Wrongful Death

April 13, 2009

Calif. Appeals Court: Psychiatrist Not Liable to Patient’s Victims,

After a 19-year-old Orange County, Calif., man killed two neighbors in 2005, the victim’s survivors sued the murderer’s psychiatrist, accusing him of causing the rampage by giving his client an unstable mix of antidepressants.

But California’s 4th District Court of Appeal ordered summary judgment for the doctor, saying that the patient had a pre-existing mental disorder that “necessitated” treatment.

“As early as 2001, [William] Freund had exhibited violent tendencies toward his parents,” Justice Raymond Ikola wrote. “And when he later became [the doctor’s] patient, he already suffered from Asperger’s syndrome and the consequent frustration about his extreme social problems.

April 12, 2009

King Harbor Medical Center Settles Wrongful Death Case

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Los Angeles County supervisors have agreed to pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the children of Edith Rodriguez, the woman who died after writhing in pain for 45 minutes on the waiting-room floor of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Medical Center, according to an attorney representing the family.

Rodriguez’s death nearly two years ago attracted national attention, becoming a symbol of an indifferent emergency system. A triage nurse had dismissed her complaints in the early morning of May 9, 2007. A security videotape showed a janitor mopping around Rodriguez and other staff walking past.

April 5, 2009

Mich. Hospital That Released Man Who Killed His Wife Can be Sued

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Michigan hospital can be sued for releasing a man who killed his estranged wife with an ax 10 days later, a federal appeals court ruled.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates a lawsuit filed by the estate of Marie Moses Irons against Providence Hospital.

The panel cited a federal law that requires hospitals to stabilize patients if an emergency condition exists, though it couldn’t find any precedent for allowing a non-patient who alleges harm to sue.

April 2, 2009

Lawsuit Against KBR Army Contractor Upheld

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A federal judge denied an Army contractor KBR’s motion requesting dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the mother of a soldier who was electrocuted in the shower while serving in Iraq.

The lawsuit, filed by Cheryl Harris of Cranberry, accuses Houston-based contractor KBR of failing to maintain the electrical infrastructure in Baghdad. Ms. Harris’ son, Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, an Army Ranger and Green Beret, was electrocuted as he showered on Jan. 2, 2008, while stationed there.

KBR attorneys had argued that decisions made by the Army insulated the private military contractor from prosecution.

U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer disagreed.

April 1, 2009

Pfizer Settles Rezulin Product Liabilty Cases

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Pfizer Inc. resolved all but three of 35,000 claims over its withdrawn diabetes drug Rezulin for a total of about $750 million.

Pfizer, which is acquiring rival Wyeth for almost $64 billion, paid about $500 million to settle Rezulin cases consolidated in federal court in New York, according to court filings. The company also paid as much as $250 million to resolve state-court suits.

March 26, 2009

Jurors Award $4 M in Brain-Damaged Baby

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Palm Beach County jury has awarded $4 million on behalf of a child suffering from severe mental retardation that the family blamed on a delayed delivery in a West Palm Beach hospital more than 11 years ago.

Stephanie Preshong Brown, of Palm City, was carrying twins in July 1997 when she was admitted to Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach for premature contractions. One of the twins, Sydney Preshong Brown, died in utero.

A few weeks later, doctors determined that the other twin, Jordan Preshong Brown, was in distress and decided to deliver by Cesarean section.

The lawsuit contended that problems securing an operating room led to several hours of delay.

March 25, 2009

Altria, R.J. Reynolds Win Verdict in Florida Suit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris USA unit and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said they won a verdict in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed on behalf of a Florida smoker.

A state court jury in St. Petersburg, Florida, found the two biggest U.S. cigarette makers not liable in the case. The verdict is the first defense win in a so-called “post-Engle” tobacco suit in Florida.

The case is the third of its kind to be tried since the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 ruled that smokers could not sue as a class on behalf of smokers statewide. The court said smokers could sue individually and extended the time for them to do so. Thousands of such cases are pending across Florida.

March 22, 2009

Indiana Police Settle Wrongful Death Suit Over Police Crash

by Dr. Shezad Malik

City and police officials have agreed to pay a man $75,000 to settle a lawsuit filed after his fiancee was killed and he was seriously injured when a driver fleeing police crashed into his car.

Richard Garman’s settlement, allows the city of Indianapolis to avoid a costly trial without admitting liability in the fatal 1999 crash.

Garman’s case stemmed from a 50-second chase that reached 80 mph on city streets and ended when a fleeing driver struck the then 21-year-old Garman’s car, injuring him and killing his fiancee, J. Elizabeth Foster, 19.

Garman, now 30, sued based on his own injuries, which included broken ribs and collapsed lungs, as well as emotional distress and clinical depression spurred by Foster’s death. Garman’s injuries left him with more than $280,000 in medical bills.

March 21, 2009

Diacetyl Popcorn Workers Lung Victim, Wife Awarded $7.5 Million

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A jury has ruled in favor of a plaintiff in a Popcorn Workers Lung lawsuit. According to The Associated Press, the federal jury in Iowa yesterday ordered a flavorings manufacturer to pay the victim – who died just a day before of complications from Popcorn Workers Lung – and his wife $7.5 million for causing his injuries.

Popcorn Workers Lung is a potentially life threatening ailment, for which the only cure is a lung transplant. The disease – also known as bronchiolitis obliterans – has been linked to diacetyl, a chemical used to give microwave popcorn and other snack foods a buttery flavor.

March 21, 2009

Frat Hazing Wrongful Death Lawsuit Settled

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The mother of University of Colorado student Lynn “Gordie” Bailey, who died of acute alcohol poisoning in September 2004 after a fraternity-initiation ritual, has settled her lawsuit with the fraternity on the eve of the trial.

According to the lawyer who represented Leslie Lanahan, Bailey’s mother, said a settlement was reached with both the Chi Psi fraternity and the Alpha Psi Delta Corporation of Chi Psi, which owned the fraternity house in Boulder.

Bailey died the morning of Sept. 17, 2004, of acute alcohol poisoning. His blood-alcohol level was 0.328 percent.