538 results for 'cat:"Wrongful Death"'.
J. Williamowski finds the lower court properly granted the bar's motion for summary judgment because the depositions of numerous witnesses indicated the drunk driver was not at the business on the night he killed the decedent in an accident, which prevents the estate from proving any liability under Ohio's dram shop laws. Meanwhile, the lower court properly denied the estate's motion to compel forensic analysis of several cell phones because it failed to show there was any definitive proof on the cell phones, some of which had been accidentally destroyed in the two years since the accident. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Williamowski, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1538, Categories: Negligence, wrongful Death, Discovery
J. Pechman declines to dismiss the personal representative's federal claims that the sheriff's deputy shot and killed Joshua Sarrett on Sep. 19, 2020, while Sarrett was "unarmed, intoxicated and was only suspected of being a harm to himself." The personal representative adequately alleges that the deputy's decision to seize Sarrett was unreasonable because the deputy did not investigate any crime at the time and the deputy did not ask Sarrett if he was armed.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Pechman, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv1316, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
J. Quereshi grants, in part, an estate’s motion to compel in this wrongful death of the decedent with mental illness. The estate alleges that the county’s police department failed to produce the internal affairs memoranda, demand documents and other communications concerning the shooting of decedent or similar cases. The police department opposes the motion, asserting the deliberative process and attorney-client privileges. The court previously found that the memorandum did not include any communications between the attorney and others and ordered the release of the material. Therefore, the production of a redacted and unredacted previous memorandums and materials must be released in its entirety along with documents of similar incidents.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Quereshi, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 8:22cv856, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities - Other - Civil Rights, Categories: Government, wrongful Death, Privilege
J. Tufte finds that the district court properly entered an amended judgment dismissing a doctor and eye institute from a matter involving a truck collision with a horse-drawn hay trailer. The collision killed one of the six passengers on the horse-drawn trailer and injured the others. The doctor determined the truck driver to be legally blind, prepared a certificate of blindness, and instructed him and his spouse that he was not to drive. A second opinion from the doctor determined that the driver was "not to drive at night and only minimally during the day, no highways.” The passengers and their families claim that the doctor and institute are liable for medical malpractice because the driver's eyesight was still below the minimum vision standards required to operate a vehicle in North Dakota. Affirmed.
Court: North Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Tufte, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 2024ND71, Categories: Vehicle, wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Rice denies the county summary judgment for the family member's claim that the regional justice center's medical staff did not properly check on or care for the detainee, leading to her death. The family member can hold the county liable under a Monell theory of liability, specifically for its ratification of a policy that does not train its staff to treat and monitor inmates for detox and withdrawal. Also, the death of another inmate, who died under similar circumstances in the county's custody, is admissible evidence.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Washington, Judge: Rice, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv308, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence, wrongful Death
J. Kinkeade finds that the employer of a driver who struck and killed a man with her car in the course of her employment while the man was changing a tire on the side of the road is not liable for negligent training and hiring claims but claims against the driver for negligence regarding her being consciously distracted can proceed. There is not sufficient evidence indicating negligence by the company in hiring or training the driver but there is a record that that the driver sent text messages close to the time of the accident. Claims for pain and suffering related to the deceased are denied because evidence shows that he was killed instantly.
Court: USDC Northern District of Texas , Judge: Kinkeade, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv2714, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort, Vehicle, wrongful Death
J. Chesney dismisses wrongful death claims against Contra Costa County officials stemming from the death of a foster child who had been placed in the care of a foster parent chosen by the county. The complaint has already been tossed twice before, and the same issues persist on its third version. The county was not presented with a claim by the proper date, shielding officials from the claims.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Chesney, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 3:19cv7152, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: wrongful Death
J. Stadtmueller rules in part for the estate in wrongful death and negligence claims. The mother may only proceed without legal representation if she is the sole beneficiary of the decedent's estate, and she must file proof with the court to demonstrate such. Meanwhile, negligent medical care claims must be dismissed since they were not timely filed.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Stadmueller, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 2:24cv348, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Negligence, wrongful Death
J. St. Eve finds that the lower court properly found for the county in a family's suit following a man's suicide in jail. The deceased gave jail staff no indication that he was a threat to himself. The staff's delay in waiting for 20 minutes to tell the man to take down a bedsheet obscuring the view of his bed was not unreasonable given that many inmates put sheets up just for privacy and the jail had never had a suicide before. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 23-2141, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death
J. Drell grants a request by the seller of a Caterpillar bulldozer to a parish government, dismissing the company from a wrongful death suit filed by the widow and children of the vehicle’s operator. The operator’s family has no reasonable possibility of recovery under state law, and they have not shown the company was a professional vendor with control over the design or construction of the bulldozer. Furthermore, because a warning to wear a seatbelt was posted on the machine within the operator’s view, the seller did not have a duty to verbally warn parish employees that operating the bulldozer without wearing the seatbelt could be dangerous.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Drell, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv672, NOS: Personal Injury - Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, Product Liability, wrongful Death
J. Foschio rules in part for police and corrections officers in claims contending police falsely arrested a drug addict and failed to prevent him from committing suicide while detained, even though he had expressed suicidal ideation, as corrections officers failed to place the detainee in special medical housing under close monitoring. However, evidence did not indicate the decedent provided support or services to surviving family in order to justify pecuniary or compensatory damages, or that any officer intended to interfere with the decedent's familial relationships.
