Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

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Early Saturday morning, a 15-year-old Wellington High School sophomore was killed in a car crash after the teen hit a bump and lost control of the vehicle, a 2006 Nisson 350. Records show the boy was not wearing a seatbelt and was driving without a license.

Florida laws require drivers with learner’s permits to have a passenger who is at least 21 or older at all times. The law also prohibits those with a learner’s permit Palm Beach County Teen Dies in Car Crash from driving after 10pm. The teen was reportedly violating both laws when the car accident occurred.

His passenger, a 16-year-old Wellington boy, was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the auto accident and was able to walk away from the crash with only minor injuries. Authorities are still investigating the fatal motor vehicle accident, but they say alcohol did not appear to be a factor.

Source: Wellington teen who died in early-morning crash was violating learners-permit restrictions, Palm Beach Post, November 7, 2009 Continue reading

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Last Thursday, a 22-year-old Florida man died from injuries he sustained when his parachute failed to open during a military training exercise in Wauchula. A press release from the sheriff’s office said the Marines were jumping from a C130 aircraft when the training accident occurred.

Sgt. Jeremiah d. McGraw was pronounced dead after being transported to Florida Hospital Wauchula. He was a Selected Reserve Marine assigned to 4th Air-Naval Gunfire Liason Company in West Palm Beach. His two other brothers were also in the Marines.

Military personnel and the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the fatal accident.

Marine dies in a parachute accident, WPTV.com, September 14, 2009
Marine dies after parachute doesn’t deploy, Miami Herald, September 11, 2009 Continue reading

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In Orlando, Florida, a Walt Disney World performer died rehearsing for an Indiana Jones stunt show. Anislav Varbanov, 30, injured himself practicing a tumbling roll before Monday night’s show. He was rushed to the hospital, where the injured employee was pronounced dead at 8:53pm.

Disney has announced that it has canceled Tuesday’s show in Varbanov’s memory.

This is the third Disney employee to die in a little over a month. In July, a 21-year-old monorail driver died in a train accident when another train crashed into his own. Last week, a 47-year-old Magic Kingdom performer passed away days after an on-stage fall during a different show.

3rd Disney World employee dies in just over month, Miami Herald, August 17, 2009
Stuntman in Disney show dies, The Sun, August 18, 2009 Continue reading

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On Friday morning, Florida lifeguards discovered the body of a 37-year-old man who had apparently drowned while scuba diving on his own. The body was found floating roughly 400 meters off the beach at 1301 S. Ocean Drive. Lifeguards pulled the man’s body to shore, where he was pronounced dead.

Hollywood police say the man was wearing a full set of scuba diving equipment, including air tanks, and they are investigating what might have caused the scuba diving accident. Because there were no signs of trauma, it is considered unlikely that the scuba diver was hit by a boat.

Investigators say they are planning to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. They do not know how the scuba diver was in the water before his body was rescued by lifeguards.

Scuba diving accident kills Florida man, CDNN.info, July 10, 2009 Continue reading

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At Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida last week, a fatal monorail accident last week killed a 21-year-old employee who was operating the monorail. The accident reportedly occurred when two monorails collided in the Magic Kingdom section of the theme park. Although there have been a few other accidents, including a 1974 train crash, this marks the first fatality involving Disney’s monorail system since it opened over 30 years ago.

According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, two investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) arrived on Sunday to begin examining the monorail crash site. They are trying to understand what happened and if any federal safety standards were violated.

If the OSHA investigators uncover any safety violations, Disney could be cited for various fines starting at $70,000. The investigators have six months to review information from the crash site and issue a public report with any proposed penalties – if they are warranted. Meanwhile, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is reviewing information on the crash for any criminal intent. It is too early to tell what standards they will be reviewing or how long the investigation might take.

New Rail Crash: Disney Monorail Accident Kills Employee, InjuryBoard.com, July 6, 2009

Disney monorail accident: OSHA investigators scouring Disney monorail for crash evidence, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, July 6, 2009 Continue reading

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The driver of a Honda CRV sustained head injuries in a downtown Miami traffic collision during rush hour last Thursday. That same motor vehicle accident killed a 49-year-old Tampa woman and critically injured her 17-year-old daughter.

According to police, the truck crash happened just before 4pm when the Honda was broadsided by a Toyota Tundra pickup truck that had spun out of control, possibly due to wet road conditions. The husband of the woman driving the Honda told press that his wife was stopped at the intersection and was hit by the Toyota when it ran a red light.

The truck accident is still under investigation and no charges have been filed as of yet, according to police. The woman driving the Toyota Tundra was questioned by detectives and later permitted to leave the scene of the accident.

Police Identify Downtown Miami Crash Victims, CBS4.com, May 30, 2009 Continue reading

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In Florida, Emmanual Carry has been charged with first-degree murder for the death of Coral Springs resident Patrick Dameus. Carry, also from Coral Springs, is accused of “intentionally” hitting the 48-year-old man with his 2005 Honda Element more than once before using the vehicle to drag his body 2 ½ miles.

