Attorney Client Match Blog

There are undoubtedly many different types of car accidents. There are collisions between multiple drivers, and then there are those collisions caused by motorists who are under the influence, or distracted. All of these accidents, no matter, the driving force, invoke feelings of sympathy for the victims involved. But of particular tragedy are the accidents that may not be the direct result of any type of human error at all.

Often in these so-called "freak accidents," injury seems to have been almost inevitable. Even more disconcerting for personal injury attorneys is the fact that, in these cases, it is often extremely difficult to immediately pinpoint or assign "fault" to any one particular source. Take, for instance, an article entitled, "Woman Killed by Flying Tire Had Nowhere to go." The blaring headline displayed on the Atlanta Journal Constitution's (AJC) Web site regarding one of Atlanta's most recent morning rush hour traffic accidents serves only to accentuate the aforementioned point.

Last Friday morning, a 47-year-old woman was driving her daughter to school when a truck tire flew over the median that separates I-85 and in the direction of cars driving southbound on the highway near the Clairmont Road exit. The tire struck the van's roof and windshield, killing Aila Masud on impact. According to a police interview conducted by reporters at the AJC, another driver traveling in the opposite direction, and across the median, was trying to avoid his own collision, when a front tire came off of his truck and careened at least 50 feet into the air, eventually striking Masud's motor vehicle.

Continue reading "Flying Tire Causes Fatal Car Accident during Atlanta's Morning Commute" »

As you may have read, I recently wrote regarding lawsuits that are currently pending in Mississippi, where the proponents of the suits are seeking to have the stat's cap on tort damages overturned. However, it seems that Mississippi is not the only state that is currently facing this issue. In Missouri, after winning a recent lawsuit challenging the state's noneconomic damages cap, Missouri doctors continue to fight another battle threatening to overturn the recovery limit, while Plaintiffs' attorneys continue to seek to overturn the limit.

According to Amednews.com, the Supreme Court of Missouri ruled on April 3rd in Sanders v. Ahmed that the state's noneconomic damages cap for medical malpractice or medical negligence cases was constitutional. The cap, adopted in 1986, impacts cases in which the alleged negligence happened before 2005. The limit was enacted at $350,000 but is now at more than $600,000 due to inflation. The second suit, which the state high court has yet to decide, centers on Missouri's latest $350,000 award limit. The cap impacts all medical liability or medical malpractice lawsuits starting in 2005. A decision in the case, Watts v. Cox, is expected by the summer, said attorneys involved in the case.

In Sanders v. Ahmed, a patient's family said the cap used to reduce their jury award from $9.2 million to $1.2 million violated the Missouri Constitution. The family had filed a wrongful death claim on behalf of Paulette Sanders, who died in 2005. Relatives claimed neurologist Iftekhar Ahmed, MD, failed to recognize and treat a fatal side effect resulting from a medication he prescribed to Sanders. Dr. Ahmed denied wrongdoing.

After winning at trial, the family filed a motion fighting the award reduction. A trial court upheld the reduction, and the family appealed. In their opinion, Supreme Court justices said the Legislature has the authority to enact damages caps.

"The remedy available in a statutorily created cause of action is a matter of law, not fact, and not within the purview of the jury," the court said. "To hold otherwise would be to tell the Legislature it could not legislate; it could neither create nor negate causes of action and in doing so could not prescribe the measure of damages for the same. This court never has so held and declines to do so now."

Continue reading "Missouri Supreme Court Upholds State's Cap on Non-Economic Damage" »

According to KDRV.com and Pantagraph.com an Oregon jury ruled Tuesday that a problem with an engine was responsible for the 2008 crash of a helicopter that killed nine firefighters during a wildfire in Northern California. The jury in Portland reached its verdict after a pilot who survived, along with the widow of one who was killed, sued General Electric for $177 million. In total, the jury determined that G.E. must pay nearly $70 million dollars in damages to the plaintiffs.

After a two-year investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded in 2010 that too much weight and a lack of oversight caused the crash. The chopper was airborne less than a minute when it clipped a tree and fell from the sky, bursting into flames. Four people survived, including one of the pilots, William Coultas. The wrongful death lawsuit decided Tuesday was brought by Coultas, his wife and the estate of Schwanenberg, who died in the crash.

