Lansing Personal Injury Lawyer - Wrongful Death

Michigan's Wrongful Death Act Provides Compensation, Closure for Families

David Mittleman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:31:00 GMT

It is always difficult when a family member dies. When a loved one passes away, it is quite common to feel grief and loss. Those feelings can be even worse when someone is taken out of our lives due to the carelessness or negligence of another.

Nothing can ever truly replace a relative lost forever. However, Michigan law does allow family members to receive fair and reasonable compensation when an individual dies as a result of injuries caused by someone else. Michigan's Wrongful Death Act permits the following people to recover certain damages:

The decedent's spouse
The decedent's children (and their descendants)
The decedent's parents and grandparents
The decedent's brothers and/or sisters
People entitled to recover a portion of the decedent's estate under law
People entitled to recover a portion of the estate under a will

Instead of compensating the decedent, the Wrongful Death Act is designed to compensate the surviving relatives and the estate for damages they have suffered. Therefore, damages are typically limited to:

Reasonable medical, hospital, funeral, and burial expenses
Conscious pain and suffering suffered by the decedent
Loss of financial support
Loss of society and companionship

The law also permits a jury or judge to award any other damages considered "fair and equitable under the circumstances."

Michigan's Wrongful Death Act is very complicated and detailed. It includes numerous procedural requirements that must be strictly observed. Our firm regularly handles this type of claim, and we may be able to help you if you have lost a family member due to the negligence of someone else.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman

Family of Jennifer Strange Wins $16.5 Million for Water-Drinking Contest Death

David Mittleman — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:34:54 GMT

Thanks to a Sacramento County jury, the notorious case of Jennifer Strange, a young mother of three who died after participating in a radio station’s water-drinking contest, has come to a close. Jennifer’s family will receive $16.5 for their daughter’s 2007 death after the jury found the radio station liable for the actions of its employees.

Sacramento radio station KDND-FM held a contest in January 2007 called “Hold Your Wee for a Wii”, a contest whereby participants were instructed to hold their urine for as long as possible after drinking large amounts of water. Jennifer died of acute water intoxication after consuming nearly two gallons of water. In response, the plaintiff’s attorneys filed the wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Jennifer’s husband and their two sons, as well as her oldest son and his father.

The plaintiff’s attorneys alleged that the radio station was negligent in holding the contest. However, the defense attorneys countered that Jennifer’s death was her own fault by “contributory negligence”. Nevertheless, jurors ultimately found Entercom Sacramento LLC liable for the actions of its employees at radio station KDND-FM.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman

Cigna Flips Off Mother of Dead Girl Who Was Denied Life-Saving Liver Transplant

David Mittleman — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:21:59 GMT

Cigna Corporation denied Hilda Sarkisyan coverage for her daughter’s liver transplant, which ultimately led to the 17-year-old girl’s death in December 2007. If that wasn’t bad enough, it was even more shocking when Hilda went to the company’s Philadelphia headquarters to complain about the incident.

Ten months after her daughter’s death, Hilda went to the company’s headquarters and walked up to the lobby security desk. She simply stated: “you guys killed my daughter” and demanded an apology. However, instead of apologizing, several Cigna employees began heckling her, including giving her “the finger”. Cigna later apologized for the 2008 incident. Nevertheless, Hilda and her husband filed a wrongful-death complaint against the health insurer, aghast at the company for failing to save their daughter’s life and for their poor behavior in response to the family’s grief.

Sadly, the wrongful-death lawsuit was thrown out by a Los Angeles judge, saying that the suit was barred by a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects employer-paid healthcare plans from having to pay damages above maximum coverage limits. However, the U.S. District Court Judge ruled that the Sarkisyan’s could pursue the damages related to emotional distressed caused by the Philadelphia incident. The ruling is bittersweet for patient advocates and Hilda alike: her 17-year-old daughter died because Cigna refused a life-saving liver transplant and now all she can sue the healthcare insurance giant for is for giving her the finger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnFoCcgigZE

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman

Man's Liver Donation to Save Brother's Life Produces Law to Protect Living Donors

David Mittleman — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:17:44 GMT

Michael Hurewitz chose to give a portion of his liver to save his brother’s life. Unfortunately, that decision ended his own life after he suffered horribly from an infection after the procedure. However, his tragedy is prompting health professionals and regulators to adopt protections for living donors who may make an emotional decision to help a family member or other loved one.