The alleged attack reportedly occurred right before 5am on Sunday in a parking lot on Riverside Drive. Coral Springs Police say that the two men had been arguing.

Police accuse Carry of not only striking Dameus and dragging his body under his motor vehicle as he left the scene, but also of backing the car over him and driving over him again. Dameus’s body was found on State Road, where he was pronounced dead.

Carry, who was arrested at 6:15 pm at a family member’s house in North Miami Beach, is being held in the Dade County Jail without bond. He will be extradited to Broward County.

Wrongful Death
In Florida, the family of a victim who was killed by another person’s negligent or reckless act may be able to file a Florida wrongful death lawsuit to obtain compensation for the loss of their loved one and the harm suffered by the family as a result of that loss. The kinds of recovery that surviving family members can claim may vary. For example, a child who has lost her mother or father in a car accident may be able to claim damages for loss of parental support.

Family members may seek economic and noneconomic compensatory damages. In certain cases, they may have grounds to file a Florida wrongful death claim that also seeks punitive damages.

Punitive Damages
Punitive damages in a Florida wrongful death case may be awarded if there is evidence to prove that the defendant acted intentionally and/or with gross negligence to cause the victim’s death.

Coral Springs man runs down another man, drags him 2 1/2 miles, Sun-Sentinel, October 27, 2008
Man Dragged To Death, Suspect Arrested, Local10, October 26, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Types of Personal Injury Damages, Justia Continue reading

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In West Palm Beach, Florida, five people died on the Florida Turnpike on Friday night when the sport utility vehicle they were riding in rolled over after it blew a tire. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the driver lost control of the Ford Expedition and rolled into a 15-foot canal.

Eight people were in the SUV, which was completely submerged in the canal when police arrived. Troopers say that bodies had been ejected from the vehicle and children were crying at the crash scene.

Three people, a boy and two women, were pronounced dead at the crash scene. A dive team found the body of another boy the following morning. Another victim, a girl, was pronounced dead at Delray Medical Center, where the three survivors were also treated for their injuries.

Only four of the eight people riding in the SUV -driver Moline Etienne and the three injury victims that survived the crash-were wearing seat belts. The children were not riding in child safety seats or wearing seat belts.

The victims that died were Etienne, 23, Roodandray Louis, 3, Shelley Peters, 30, Natayel Meyer, 10, and Malesha Louis, 5. The victims that were injured but survived the crash are Gina Merceron, 41, Enichka Maurice, 15, and Shadrack Gustave, 6.

Tire Blowouts
There are many reasons why tire blowouts can happen. Defective tires is one reason that tire blowouts occur.

Examples of tire defects:

• Valve stem cracks
• Breaks in the tire fabric
• Damaged or exposed cords
• Knots and bumps resulting from tire damage

Tire blowouts can cause a motorist to lose control of the vehicle, resulting in motor vehicle collisions, SUV rollovers, and other catastrophic accidents.

5 dead in Turnpike crash,, Sun-Sentinel.com, October 18, 2008
5 Killed When SUV Rolls Over On Turnpike, WPBF, October 18, 2008

Related Web Resources:

The Hidden History of the SUV, PBS.org
Tire Blowouts on the Highway, Safety.com Continue reading

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The Florida parents of Pateesha Clinch, a 12-year-old girl who died while roughhousing with friends at Westview Middle School in September 2007, is suing the Miami-Dade school district for her wrongful death. According to students at the school, the 6th grader struck her head on the side of classroom wall when she fell.

Fire-rescue units that arrived at the scene found Clinch unconscious. She was pronounced dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital North. The medical examiner’s office says that Pateesha’s body showed no observable trauma. Autopsy results indicate that because of a rare, undetected heart condition, she may have gone into sudden cardiac death.

Pateesha’s parents, Daryl and Meka, are accusing the school district of negligence. The couple say that the fall contributed to her death, regardless of whether she had a preexisting heart condition. The couple’s personal injury lawyer said that teachers and security monitors at the school knew that the students liked to roughhouse in between classes and should have been properly supervising them.

Continue reading

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A jury in Palm Beach, Florida has awarded the family of Pompano Beach resident Claudia Avila $6.98 Million for her wrongful death. Avila died on February 17, 2004 in Delray Breach when a 34-pound metal plate crashed into the windshield of the motor vehicle she was riding on I-94 and struck her on the head.

Avila went into a coma. She died a few weeks after the accident when doctors took her off life support.

The Palm Beach County jury found company Tarmac America 28% liable for the tragic accident. Tarmac America was the company that packaged thousands of metal plates for shipping and then loaded them onto a number of flatbed trailers for transport to Fort Lauderdale.

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