Along with pilot Schwanenberg, 54, of Lostine, those killed included Jim Ramage, 63, a U.S. Forest Service inspector pilot from Redding, Calif.; and firefighters Shawn Blazer, 30, of Medford; Scott Charlson, 25, of Phoenix, Ore.; Matthew Hammer, 23, of Grants Pass; Edrik Gomez, 19, of Ashland; Bryan Rich, 29, of Medford; David Steele, 19, of Ashland; and Steven "Caleb" Renno, 21, of Cave Junction. The families of eight men who were killed and three who were injured reached out-of-court settlements with three of five defendants in multiple lawsuits filed after the crash.

As reported by KDRV.com, during the trial, the plaintiffs argued the company knew the engines it made for the Sikorsky S-61N helicopter had a design flaw making the equipment unsafe, and thus were responsible for the wrongful death of the firefighters who lost their lives as a result of the crash. GE countered that the helicopter crashed because it was carrying too much weight when it took off after picking up a firefighting crew battling the Iron 44 wildfire in Shasta-Trinity National Forest near Weaverville, Calif.

"They're heroes," plaintiffs' attorney Greg Anderson said of the pilots, William Coultas and Roark Schwanenberg. "They saved as many people as they could. They have been pilloried before this."

Continue reading "General Electric Found Liable for the Wrongful Death of Nine Firefighters" »

As reported by The San Francisco Chronicle in early February, a San Francisco elder abuse attorney filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that a shuttle bus company and its driver were negligent in the transport, care and death of an elderly dementia patient who went missing for ten days, and are thus liable for the patient's wrongful death. The suit is styled: San Francisco County Superior Court, Case Number: CGC-12-518046.

The lawsuit alleges that MEDSAM Enterprises, its driver, San Francisco Paratransit and Jewish Family and Children's Services (JFCS) engaged in elder abuse and negligence in the wrongful death of 73-year old dementia patient Kenneth Chin, who went missing for ten days after he was allegedly dropped off in the wrong location and not taken directly to his assisted living facility.

According to the lawsuit filed on Mr. Chin's behalf, on February 24, 2011, Mr. Chin allegedly boarded a MEDSAM shuttle van, driven by Eugene Pearlman, for his regular shuttle ride from Irene Swindell's Center for Adult Day Services to his home at Nacario's Home #5, an assisted living facility. The lawsuit complaint states that when Mr. Chin did not arrive at the assisted living facility at his scheduled time, his conservator, JFCS, was notified as required. However the lawsuit is alleging that JFCS hampered search efforts by negligently failing to notify Mr. Chin's family in a timely manner.

According to the attorney representing Mr. Chin's interests, Ingrid Evans, "The three-hour notification delay by JFCS was critical to Chin's safety especially since his dead body was found approximately one mile from his house. By the time the family was notified that Chin was missing, darkness had already set in and an approaching storm made search conditions extremely difficult." Also according to Evans, "The bus driver had an obligation and a duty of care to walk Chin to the door and ensure his safe arrival due to Chin's dementia," said Evans. "Instead, no one knows for sure where Chin was dropped off. All we know is that he was left stranded in the freezing cold and wandered around San Francisco for days and died," added Evans.

Continue reading " San Francisco Shuttle Bus Company Potentially Liable for Wrongful Death and Elder Abuse. " »

When we send our children off to school, we expect them to be taken care of, and we also expect them to be kept safe. From the school bus to the school house doors, it is expected that the school system, school administrators, and school personnel will act in such a manner that ensures the safety of our children. However, in the case of one Missouri young man, adequate care was not taken by school affiliated personnel to ensure his safety. Mason Adams, a then high school junior, was struck and killed by a school bus.

According to Cincinnati.com, a Cincinnati, Ohio based school bus company paid $5 million earlier this month to settle the wrongful death lawsuit that stemmed from the wrongful death of Mason Adams, who was killed after one of the drivers for First Student drove a bus over, and killed the teen.

The wrongful death case, filed by Mason's mother, Bridgett Blasi, alleged that a 23 year old First Student bus driver failed to defrost or scrape the windshield of the bus he was operating, and as a result drove the bus over the 16 year old, who was legally crossing the street in St. Joseph, Missouri. The incident, which occurred on November 15, 2010, resulted in Mason Adams' death.

Despite the obvious negligence of its employee, First Student, which also has a contract to transport Cincinnati Public School students, refused to admit its role in Mason's death, until First Student finally decided to settle the suit, earlier this month. According to Blasi's attorney, Michael Kuckelman "What Ms. Blasi has been seeking for over a year was an apology and acknowledgment of responsibility from First Student. What she wanted for over a year was to stop blaming her son. They said he wasn't paying attention and that just isn't true."

