Wisconsin Wrongful Death Lawyer category
1Suit filed in death of Horicon worker dismissed
1 September 2008
A wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a 2006 incident at a Portage construction site was dismissed in Columbia County Circuit Court on Monday because of a law that prevents employees from filing lawsuits against employers in such cases.
Nickolas Schanen, 46, of Horicon, died Nov. 1, 2006, of severe head injuries after he fell through a hole on the third floor of an addition to the Appleton Papers plant under construction on West Wisconsin Street. Schanen, who was working for Gunderson Construction Co. of Portage, landed on concrete at the ground level and died at the scene.
The lawsuit for damages on behalf of his estate against Appleton Papers Inc. of Appleton was filed in November 2007 and was headed for a jury trial in early 2009 until its dismissal.
Judge James O. Miller dismissed the case “with prejudice,” which bars further claims in the matter.
Schanen’s family members received no settlement from Appleton Papers or Gunderson Construction, said Schanen’s mother, Genevieve Schanen of Beaver Dam. Workers’ compensation paid for the funeral, she said.
A spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Chris Marschman, said that state workers’ compensation law allows for payment of funeral expenses and death benefits to dependents as the exclusive remedy against an employer in such cases. Dependents can get up to four times the annual pay of the worker or $241,500, an amount set by the state.
2Children of slain woman sue their father
16 August 2008
The four children of Elisabeth K. Witte, whose ex-husband is charged with killing her in a downtown parking garage, filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against their father.
Richard E. Reilly, a lawyer representing the children and their mother’s estate, said the suit is an effort to protect their interests in the father’s estate.
The father, Gerhard Witte, 70, is accused of stalking his ex-wife and slashing her throat in the garage after she performed in a Milwaukee Symphony Chorus concert. Police found him with her body and he confessed to her killing, authorities have said.
Witte, a physician, is awaiting trial on first-degree intentional homicide charges.
3Inmate gets 4 to 7 more years
13 August 2008
WORCESTER— A jail inmate found guilty of manslaughter in the death of his cellmate three years ago was sentenced yesterday to 4 to 7 years’ imprisonment.
Dennis R. Hadley, 52, was charged with murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (shod foot) in the Feb. 23, 2005, death of 42-year-old Daniel McMullen after an altercation in the cell the two men shared at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction in West Boylston.
A 12-member Worcester Superior Court jury convicted Mr. Hadley of involuntary manslaughter Thursday in the death of Mr. McMullen and acquitted him on the charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Judge Peter W. Agnes Jr. sentenced Mr. Hadley to 4 to 7 years in state prison yesterday. Assistant District Attorney Joseph T. Moriarty Jr. recommended a sentence of 12 to 15 years and Mr. Hadley’s lawyer, Margaret R. Guzman, proposed a sentence of time served or a 3- to 4-year prison term for her client.
Mr. McMullen, formerly of Douglas, died from complications of a ruptured spleen caused by blunt trauma, according to a medical examiner’s findings. Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Hadley, while wearing boots, kicked Mr. McMullen in the face and abdomen on the morning of Feb. 3, 2005, after an argument in their cell over a deck of playing cards.
Mr. Hadley, formerly of Rhode Island, told jail officials he pushed Mr. McMullen down after his cellmate poked him in the eye with his finger. He denied kicking Mr. McMullen.
Mr. McMullen, who was serving a sentence for a probation violation on a drunken driving charge at the time, suffered from advanced cirrhosis of the liver and an enlarged spleen, according to testimony at Mr. Hadley’s trial. He was initially treated at St. Vincent Hospital for a cut lip on the morning of the altercation and was returned to the jail. About 15 hours later, he was brought back to the hospital complaining of abdominal pain.
He was admitted at that time after diagnostic tests revealed internal bleeding from a torn spleen. Mr. McMullen developed pneumonia and an infection while hospitalized, lapsed into a coma and died.
Before imposing the 4- to 7-year sentence yesterday, Judge Agnes rejected a suggestion by James Mahoney, the victim’s brother-in-law, that Mr. McMullen’s death was attributable to “a total system failure” at the county jail. Mr. Mahoney said his family believed overcrowding and understaffing at the jail were as much, if not more, to blame for the death of their loved one than Mr. Hadley’s actions.
