CIETC outrage not near end
Lawyers in the CIETC civil lawsuit agreed Thursday on an August 2010 trial date, which sets the stage for at least two more years of legal battles over roughly $1.5 million in taxpayer money allegedly misspent by former job-training executive Ramona Cunningham and others.
"There are a lot of different issues, and there are a lot of people in the case that weren't in the case before," said Leon Spies, attorney for former Iowa Workforce Development executive Jane Barto, one of those accused in the case. "I think the blister continues to fester."
Court revives suit in death at stadium
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A lawsuit brought by parents of an ABC Sports cameraman who died in 2003 after he fell at Camp Randall Stadium can move forward, an appeals court ruled Thursday.
Richard Umansky fell eight feet from a platform where he was installing a camera the day before he was to cover a football game between Wisconsin and Iowa. He suffered head injuries and died two days later.
His parents and estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Barry Fox, the director of facilities for Camp Randall. Fox was in charge of making sure the stadium complied with safety regulations.
The lawsuit claimed the platform lacked a railing required under state and federal rules and therefore Fox's negligence caused the death. The rules require platforms four feet or more above ground to have railings.
Lawsuit alleges sign change contributed to fatal accident
WABASHA -- A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Wabasha County and a Lake City man accused of being responsible for a traffic crash in November that killed one man.
James Welby, 58, died Nov. 19 from injuries he suffered in a collision at Wabasha County roads 2 and 25 near Elgin.
His daughter, Jennifer Welby of Chatfield, is trustee for his next-of-kin and is named as the plaintiff in the lawsuit filed in Wabasha District Court. James Welby is also survived by a son and another daughter.
According to the civil complaint, Welby was traveling west on Wabasha County Road 25 when his car was hit by a vehicle driven by Gary Walter Blum. Blum was traveling north on County Road 2 and failed to stop at a stop sign before crashing into Welby's vehicle.
Following the accident, Blum told authorities he was not aware of new placements of stop signs at the intersection weeks earlier. Blum was convicted Dec. 7 of a petty misdemeanor for failing to stop at the intersection and ordered to pay a $50 fine and $82 in fees.
In September, Wabasha County removed stop signs along County Road 25 and instead put stop signs along County Road 2 where there were none previously.
Des Plaines widow files wrongful death suit against railroad
The widow of a Des Plaines man who was run over by a train in October has filed a wrongful death suit against the owner of the train involved.
Veronica Kindle, of the 1500 block of Campbell Street, is asking the Canadian National Railway Company and Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation for a minimum of $50,000 for her husband Craig's pain and suffering prior to his death Nov. 12, 2007, as well as payment for his medical care and funeral services.
According to a Des Plaines police report, the engineer of a southbound Canadian National train said he saw Craig Kindle, 53, lying between the rails of the tracks in front of him near Algonquin Road and Lee Street about 11:45 p.m. Oct. 31, but couldn't stop the train in time to prevent it from passing over him.
Craig Kindle was unconscious when emergency personnel reached him so he couldn't say how or why he ended up on the tracks, Des Plaines Police Chief James Prandini said at the time.
Craig Kindle was rushed to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, for treatment but died 12 days later. He was survived not only by his wife, but also sons Matthew, 24; Daniel, 21; Ben, 13; and Sam, 9.