Continue reading "Wrongful Death Lawsuit Settled by Ohio School Bus Company" »

Metro Atlanta's popular public rail system, MARTA, may be in hot water after results from a 2010 audit revealed some concerning safety issues. An article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said that the audit pointed to several problems including: the death of a homeless man on MARTA rails, faulty indicator lights on the trains and a "near miss" accident between a train and work vehicle in a MARTA rail yard. Frequent MARTA patrons might be able to point to some additional issues, with faulty escalators being at the top of the list. In fact, the 2008 death of a transit man in the Georgia State University station occurred when the man fell on an escalator and was strangled when his clothing was pulled into the escalator combs. A MARTA police officer patrolling the station did not properly inspect the platform before the station closed and thus failed to discover the deceased man.

Wrongful death attorneys familiar with the system's history know it was the second time such an accident occurred within almost as many years. In 2005, another man lost his life in much the same manner, with one difference. In that earlier case, a MARTA attendant was present and able to press the Emergency button, stopping the escalator. Since the audit results were obtained, MARTA officials have cited a dearth of resources as the reason for the late discovery. Regardless of the number of officers available at the time of the2008 accident, that particular MARTA officer was charged with a duty that he failed to execute. A proper inspection may have resulted in timely medical attention for the decedent and proper review and maintenance of the security tapes may have yielded information that could prevent future incidents. Instead, the tape that captured the transit man's death was "destroyed as part of regular maintenance" - an event that clearly points to much deeper problems.

Continue reading "Audit Calls to Attention Safety Concerns with MARTA " »

According to both the Charleston Gazette and USA Today, on Tuesday January 10, 2012, Alpha Natural Resources finally finalized a deal that resolved the last of the wrongful death workers compensation claims and wrongful death lawsuits of the families of the 29 miners who died in the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster. This deal comes almost 2 years after the tragedy of the April 2010 explosion. Although Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources had not confirmed the agreement or otherwise comment at the time of the news reports, attorney Mark Moreland said the final deals were cut Tuesday afternoon after a marathon mediation session which endured for more than 4 days. Although some of the lawsuits resulting from the 2010 tragedy had long since been settled, mediation of the final 13 began last week and continued through Tuesday the 10th.

Just weeks after the April 5, 2010 explosion, which has been labeled the worst U.S. mine disaster in four decades, Massey Energy, the company who owned the mine at the time of the explosion, offered $3 million to each victim's family. Some accepted, but most refused; saying the lives of their loved ones had no price tags. Alpha inherited the mine and the lawsuits when it bought Massey Energy last summer. It has since settled several unrelated lawsuits against other Massey operations. According to an Alpha company spokesman said last month that Alpha was eager to shed the legacy problems and move forward.

According to the Charleston Gazette, Charleston lawyer Tim Bailey, who represented two miners' families and helped lead a group of lawyers with the bulk of the cases stated: "On behalf of the families we were privileged to represent, we're happy we could provide some measure of closure on this particular part of this tragedy." Despite the financial compensation that the families will be receiving as a result of these settlements, Bailey and the other lawyers for the Upper Big Branch families emphasized that what their clients really want is for the top Massey managers responsible for safety conditions at the mine to be prosecuted. According to Bailey, "Compensation is one thing, but justice is another. Based on what happened at this mine, there is not going to be justice until some people are indicted and some people go to jail."

According to reports by USA Today the families may indeed get exactly the justice that they desire. In December, Alpha reached a $210 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice that spares the corporation criminal prosecution. Individuals, however, can still be prosecuted, which is exactly what many families have publicly demanded. So far, one person has been held accountable in criminal court: Former security chief Hughie Elbert Stover was convicted in November of lying to investigators and trying to destroy mine records. He is awaiting sentencing. The DOJ settlement included $46.5 million in restitution to the victims' families, guaranteeing them and two survivors of the blast $1.5 million apiece. That $1.5 million will be deducted from the wrongful death settlements.

Continue reading "Families of the Victims of the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster Finally Receive Compensation " »

When one takes the advice of another who claims to be offering advice, or help, the expected outcome is a positive one, not a tragedy. However, this the outcome was not a positive one for three individuals who participated in one of James Arthur Ray's sweat lodges in 2009. For those three individuals, what was supposed to be a spiritual retreat turned into tragedy, and lead to their deaths.

