Wrongful death lawsuit filed against former Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt - www.roanoke.comThe suit contends that Ewell Hunt and two deputies failed to protect Chad English. Ewell Hunt, the former Franklin County sheriff, and two of his deputies failed to heed an informant's tip that might have prevented the murder of a 19-year-old man, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Mayo Clinic wrongful death trial beginsA 13-year-old girl's death after surgery at Saint Marys Hospital in 2009 is at issue in a wrongful death trial that started Monday, May 14, in Olmsted County District Court.
Linda Jean Owens Killed in Accident with Suspected Drunk Driver in Whitehouse, TX
Local reports indicate a woman was killed and three others injured in a head-on collision involving a suspected drunk driver in Whitehouse, Texas. The accident occurred around 6:20 a.m., Saturday September 10 when the car 46-year-old Linda Jean Owens was riding in was struck head-on by a suspected drunk driver. Police believe the car veered into oncoming traffic, injuring who police believe was Owens' husband, and another passenger. The wrong-way driver was also injured. All survivors were taken to a local hospital with what are considered non-life threatening injuries. The names of the others involved in the accident have not been identified.
Commentary Every drunk driving accident I see is equally appalling and just so senseless. We take these incidents very seriously at my firm, as this epidemic has affected many of us personally. While a third party investigation would need to be corroborated with the police and toxicology reports, if the man was indeed intoxicated prior to the accident, he could face heightened liability in a wrongful death lawsuit. When a driver makes the choice to drink and drive, he engages in a reckless act, acknowledged as such by the law. Others may not realize that beyond the driver, there could be other liable parties in this incident. The state of Texas holds laws, called dram shop laws, that could add a bar or restaurant to a wrongful death claim. This contingency highlights the necessity of the separate investigation, being that if a bar or restaurant was found to serve the man past the point of intoxication, they could be liable in a claim. Now, I realize the accident occurred several hours after bars or restaurants close. I'd like to point out that a person can stay intoxicated well beyond the 4 hours in between closing time and this tragedy. The next question I am always asked when discussing dram shop liability with folks is whether this type of claim negates the driver's responsibility to safety. Absolutely not. The laws are designed to separately hold alcohol-serving establishments to the rules they agreed to, to become licensed by the TABC. When a bar chooses not to follow these rules, they create an unsafe environment and open the risk of accident. These laws punish those entities that fail to follow TABC's rules while still holding the driver accountable for their actions.
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