Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

Wrongful death lawsuits are filed by one or more plaintiffs against one or more parties who have caused another’s death through intentional harm or negligence. Wrongful death lawsuits allow the deceased individual’s estate to file a claim for compensation against every individual or entity legally liable for their demise. Most suits are filed by an estate representative on behalf of all surviving family members or any other party directly affected by the death.

Applicable Wrongful Death Claims

Most claims for wrongful death are applicable when the victim would otherwise have the legal right to file a personal injury claim had they survived the intentional harmful act or negligence caused by the defendant or defendants. Eligibility for a wrongful death lawsuit usually requires the involvement of certain situations that could include:

The Sheriff’s office in St. Clair County, Michigan has taken a 32-year-old man into custody after he allegedly ran his 25-foot Baja boat into a cabin cruiser. The collision occurred Sunday at 6:45 PM on August 3, 2014, killing two passengers and injuring another, all out enjoying a day on the water off Harsen’s Island.

The two passengers killed in the boating accident include Nancy Axford, a 68-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba and a 57-year-old resident of Chesterfield Township Robert Koontz.

Alcohol and Excessive Speed

After Trooper James Sauter was killed March 28, 2013, his widow had to deal with the sudden loss of her husband. What might be even more infuriating to Elizabeth Sauter is the fact that her husband died because a truck driver from Wisconsin allegedly fell asleep while driving his semi-trailer truck. It was near the end of last year that Elizabeth Sauter decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit. She filed suit against not only the driver himself, but also the companies that the driver was working for that particular day.

The suit is against Suddath Relocation Systems of Minnesota and Milwaukee, Unigroup Inc., United Van Lines LLC, and Andrew Bokelman (the driver at the time). Bokelman himself is already facing criminal charges in Cook County because he violated federal safety laws that are in place to ensure that tired truck drivers do not continue on the road.

According to the prosecution, Bokelman dozed off behind the wheel of his semi near the Glenview Tri-State Tollway at approximately 11 pm, this after working a 12-hour shift. According to the records from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, both United Van Lines and Bokelman received a fine for breaking a federal rule that mandates that drivers do not drive for more than 14 hours without getting a minimum of 10 hours of rest. United Van Lines received a fine of $5,500 while Bokelman (who works for Barrett Moving and Storage, an agent for United Van Lines) received a fine for $2,500.

A work site accident in the north suburbs of Chicago killed Patrick O’Reilly – a Palos Park native – on December 26 at the Vernon Hills’ Westfield Hawthorn Mall. O’Reilly was killed at a demolition site when a piece of falling concrete struck him as part of a wall collapsed. The accident occurred around 11 pm as the work crew knocked down an exterior wall of a former restaurant.

While construction workers were removing an outer layer of brick, they were hit from concrete pieces that came from the top of the wall. O’Reilly was not the only person who suffered injuries, the concrete pieces hit three workers. As the concrete rubble covered the three workers, coworkers rushed to clear the concrete off their colleagues.

While it only took three minutes before Countryside Fire Protection District ambulances, the debris had already been removed from the three. Shortly after arrival at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Patrick died from crushing trauma. One worker was treated for minor injuries while the third worker did not even go to the hospital.