Hurewitz, an athletic and productive Times Union newspaper reporter, died three days from a horrible infection after doctors at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center removed 60% of his liver. Subsequently, the state fined Mt. Sinai and the hospital temporarily stopped performing liver transplants. Furthermore, the hospital also settled a wrongful death suit with Michael’s widow, Victoria Hurewitz, for $2.5 million in 2003.

The Hurewitz case received nationwide attention, thanks in large part to Victoria’s activism after her husband’s death. Since reaching its peak in 2001, live liver transplants have fallen by 50% nationally, as changes in the healthcare system emphasized the fact that doctors needed to focus on more than just the patient in need of a donor organ. In fact, New York was the first state to create a donor advocacy program that ensures a sick patient isn’t the sole focus, and that the donor’s health is also taken into serious consideration. Moreover, the New York standards have become the template for national rules, according to Dr. David J. Conti, a transplant specialist at Albany Medical College. Since 2004, it is a federal law to require an advocate to work with a proposed donor, ensuring the donor knows of potential risks prior to surgery. As Victoria stated, the new law ensures that a donor will no longer be treated as a “living cadaver”.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman

Iowa Jury Awards $11.4 Million to Victims of Deadly Helicopter Crash

David Mittleman — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:10:00 GMT

Two victims of a 2006 helicopter crash received just compensation after a Polk County, Iowa jury awarded $7.2 million to a cameraman’s widow and $4.2 million to the film producer of an eastern Iowa baseball movie entitled “The Final Season”.

During the June 2006 shooting of the film, filmmakers were attempting to capture an aerial shot from a helicopter. Richard Green was flying the helicopter between 30 and 50 feet off of the ground at about 55 mph, when the chopper blades snagged on powerlines and brought the plane crashing into a cornfield. Roland Schlotzhauer, the cameraman, was killed and Tony Wilson, the Dallas Center movie producer, sustained near-fatal injuries. Six of the seven jurors found Green 75% at fault for Schlotzhauer’s wrongful death suit and completely at fault for Wilson’s suit after just two days of deliberation.

Green is required to pay 75% of the $7.2 million settlement for Schlotzhauer’s wrongful death suit, and the corporate owners of “The Final Season” will pay the remaining 25%. However, Green will pay the entire settlement amount for Wilson’s suit to cover medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost earnings and other legal damages. The settlement amount for Schlotzhauer’s suit represents one of the highest cash awards for a wrongful death lawsuit in Iowa.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman

Family Files Wrongful Death Suit After 16-year-old Dies in Police Taser Incident

David Mittleman — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:03:17 GMT

A Detroit family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Warren police and the city after their son died of sudden cardiac arrest back in April of this year, when he was stunned with a Taser. After performing an autopsy, the medical examiner concluded that the boy had a genetic heart condition that caused him to have an irregular heartbeat, which also made his heart too weak to withstand the shock from the Taser.

The boy, just 16 years old, fled the car he was travelling in with his cousin after the police pulled the two boys over for having an expired license plate. The boy then ran into an empty house and attempted to resist arrest, at which point the police used the Taser to shock him. He immediately collapsed and the police continued to handcuff him until they discovered that he wasn’t breathing. They then attempted to resuscitate him without success.

Many residents in Warren are in an uproar over the police forces’ continued use of Taser guns. However, the Warren Police continue to defend the officers’ actions during the incident, saying they were simply following the department’s policy and the Taser is a non-lethal weapon. However, this is the second Taser-related death in Michigan this year alone.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman

NYC to pay $2M to the family of a woman who died on the floor of a Brooklyn Emergency Room

David Mittleman — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:08:28 GMT

New York City will pay $2 million to the family of Esmin Green, a 49-year-old woman who was forced to wait for more than 24 hours in a Brooklyn psychiatric emergency room. Green eventually died on the floor, having never received care, from blood clots that moved from her legs to her lungs.