Self Help author James Arthur Ray has settled lawsuits brought by three families who brought the suits on behalf of the love ones they lost as a result of one of Ray's "Spiritual Warrior" ceremonies. According to USA Today the terms of the settlements were disclosed as exhibits during Ray's criminal trial. Ray was tried and convicted on three counts of negligent homicide as a result of the deaths. The suits brought by the families of the three victims included allegations of negligence, fraud, and wrongful death.

Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman all died while attending one of Ray's Spiritual Warrior retreats in October of 2009. Ray, who is a self help author, held several of these ceremonies, or sweat lodges in the past.The lawsuit filed by the families of Brown, Shore, and Neuman alleged that Ray and his company were liable for wrongful death, fraud, and negligence. Other individuals who sustained personal injuries in the 2009 ceremony also filed suit against Ray and his company.

Ray settled the suits brought by these three families for around 3 million dollars, with each family receiving between 800,000 dollars to 1.3 million dollars each. The settlement funds did not come directly from Ray, but came from Ray's insurers. According to USA Today, Brad Jardine, the attorney who represented Ray in the civil cases, said he could only assume that Ray "felt very deeply that everything possible should be done for those families." Also according to Ray's attorneys, despite Ray's decision to settle these cases, the settlements include no admission of guilt on Ray's part.

There are other cases pending against Ray as well as the retreat center that Ray rented for his five-day "Spiritual Warrior" event. Other civil cases pending against Ray include a wrongful-death suit filed by a woman who committed suicide at one of Ray's events. The families of Brown, Shore and Neuman also brought cases against Michael and Amayra Hamilton, the owners of Angel Valley Retreat Center, which is the retreat center where Ray held his ceremonial events. These cases have been settled as well. In the cases against the Hamiltons, the plaintiffs alleged that the conduct of Michael and Amayra Hamilton led to the deaths of Brown, Shore and Neuman, and also led to the injuries of others. The terms of that settlement were confidential, and like the settlement with Ray, it included no admission of liability by the Hamiltons.

The death of a child is always a tragedy. However when a child dies under the circumstances of horrific abuse, the tragedy is that much worse. When children are the victims of child abuse, there is no question that those at fault should be held accountable. Normally, those found to be at fault are relatives of the child, or others who have had close contact with the child. But, in the case of the death of a Denver, Colorado child, the people at fault may be two social workers.

According to the Denver Post, just this week, U.S. District Judge William J. Martínez, in a ruling which denied a motion to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit filed against two Denver social service workers by the child's estate and his biological parents determined that he will allow the wrongful death lawsuit to proceed against the two Denver social service workers for failing to prevent the starvation death of a 7 year old boy in 2007.

This tragic story began in March 2007, when a teacher's aide reported that the 7 year old boy, Chandler Grafner, had a swollen ear and other bruises. Chandler told the aide that Jon Phillips, Chandler's foster father, had put him in a shower and slapped him repeatedly. The aide reported the suspected abuse to a school administrator who called police. The Denver Department of Human Services conducted an investigation based on the allegations, but found the allegation unfounded. Two months later, Chandler was sealed in a closet and left to starve in his own urine and feces by his foster parents, Jon Phillips, 26, and his 22-year-old live-in girlfriend Sarah Berry.

The Denver Post reports that the wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Chandler's mother, Christina Grafner, and his father, Joshua Norris. Christina Grafner lost custody of the Chandler after she was charged with neglect one year before his death. Phillips was Christina Grafner's former boyfriend. Chandler was in Phillips custody because the Jefferson County Department of Human Services had placed Chandler in Phillips' custody.

Continue reading "Social Workers may be Liable in the Wrongful Death of a Denver, Colorado Child" »

The wife and daughter of the late Othon Cortes, of Miami, are bringing suit against American Airlines as the result of Cortes' death. However, the cause of his death was not the result of a plane crash, as one may expect. According to Mr. Cortes' family, he died as a result of ingesting contaminated food that he was served in an on board meal. According to the wrongful death suit filed by Cortes' wife, Raquel, in the U.S. District Court in Miami, FL, Cortes died after being served an on board meal that contained contaminated chicken.

The incident that lead to Cortes' death occurred on May 18, as the 73 year old Cortes was traveling with his wife from Barcelona, Spain to New York. During the flight, Cortes consumed an inflight meal that contained chicken. CNN reports that according to the suit, after the plane landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Cortes and his wife waited for their nest flight to Miami, Cortes began to experience "discomfort and pain that included sharp stomach cramps and sudden thirst and other clear outward manifestation of severe physical illness." During the flight to Miami, Cortes began to experience further symptoms, like nausea and shortness of breath. Subsequently, Cortes underwent a cardiac episode and became unresponsive. As a result, the plane he was aboard made an emergency landing in Norfolk, VA. Cortes was pronounced dead when the plane landed.

