Nebraska Widower Files Wrongful-Death Lawsuit in Crash
A Palmer widower has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the man who drove the tractor involved in the crash that killed his wife.
Donald McClellan filed the lawsuit Friday in Hall County District Court.
In it, he says James Ostermeier was negligent in the April 23 crash because he was intoxicated and failed to turn on the tractor's lights and warning devices. He's seeking unspecified damages.
McClellan's 82-year-old wife, Delores, was killed when their car collided with the back of the tractor, which was hauling a corn planter. McClellan was injured.
Earlier this month, Ostermeier pleaded no contest to felony manslaughter. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 15.
Dakota County deputy faces new charges in new case
A Dakota County sheriff's deputy who killed a man with his squad car last year now faces new charges.
Prosecutors filed charges of driving while impaired and open bottle Friday against 30-year-old Joshua James Williams on Friday.
He was arrested Nov. 15 after a fellow deputy clocked him traveling 68 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone. The criminal complaint says the officer found a partially consumed can of beer in Williams' back seat. He failed his alcohol tests.
The attorney for Williams declined comment.
Williams had been convicted of careless driving in a crash that killed motorcyclist Bill Wallace in 2007. The Wallace family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county.
Williams has been placed on paid leave. He already has a drunken driving conviction from 1998.
When called about the suit, parents Tammy and Brian Houtakker wouldn't comment, and their lawyer didn't return phone calls.
Wife of Barker’s assistant sues over crash
The wife of Travis Barker's assistant has sued over the South Carolina plane crash that killed her husband earlier this year.
Otilia Villar Baker, wife of Chris Baker, sued several aviation companies and the estates of two pilots in Los Angeles, alleging negligence and wrongful death. The lawsuit was also filed Tuesday on behalf of the Bakers' young son, Sebastian.
The suit claims the companies contributed to the Sept. 19 crash that also killed the two pilots and Barker's bodyguard. Barker and musical collaborator Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, were severely injured.
The suit seeks damages for pain and anguish Baker suffered before his death, loss of earnings, companionship, repayment of funeral and other costs.
No 3rd trial for agent in migrant’s shooting death
Prosecutors in southeastern Arizona say they won't seek a third trial for a U.S. Border Patrol agent charged in the shooting death of an illegal immigrant.
Two juries this year were unable to reach a verdict in the case against Nicholas Corbett. Cochise County prosecutor Doyle Johnstun says his office will move to dismiss charges but could refile them if more evidence emerges.
Corbett was tried on second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide charges in the January 2007 death of Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera of Puebla, Mexico. Witnesses say Dominguez-Rivera was surrendering, but Corbett says he was poised to throw a rock at his head.
Dominguez's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against Corbett in U.S. District Court.
Wrongful death lawsuit filed in drowning at Wilderness Hotel
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed last month in Sauk County Circuit Court by the parents of a 4-year-old boy who drowned last year at the Wilderness Hotel and Golf Resort in Lake Delton.
The suit, filed by the parents of the victim, Tyler Houtakker, of Asbury, Iowa, claims Wilderness Hotel employees were negligent by failing to notice Tyler's distress in a wave pool that wasn't active, and for failing to rescue him.
According to a Lake Delton Police Department report, in June of 2007, after Tyler was seen floating face down in the pool by a lifeguard, a citizen was asked a minute or two later to bring Tyler out of the water where lifeguards and security personnel tried to resuscitate him.
The report said the lifeguard who noticed Tyler face down in the water asked Deven Mallo, a lifeguard supervisor, twice if it was OK to help the boy and was told not to by a supervisor.
The supervisor later told police "guests get angry when lifeguards enter the pool for non-emergency situations."
Before noticing the boy face down, reports state the lifeguard saw the boy in the not-so-crowded pool, swimming underwater before she spoke to her manager for about 15-30 seconds.
Parents said in a police interview their son probably didn't know how to swim.