The incident put a spotlight on the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation, a city-run agency responsible for medical facilities such as the Kings County psychiatric emergency room where Ms. Green died. This particular mental health facility is the sole provider for psychiatric care for many impoverished people in Brooklyn.

This tragedy comes on the heels of a 2007 lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union, who complained of abuse and neglect of psychiatric patients at the city-run hospital. In response, the Federal Department of Justice launched an investigation and issued a report in February of this year, citing that patients were not treated for suicidal behavior, were abused by other psychiatric patients, and were regularly subdued with drugs or restraints, rather than receiving individualized care. Even more troublingly, the Department also found that in at least three cases, including Ms. Green’s, employees lied in their records to cover up their neglect of patients. The hospital claims it is now working on improving its image and care through the construction of a new Behavioral Health Center Pavilion, an increase in the number of doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff, a reduction in crowding in the emergency room, and less reliance on police officers to handle aggressive or suicidal patients.

The money from the settlement will not keep the family quiet: they want to ensure that other patients do not die as a result of the hospital and its staff’s negligence. They are particularly concerned with the staff’s attempts to cover up their poor care of mentally ill patients. The New York City Department of Investigation continues to investigate the situation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman

Autistic Boy Dies From Deadly Cocktail of Psychiatric Drugs

David Mittleman — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:00:00 GMT

An Autistic boy was killed on May 23, 2007 by a lethal combination of anti-psychotic drugs while under the care of his psychiatrist and a group home. The boy ultimately died of serotonin syndrome.

The boy’s mother admitted him to a state-funded group home after he attempted to choke one of his two younger sisters and she began to fear for the girls’ safety. However, she did not give up her parental rights to the boy. The director of the group home allegedly stopped taking the boy to his original doctors and began to take him to the other psychiatrist accused of overmedicating the boy, without the mother’s approval.

In the wrongful death and medical malpractice suit, the boy’s mother claims that overmedication and improper care led to the death of her son. Shockingly, some of the drugs administered to the boy were not approved by the FDA and the boy had signs of adverse reaction. In fact, the boy was hospitalized twice within a few months for emergency treatment. The boy’s doctor did reduce his medication once, but then increased the dosage again, which ultimately led to his untimely death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman

Refusal to Give CPR Instructions Results in Two Year Old's Death

David Mittleman — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:50:01 GMT

A nearly two year old toddler was killed when 911 dispatchers failed to provide CPR instructions over the phone to the mother of the boy caught in a soccer net in a suburb of Dallas, TX. The boy’s mother, panic stricken and desperate to save her son, cut him from the net with scissors, transferred the boy to the family couch, and called 911. Sadly, the 911 dispatcher refused to give her CPR directions over the phone and when police arrived on the scene, she and her other son were relegated to an adjacent bedroom in the family home. Police also refused paramedics access to the boy for ten minutes. The boy died three days later in the hospital.

In their lawsuit against the municipality, the 911 dispatcher, and the ambulance provider, the family is seeking an unspecified amount in damages in a jury trial. They are dismayed at the city’s 911 operators’ and police forces’ negligence in attempting to save their son’s life via necessary and vital CPR techniques before it was too late.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman

$3.1 Million Jury Verdict Awarded to Drunk Driving Victim’s Family

David Mittleman — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:35:07 GMT

A LeHigh County, Pennsylvania jury awarded a victim’s family and estate a $3.1 million verdict last Friday, after she was killed by a drunk driver on the evening of her 25^th birthday. The victim, Sheena Marie Villa, pleaded with the driver of her vehicle, 30-year-old Robert E. LaBarre, to slow down as he drove 85 mph, lost control and crashed into an oak tree.

The jury did not find the bar that was serving LaBarre liable. Instead, they found LaBarre 85% at fault and Villa 15% at fault. They awarded the family $1.1 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages. LaBarre is currently serving a 5 ½ to 12 year sentence for vehicular homicide.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman