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.
Passenger Christopher Peart Killed in Car with Alleged Drunk Driver in Austin, TX
Local reports indicate a man was killed in the car with a drunk driver,
after they became involved in a wrong-way collision in Austin, Texas.
The wreck occurred early Thursday morning, September 22 when police
believe 23-year-old Erica Lynn Nash-Wood went the wrong way on a ramp
and traveled eastbound on westbound lanes of SH 71. She then collided
with a pizza delivery truck, head-on. Her passenger, 22-year-old
Christopher Peart, was ejected from the car and was pronounced dead at
the scene. The delivery truck driver experienced minor injuries and was
released. Nash-Wood has been charged with two counts of aggravated
assault and one count intoxication manslaughter and assault.
Commentary The
arrest affidavit states the woman said she was drinking on 6th Street
before the accident. I'll say it again, drunk driving is tearing our
state apart. A third party investigation is needed to determine
liability, but if the woman was indeed intoxicated, she could face great
fault in a wrongful death claim by survivors of the victim. My firm
takes a hard stance against drunk driving, as it has personally affected
just about all of us. Driving while intoxicated is a horrible lapse in
judgment that deserves both civil and criminal penalties.
Beyond the driver, who could certainly be found negligent in
her actions, her admission to police could implicate a bar or restaurant
in the claim. That area of Austin is packed with bars, any of which may
have served a patron past the point of intoxication. This is in direct
violation of the rules of the TABC which granted these places a liquor
license and allows them to legally serve alcohol. In becoming
TABC-certified, a bar must go through training, including bartenders.
Specific to this accident, bartenders are trained on how to spot an
intoxicated patron, and subsequently stop serving that guest. It would
appear that did not happen here. Texas has in place laws
called dram shop laws, which can add a bar to a wrongful death claim.
These laws hold bars partially liable for doing exactly what I said
before, over-serving guests. I get this question all the time, so I will
address it here, the laws in no way remove fault from the intoxicated
driver. Instead, they add enforcement to the existing TABC rules and
attempt to stop this reckless behavior by alcohol-serving
establishments. This type of claim requires a proper
investigation, as an area like 6th Street holds several venues the
over-consumption could occur at, but a successful claim can aid in fully
compensating a grieving family who has just lost a loved one.
Furthermore, these claims drive at where most of these entities feel the
greatest pinch, their pocketbooks, and could prevent another accident
of this nature from happening.
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