In a follow-up investigation two months later, a Lake Delton detective, Kurt Doodreau, noted there was no cause for criminal negligence charges and no charges were filed by Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett.
A lawyer for the Wilderness Hotel, Jay Starrett, questioned the statement by Mallo, about guests getting angry when lifeguards enter the pool.
"I think that is an out-of-context comment, and I don't know if it has anything to do with these circumstances," Starrett said. "I'm not denying the police report, I'm denying that the conversation was in the context it was in."
In a response to the lawsuit, the Wilderness Hotel alleged that Tyler's parents, "negligently failed to properly supervise Tyler Houtakker," "failed to adhere to the water safety notice provided at check-in" and also "failed to adhere to the rules posted on signs in the water park."
Widow of Sioux Falls basketball coach sues insurance firm over death benefits
The widow of a record-breaking Sioux Falls high school basketball coach says an $83,000 life insurance claim was wrongfully denied.
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Micki Tibbetts, whose husband Fred Tibbetts died of colon cancer in February, filed a lawsuit Monday against Mutual of Omaha and its underwriter, United of Omaha. She wants a federal judge to force the insurer to honor the policy.
Tibbetts began working as a speech therapist with the Sioux Falls School District Jan. 23, according to the complaint.
She said a Mutual of Omaha agent told her when she was hired that Fred’s illness would not prevent her from receiving life insurance benefits after his death, but the company denied her claim two months later.
Tibbetts was the winningest coach in South Dakota girls basketball when he died at age 58. His son, Nate Tibbetts, coaches the Sioux Falls Skyforce, an NBA Developmental League team.
Family of trampled man sues Wal-Mart
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- The family of a worker trampled to death in a "Black Friday" crush of bargain hunters at a Long Island Wal-Mart store filed a Minnesota Wrongful Death Lawsuit on Wednesday, claiming store ads offering deep discounts "created an atmosphere of competition and anxiety" that led to "crowd craze."
The Minnesota lawsuit claims that besides failing to provide adequate security for a pre-dawn crowd estimated at 2,000, Wal-Mart "engaged in specific marketing and advertising techniques to specifically attract a large crowd and create an environment of frenzy."
11th death of 2008 at Glenwood center
It was supposed to be a mother-son day for Georgette Alexander and her son, Timothy. Instead, she attended the funeral of her only child Wednesday.
Timothy Nelson Alexander, 26, never made it home to Oskaloosa, Iowa, for the holiday this year. He died Saturday, two days after being found unconscious in his bed at the Glenwood Resource Center.
Alexander believes her son's death was the result of negligence, and she's planning a Iowa Wrongful Death Lawsuit against the Glenwood Resource Center. State officials say proper protocols were followed in the case.
Saturday marked the 11th death of a resource center resident this year. The state cited the resource center in connection with one of the deaths earlier this year. The facility has about 320 residents and is Iowa's largest facility for people with developmental disabilities.
Timothy Alexander, who had a seizure disorder, fell ill Nov. 19, according to Georgette Alexander. She and her husband received a call from someone at the resource center, who said he had a seizure while eating and choked on his food. He had been taken to the hospital.
Georgette's husband called to check on Timothy the next morning, and he was back in his room after a short stay in the infirmary. Timothy had eaten breakfast, taken his medicine and gone back to bed, his father was told. When center staff went to tell Timothy his father was on the phone, they found him unresponsive.
"It could've been prevented. They made the wrong call,'' Georgette Alexander said, "by not providing constant supervision.''
After Timothy's past hospital stays, he was observed in the infirmary for 48 to 72 hours, she said.
Sally Titus, deputy director for field operations for the Iowa Department of Human Services, which operates the center, said privacy laws prevent the agency from commenting directly on Timothy Alexander. But Titus does not believe staff members at the center violated policies.
Arizona State University Study Finds Medical Errors Kill Thousands Of Americans
A new Arizona State University study has found that American hospitals are making preventable medical errors that kill thousands of Americans each year. Officials say that number is the equivalent to a jumbo jet crash once a day.
