicopter crash that killed her husband. Lance Valdez was killed in Great Guana Cay when the helicopter he was in, piloted by Jeffrey Soffer, crashed. Originally, a lawsuit was filed in federal court alleging that Soffer was piloting the helicopter when it crashed, but that suit was withdrawn on December 9. On Friday, January 10, 2014, the suit was filed again in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
Parents File Suit in Exchange Student Skiing Death
The family of Niclas Waschle, a German exchange student living with a Montana family when he died in a skiing accident, filed suit against the ski resort, the host family and the company that arranged for his exchange student experience. Niclas’ mother, Patricia Birkhold-Waschle, his father, Raimund Waschle and his brother, Philip Waschle, are named as plaintiffs in the suit, which is requesting compensation for damages, medical and other expenses.