4Court revives suit in death at stadium
3 August 2008
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.
5Des Plaines widow files wrongful death suit against railroad
1 August 2008
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.
6Chief dropped from Wisconsin wrongful death suit
26 July 2008
WOODSTOCK - A Wisconsin wrongful-death lawsuit involving a McHenry father and son who drowned in McCullom Lake can go to go to trial after a judge dismissed claims over lake maintenance and the against the village’s police chief.
The San Juan family alleges the village did not properly mark the wading and swimming area off the village’s beach, where Jesus San Juan drowned in June 2001 trying to save his 9-year-old son, Sabas.
They also claim that McHenry dispatchers waited too long to send help. A rescue crew was at nearby Petersen Park but dispatchers waited 3 minutes and 24 seconds to send help because they did not know where in the lake the two were, San Juan family attorney Sean Burke said.
“The San Juans were still above water when these [two 911] calls were made,” Burke said.
The lawsuit no longer involves McCullom Lake Police Chief Anthony LoPorchio, who allegedly did not go into the water to help the struggling pair. A judge removed claims against LoPorchio Wednesday, because the chief did not have a legal responsibility to rescue them.
7Mark Jensen may get new trial in wife’s poisoning
2 July 2008
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Wednesday could improve the chances of a new trial for Mark Jensen, the former Pleasant Prairie man convicted this year of poisoning his wife in 1998.
One legal observer said a new trial is all but certain.
“I don’t see any possibility that (Jensen) will not get a new trial,” said Milwaukee attorney David Ziemer, news editor of the Wisconsin Law Journal.
At issue is whether a letter written by Julie Jensen implicating her husband in her death should have been used at Mark Jensen’s trial.
Several jurors said the letter, in which Julie Jensen told police to investigate Mark Jensen if something happened to her, was crucial in their decision to convict.
Before the trial, held in January and February, lawyers were watching the Dwayne Giles murder case in California, which had been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. They agreed that if the high court ruled in favor of Giles, Jensen’s chances for a new trial would improve.
Wednesday’s 6-3 high court ruling did go in Giles’ favor, as the justices reaffirmed defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses who testify against them.
Before Jensen’s six-week trial, the Wisconsin Supreme Court had adopted a new doctrine in the state, ruling that Jensen would forfeit his right to confrontation if it was likely that he was the reason Julie Jensen was not available to testify.
In turn, Jensen’s trial judge, Bruce Schroeder of Kenosha County Circuit Court, determined after a special hearing that Jensen was probably guilty. Schroeder allowed Julie Jensen’s letter, written about 10 days before her death, to be used in the trial.
Jensen’s lawyer, Craig Albee of Milwaukee, said he believes Wednesday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling will result in Jensen’s conviction being overturned.
“It’s hard to imagine it doesn’t mean a new trial,” Albee said.
With the high court ruling, it seems clear that Julie Jensen’s letter should not have been used at the trial because Mark Jensen’s defense had no way of questioning her about it, Albee said.
Albee had argued that Mark Jensen did not poison Julie Jensen by having her drink antifreeze, but rather that she committed suicide.
Jensen’s prosecutor, Robert Jambois, had agreed with other attorneys that a ruling in Giles’ favor would likely improve Jensen’s chances for a new trial. But he said the details of Wednesday’s decision, which he called complicated, led him to believe there was “high likelihood” that an appeals court would conclude the letter was properly used and Jensen’s conviction would be upheld.
If Jensen’s conviction is thrown out, prosecutors will re-try Jensen, even without the letter, Jambois said.
No appeal has been filed for Jensen, 48, who was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
In the California case, a murder victim had told a police officer that Giles had threatened to kill her.
Two weeks later, in September 2002, Giles shot her dead, claiming self-defense.
Giles’ attorneys argued that the police officer’s statement should not have been allowed at Giles’ trial, which ended with Giles being sentenced to 50 years in prison.