Court: USDC Western District of New York, Judge: Foschio , Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv766, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Negligence, wrongful Death
J. Gonzalez finds that the lower court improperly ruled over what liability a hospital has over the death of a patient who, after appearing in an emergency room with pain in her left shoulder, was not properly diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis and died shortly after. Her estate sued the hospital, claiming it was liable for not properly diagnosing her condition, but the lower court found it was not responsible. However, under state statutes, whenever a hospital offers emergency services, it creates a "nondelegable duty" of care that the doctors are then charged with carrying out. While the doctor is there to help carry out that duty, the hospital cannot escape liability by delegating that duty to them entirely. Reversed.
Court: Washington Supreme Court, Judge: Gonzalez, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 101745-6, Categories: Negligence, wrongful Death
J. Olson finds that the trial court properly denied a beauty product manufacturer’s motion for non-suit in this case wherein the daughter of a deceased hairdresser alleges her mother contracted mesothelioma as a result of decades of being exposed to the company’s asbestos-containing beauty products. The manufacturer failed to provide evidence that the asbestos claim lacked merit. Affirmed in part.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Olson, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: J-A28007-23, Categories: Civil Procedure, wrongful Death, Asbestos
J. Thapar finds the lower court properly dismissed the estate's Eighth Amendment and wrongful death claims against the prison. It failed to show the inmate had "unfettered access" to illegal drugs prior to his overdose, while the complaint also lacked details about drug use by inmates and, therefore, failed to show the inmate faced an "objectively excessive risk of harm." Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Thapar, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 23-5410, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence, wrongful Death
J. Clark finds that the lower court properly found for the police officers in a wrongful death suit filed by the family of a passenger in a fleeing car that hit a tree, killing both driver and passenger. The officers did not owe a duty to the decedent passenger as the fleeing driver had an absolute duty to yield to the officer when they approached with emergency lights on. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Clark, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: ED111491, Categories: Immunity, wrongful Death
J. Beckerman grants the estate's motion to compel the Department of Human Services to produce documents in the estate's complaint that DHS placed the child in a home where the foster parent did not properly administer the medication for the child's congenital heart defect and did not take him to a cardiac rehabilitation appointment, resulting in the child's death. DHS is to produce all tort claim notices about alleged abuse, neglect or deaths of foster children in District 1's custody from 2013 to the present, because the existence of persistent violations are relevant to a case involving the death of a foster child as the result of alleged neglect from his foster parent and the agency that placed him with the foster parent.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Beckerman, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv705, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death, Discovery
J. Murray finds that the lower court improperly entered summary judgment in favor of a doctor in this medical malpractice suit in which a wife alleges her husband was discharged from a hospital without proper warning about the risk of clotting in the future, resulting in his subsequent death from a pulmonary embolism. The deceased patient’s estate presented sufficient evidence to allow a jury to assign liability against the involved physicians. Reversed.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Murray, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: J-A03032-24, Categories: Civil Procedure, wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice
J. Higginson finds the district court properly found for the county on an estate's claim it failed to protect a pretrial detainee from a fatal attack by his cellmate. Though the estate's expert identified jail procedures that purportedly led to the death, the expert was designated on the day of the new discovery deadline, and the order extending the deadline had not extended that for expert designation. Therefore, the expert designation was untimely. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginson , Filed On: April 8, 2024, Case #: 23-60310, Categories: Constitution, wrongful Death, Prisoners' Rights
J. Smith finds the lower court properly denied an estate administrator’s motion seeking judgment, costs, and interest against a nursing home and ambulance company in an associated wrongful death matter. The estate administrator argues that more than 30 days had passed since the settlement was approved, but the nursing home and ambulance company had yet to pay. The lower court found it necessary for the probate court to get involved and secure the distribution of the settlement so it could be accounted for, but the estate administrator argues that the probate requirement is a statutory misinterpretation by the lower court. The instant court finds the lower court’s interpretation to be correct, that the probate court’s involvement is necessary. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 8, 2024, Case #: 230996, Categories: Settlements, Wills / Probate, wrongful Death
J. Self rules in favor of the power company in a wrongful death action brought by the estate administrator arising from the diver's death while inspecting a headgate chain on the power company's dam. The employer's motion for summary judgment is denied and it must indemnify the power company for the settled claims resulting from the diver's death. The work performed by the diver was authorized by the purchase order in light of the change to the scope of work which occurred in a conversation between the employer's representative and river manager. The oral agreement modified the scope of work.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Self, Filed On: April 8, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv81, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: wrongful Death, Contract
J. Kleeh grants in part the motion of the Lewis County Commission and three deputy sheriffs for partial summary judgment in the deceased parolee’s estate's suit claiming the deputies caused the parolee's death, when following a foot pursuit in the course of serving a warrant for his arrest, the deputies tased, then held him face-down for an extended period until paramedics arrived. The deputies are granted qualified immunity on the estate's excessive force claims, finding it has failed to demonstrate the deputies violated a clearly established right by using their Taser to subdue the parolee, and on its Monell claim of municipal liability against the commission for violating a clear custom and practice, since prior to their apprehension of the parolee they have never been accused of either excessive force or failing to render medical assistance.
Court: USDC Northern District of West Virginia, Judge: Kleeh, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 2:20cv47, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death, Police Misconduct