American Airlines is not the only party that the Cortes family alleges is responsible for the death of Othon Cortes. According to IBTraveler.com, Cortes' wife and daughter have also named Sky Chefs, an airline catering company, as a defendant in their suit. In their suit, the Cortes family is seeking one million dollars in damages as a result of Cortes' death, which the suit alleges was caused by contaminated food that American Airlines and Sky Chefs served aboard the international flight. As reported by CNN, the suit charges the companies with "failing to properly maintain or prepare the food" and alleges the companies allowed the food to become contaminated with Clostridium perfringens bacteria. According to the FDA, perfringens poising is one of the most commonly reported foodborne illnesses in the U.S. Although it is very rarely fatal, a few deaths have been reported as a result of dehydration and other complications.

According to IBTraveler.com and USA Today Travel, in addition to alleging that the two defendants were negligent in failing to properly maintain of prepare the food served aboard the flight, the Cortes' family lawsuit also charges the Airline with negligence for allowing Cortes to board the domestic flight, failing to give Cortes medical attention before boarding the second flight, and waiting too long to (opt for) an emergency landing.. Although American Airlines has yet to comment on this particular legal action, their co-defendant Sky Chefs has made a statement through its spokesperson, Josefine Corsten.

On behalf of Sky Chefs, Corsten denied any liability on the part of Sky Chefs. Corsten told CNN: "Based upon the allegations in the complaint it is not possible that Sky Chefs is the responsible party because we did not cater the Barcelona flight in question."

As a Georgia wrongful death attorney, it is my sincere desire, if these defendants are indeed liable, that they are held accountable, and are ordered to fully compensate this family for their loss.

In August, I commented on the wrongful death suit that the Bavis family was bringing on behalf of Mark Bavis, who died as a result of the September 11th tragedy. The Bavis family alleged in its suit, which was brought against United Airlines and its security contractor, Huntleigh USA, that both entities were liable for the wrongful death of Mark Bavis because their negligence enabled five armed terrorists to hijack Flight 175 on September 11, 2001. Mark Baivs was killed as a passenger on Flight 175, which was the second plane to hit the World Trade Center. He was 31 years old.

The Bavis family's suit was the last wrongful death suit, stemming from 9/11, to remain unsettled. The other wrongful death and personal injury claims which came out of the 9/11 tragedy had already settled over the years. However, the Bavis family, especially Mark's twin brother, Mike Bavis, was adamant about not settling. The family cited a desire to expose the flaws in the airline's security, and a desire to ensure that the airline and its security company were held accountable for its negligence as its motivation for pressing on with the suit.

In early September, Mike Bavis stated to the Los Angeles Times: "Our hope is that the legal system still can work the way it was meant. It's unacceptable that my brother had to spend the last 21 minutes of his life in the type of situation that he had to. It's unacceptable, given what we believe was known prior to 9/11 and the inaction by the airlines and the security companies. It's what motivated us to stay strong through this test of will."

Despite the Bavis family's desire to see the case through to trial, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Law Journal reported that the family reached a settlement agreement on September 19th, 2011 with the Airline. Mike Bavis, Mark Bavis' twin brother, who had been very adamant in his stance on continuing to peruse the lawsuit, explained the change in course the family was taking regarding the lawsuit in a public letter.

Continue reading "Bavis Family's 9/11 Wrongful Death Lawsuit: Revisited" »

When we attend an entertainment event, normally we are thinking of how much fun the venue is likely to be. Whether or not the venue will be safe is normally the last thing on our minds. However, the tragic stage collapse that occurred at the Indiana State Fair on August 13, 2011 may change the way we all view entertainment venues.

See the collapse of the stage below:

As the result of the tragic deaths of 6 people, and the injuries sustained by several others, several lawsuits are being filed, including wrongful death suits, against the owners of the stage rigging structure, the agency that booked the show, and the owner of Ticket Master, the agency who sold the tickets for the show.

The attorney representing Janeen Beth Urschel, who survived the stage collapse, and the estate of her partner, Tammy VanDam, who was killed as a result to the collapse has filed suit against the three above mentioned event organizers seeking damages in excess of $60 million dollars, according to the Indianapolis Star. Kenneth J. Allen, the attorney representing Urschel in her negligence suit and the estate of VanDam in a wrongful death suit, claims that Urschel's injuries and VanDam's death were caused by a lack of due care on the part of the event organizers.