The California Supreme Court rejected Giles’ appeals, ruling that “no person should benefit from his own wrongful acts.”
The decision was similar to the one articulated by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the Jensen case.
From the June 26, 2008 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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8Appeals Court reinstates suit in Camp Randall death case
30 June 2008
A state appeals court Thursday restored the wrongful death lawsuit against a state employee brought after an ABC cameraman died from a fall at Camp Randall stadium while preparing for a Nov. 22, 2003 telecast of a Badger-Iowa football game.
The District 4 Court of Appeals opinion reverses a ruling by Dane County Circuit Judge John Albert, who dismissed the suit brought by the estate of Richard Umansky against Barry Fox, director of facilities at the stadium.
Albert had concluded that state employee immunity prevented Fox from being sued, but the Appeals Court found that Fox could be negligent because Umansky fell from a platform from which a railing had been removed. As a result, the suit can now be heard in Dane County Circuit Court.
State employees enjoy broad immunity from lawsuits when they use reasonable discretion in performing their jobs, but that immunity doesn’t shield them from liability when they fail to perform their ministerial duties as proscribed by rule or regulation, said Jason Knutson, one of the attorneys representing Umanksy’s parents, Harold and Thelma Umansky.
“This platform was built for camera operators, but the state took down a railing on the platform in 1999 and OSHA requires railings on these types of platforms including the missing one,” Knutson said.
The 38-page opinion written by Judge Margaret Vergeront states that Fox was responsible for complying with state and federal safety regulations and with at least one side of the platform open, Fox had a ministerial duty to follow applicable safety standards.
“Fox’s own testimony establishes that he had ‘the day-to-day single responsibility’ for the safety of the Camp Randall facility and that ‘ultimately’ it was his decision whether the platform met the OSHA requirements. Fox’s supervisory role no doubt gave him the authority to delegate tasks, but he remained responsible for compliance with” safety standards, Vergeront wrote.
Bill Koch, a spokesman for Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, had no comment on the decision.
Knutson said the immunity state employees have makes it “nearly impossible” to successfully sue the state. He cited a failed suit that several students brought in the mid-1990s after dozens were injured when fans rushed the field after a game against Michigan.
On the evening before the November 2003 game, Umansky, 48, fell about eight feet from the camera platform onto a concrete walkway while setting up equipment. He was found at about 11 p.m. and taken to a local hospital where he died two days later from head and back injuries, Knutson said.
Umansky, of Davies, Fla. had worked sporting events thoroughout his 20-plus-year career in television, said Knutson, although he didn’t know if Umansky had previously worked at Camp Randall.
OSHA fined ABC, Inc. $7,000 in connection with the incident, which ABC resolved in a $4,200 settlement.
In the OSHA settlement, ABC agreed that standard railings would be in place the next time it used the platform or if they interfered with the cameras, their operator would wear a safety harness.
9Murder victim’s family sues estate
20 June 2008
WOODSTOCK – The family of a woman found strangled in her Marengo home on Mother’s Day 2006 filed a lawsuit Friday seeking money from the estate of her alleged killer.
The family of Verna Corcoran, 83, filed the lawsuit against the suspect, Jose Manuel Aldaba-Grijaldo, 21.
Police fatally shot the man near Hampshire after he was spotted driving Corcoran’s car through Marengo the day of the murder and was chased for 15 miles.
Attorneys for Corcoran said it was unlikely that the man had assets to go after, since he came to Mexico six months before the slaying. But his family has filed a Wisconsin wrongful-death lawsuit in federal court against police in connection with the shooting.
“If there is any money recovered, whether it is a settlement or otherwise, we want to see that money go to her family,” said Philip Prossnitz, an attorney for Corcoran.
The Kane County State’s Attorney in October 2006 determined that the police shooting was justified.
“Money will never make anyone whole in this situation,” Prossnitz said. “But it’s the closest to any type of justice the family will ever see.”
10Judge orders assets frozen
8 June 2008
Waukesha - A Waukesha County judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order that freezes the assets of Mark M. Benson and prevents him from divesting resources that could be targeted in the wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit filed against him this week.