The reported concerns revolve around the issues of the increase in the number of people dying , the lack of fully implemented life saving information technologies (IT) tools, and under-staffing. While there is a debate at present concerning the problems with new technology and if it creates more errors, it seems clear that there are uniform changes that most agree can help with the clarity and review of records.
As with any Minnesota wrongful death hospital due to medical error , there are a number of issues that will need to be reviewed. My partner, Joe Crumley, addressed the general wrongful death topic in a recent article for the Minnesota Lawyers Trial magazine. I was interviewed last year on the same topic.
This is an area of law that requires prompt attention and help from a trained legal adviser. The legal adviser has to be able to deal with not only the insurance issues, but also the various medical questions involved. In each of these cases, time may be very limited. It is important that the advice of an attorney is obtained as soon as possible. These cases also require the help of a knowledgeable medical expert. It is essential that all issues are dealt with as soon as possible.
Glenwood resident dies; Oskaloosa mom plans to sue
An Oskaloosa woman believes her only son died as the result of negligence at a state-run home for the disabled.
Timothy N. Alexander, 26, died Saturday after being found unresponsive in his room at the Glenwood Resource Center, where he had lived for five years.
His mother, Georgette Alexander, works for the Iowa Department of Human Services, which runs Glenwood. She said Tuesday that she was planning a wrongful-death lawsuit against her employer.
"I just can't believe they did this to my son," she said. "After the last death they had there, I remember telling my co-workers, 'They had better hope and pray that never happens to my son.' "
The newly reported death was the 11th at Glenwood this year, and it came at a time when the facility was already under investigation for what advocates claim is an unusually high number of deaths. In April, the state's own inspectors cited Glenwood for negligent care that allegedly contributed to one of those deaths. Last month, the home was fined $27,500 for repeatedly failing to give oxygen to a resident with respiratory problems.
Department of Human Services officials declined to comment, other than to confirm the death of a 26-year-old resident of the home.
Georgette Alexander said her son's death stemmed from an incident last Wednesday night when he choked on food while eating dinner at Glenwood. She said her son suffered a seizure, was taken to a hospital and then was taken back to Glenwood later that night.
On Thursday morning, she said, her husband called Glenwood to check on their son's condition.
"My husband called at 10:15, and they said, 'Well, he got up and had a little bit of breakfast and took his medicine and said he was going to go lie back down.' And they said, 'Well, we'll go get him.' And my husband said, 'No, I just want to make sure he's all right.' They said, 'No, that's OK.' Well, when the staff took the phone back there for Tim to talk to his dad, they found him. He wasn't breathing. There was no heartbeat."
Alexander said the staff administered CPR and her son was rushed to a local hospital. On Saturday, he remained unresponsive, his brain was swelling and he couldn't breathe on his own. On a doctor's advice, the family decided to disconnect the life-support machinery.
Alexander said that while the Glenwood staff members couldn't be expected to prevent her son's seizures, they should have followed the usual practice of placing him under observation in the facility's infirmary after he returned from the hospital. Instead, she said, her son was taken to the house he shared with other residents on the Glenwood campus.
"A staff person told me that was because they had their hands full over at the infirmary," Alexander said. "Had they kept him at the infirmary like they should have, no matter what the circumstances were, there would have been somebody there with him - somebody who could have revived him."
In November 2007, U.S. Department of Justice officials wrote to the Iowa attorney general to say that Glenwood had serious deficiencies in resident care. The most immediate concern was related to the home's overall clinical care and the staff's failure to minimize the residents' risk of choking while eating.
The seriousness of those problems was underscored by "two recent deaths" at Glenwood, the Justice Department said at that time.
Alexander said her son was "full of life" and loved being with people and telling jokes.
"He wasn't a medically fragile person and, you know, he had at least 50 good years left in him," she said.