Continue reading "Could it have been Avoided?: Six Indiana State Fair Attendees Die as a Result of Inadequate Inspection of Fair Stage" »

Alleged failure to conduct a proper background check on an interpreter has U.S. defense contractor Mission Essential Personnel facing charges of negligence in the deaths of two American soldiers, according to Associated Press reporter Richard Lardner. The wrongful death suit filed by surviving members of the soldiers' families alleges the company was in a rush to hire interpreters when it brought on the gunman, and may have omitted important hiring procedures. The contractor serves as the U.S. government's primary supplier of linguists. Central to the case will be whether the wrongful deaths were the result of negligent hiring and negligent retention. Likewise, the precautions taken after the employee was terminated must also be examined.

Just a few months after arriving at the base near Kabul, Nasir Ahmed Ahmadi was fired for his increasingly strange behavior - troops later confessed they thought he may have been on drugs. Whatever the case, shortly after his termination, an incensed Ahmadi went on a shooting rampage, killing two soldiers and wounding a third. To wrongful death attorneys, it seems the entire episode could have been avoided with the employ of proper screening techniques.

Typically, when hiring in volatile situations like this one, thorough psychological exams and background checks are and should be conducted on all prospective employees. In fact, this is a standard practice in most hiring situations. Of course, MEP claims this is something it did, telling the Associated Press in a statement that Ahmadi was "thoroughly vetted for his deployment, including medical, physical and counter-intelligence screening." However, if what they assert is really the case, one has to question the overall effectiveness of their screening methods. To put it more simply, is it truly possible that within a few months after "testing" Ahmadi's condition deteriorated to the point of such instability? While possible, it is probably unlikely.

The production of records during the discovery phase of the lawsuit may answer many questions regarding whether the required screening took place, but leaves unanswered queries regarding effectiveness. Ascertaining effectiveness will undoubtedly take a thorough and time-consuming analysis.

Continue reading "U.S. Defense Contractor Faces Negligence claims after the Wrongful Death of U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan" »

No one knows the terror that Mark Bavis faced as his flight was hijacked and subsequently crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. However, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled on Wednesday July 27th, 2011, that Bavis' family may be able to recover "terror" or pain and suffering damages for the minutes of terror that Bavis endured before his death if they prove that the defendants in the wrongful death claim they have filed are liable. After the death of Mark Bavis on September 11, 2001, the Bavis family filed a wrongful death claim against the Massachusetts Port Authority, United Airlines and Huntleigh USA Corp, a security company. In addition to ruling that the family may seek terror damages, U.S. District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein also released the Massachusetts Port Authority from the case.

The Bavis family claims that the above mentioned defendants are responsible for the death of Mark Bavis, who was aboard United States Airlines Flight 175 on September 11th, because the defendants failed to ensure that weapons were not brought aboard the plane. In order for the family to prevail in their wrongful death case against the remaining defendants, the family will have to prove that the hijackers got the weapons aboard the plane as a result of the defendant's negligence.

During the after math of the September 11th attacks, thousands of families were compensated through a special fund created by congress. A smaller group of around one hundred families have filed wrongful death suits against the airlines or private security companies charged with securing checkpoints, like Hellerstein. All of these suits, except the Bavis case, have been resolved outside of court resulting in these families receiving, in total, around $500 million. The Bavis case, which is set to go to trial in November, is the only remaining case of its kind, and it is the only case to go to trial.

According to the New York Times, Judge Hellerstein, after listening to both arguments regarding the issue of damages, indicated that he would likely allow the jury to come up with a figure for the pain and suffering Mark Bavis endured during the final twenty-one minutes of his life. The Judge stated, "My thinking is tending toward allowing terror damages." Judge Hellerstein also stated to the New York Times that the main issue of the trial is whether United Airlines and Huntleigh were negligent in screening, which the Judge said was their responsibility. According to Judge Hellerstein, "The plaintiffs will have to prove that the way that the terrorists got stuff aboard is the way that everybody gets stuff aboard, that is, through screening." Regarding the evidence that Judge Hellerstein would allow during trial, he stated that he would limit the evidence to what United and Huntleigh knew or should have known, as opposed to what the FBI, CIA or other intelligence agencies knew regarding the threat.

Continue reading "Bavis Family may be the First to Recover in a Wrongful Death Suit against Airline Stemming from the 9/11Tragedy " »