Archive for March, 2011
Drug Prescribed by Doctor Used to Overdose 4 year Old Girl Reports Arkansas Personal Injury Lawyer
When a wrongful death involves a young child, it is heartbreaking. In this case, the parents and the child’s psychiatrist were guilty of causing the child’s death.
“This was a really tough case and it resulted in the wrongful death of a 4-year-old little girl who is dead as a result of an overdose of psychiatric drugs prescribed by the doctor named in the suit. Shockingly, the parents were convicted of killing their daughter by negligently giving her drugs for ADHD and bipolar disease,” said Michael G. Smith, an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas.
The settlement in the case was based on the maximum amount of medical malpractice insurance that may be paid out on behalf of a doctor. Because there was a full payout to the maximum allowable limit, the family may assume that the doctor was indeed culpable in the child’s death, even though there was no admission of wrongdoing on the part of the doctor.
“At the time of the little girl’s death, all three of the children had been seeing the same doctor and were receiving the same medications. There were questions about why the doctor was not held criminally negligent in the death as well. Testimony at trial indicated the psychiatrist had been duped by the parents into believing their children had major psychiatric problems. Evidently, this was done so the parents could collect federal disability checks,” Smith said.
The sad part of this whole affair is that the doctor seemingly did not know that the parents were giving extra medication to their children. While it is nice that the case was settled in favor of the estate of the 4-year-old girl, no amount of money will ever make the situation right or bring her back to life. That is part of the reason why people file wrongful death lawsuits – to obtain justice and to get financial compensation for the loss to allow them to continue on with their lives.
Wrongful death lawsuits are not about getting even with the people who caused the death, as compensation will not make up for the loss of a loved family member. Suing for compensation is not about greedy people wanting to punish someone and get money. It is about making the life of the survivors easier. They should not have to suffer financial ramifications as a result of a death caused by someone else.
“Do you know when you have a wrongful death case? If the death of your loved one happened as the result of a drunk driver, reckless, speeding trucker, auto accident, unsafe premises or a defective product or a medication error, like this case, you may have a wrongful death case. By all means, if you aren’t sure, give my office a call. I would welcome the chance to talk to you,” Smith said.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
Wrongful Death Came Calling In The Form Of A Deadly Prank
Pranks that take on a deadly element may be responsible for the wrongful death of an innocent victim. Such is the story in this case.
This is a case our law office read about and that involved a young sophomore who died as a result of a college prank gone awry. Often people relate best to actual case examples when learning more about how the law works when it comes to personal injuries and wrongful death lawsuits.
In this case, the 19-year-old man who died was living in a house with three other roommates. One night, while he was asleep, the other roomies got drunk and decided to play around with fireworks. Someone came up with the idea of sticking two Roman candles under the young man’s bedroom door with the idea that it would scare him awake and they could all have a good laugh when he came running out.
Roman candles are quite active when they get lit and often spew out at least 10 or more fireballs. With two of them under his door, there would have been roughly 20 fireballs blasting off into his room. The pranksters beat it outside and when they looked up at his room, they realized the whole thing was on fire by the glow in the window. They tried to save him but the intense heat drove them back.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed by the man’s parents stated that the four other boys who pulled this deadly prank were negligent and acting in a willful and wanton way and totally disregarded the safety of their son by starting a fire in his bedroom. The end result of the trial in this case was that the jury awarded the man’s family $700,000 for his wrongful death. The four all pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter; a move that netted them a plea bargain that gave them probation and six months in jail.
This was a totally devastating case for the dead young man’s family. They thought he was safe with his friends. Little did they know that when the alcohol prevailed and overrode common sense, that their son would lose his life. What the four boys did was negligent, reckless and ultimately fatal. The presence of negligence is required in a wrongful death case and that negligence must be the proximate or direct cause of the death. In this instance, it was clearly the fireworks placed under the door by the boys that led to another’s demise.
If you have been in a similar situation or involved in another scenario where you lost someone you loved because of the actions of another, it is best to seek an Arkansas injury lawyer right away. Wrongful death lawsuits are civil, not criminal, cases and they are also subject to the Statute of Limitations, meaning you only have a certain amount of time to file suit or lose your chance. Just remember that every state has different wrongful death provisions and you will need to speak to a skilled Arkansas injury lawyer to find out what applies in your case.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
Make Sure an Insurance Policy Really Exists Cautions Arkansas Personal Injury Lawyer
Just because someone pays for insurance and gets a receipt, it does not mean they actually have insurance. A person should always confirm that they have it.
“This case stunned a whole lot of people who trusted and relied on an insurance agent to do what she said she would do, but ultimately, never did. It seems this case involved an insurance agent/broker who was consistently stealing the insurance premium money from her clients,” said Michael G. Smith, an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas.
The woman’s home community was in shock when they found out the local insurance broker had been stealing premiums from her clients. Unfortunately, it did not appear that this latest case was something new. In fact, two local residents had filed a lawsuit in 2008 after they had an accident and found out they did not have insurance coverage. The light-fingered broker agreed to pay the plaintiff in that case $8,500.
In April 2009, another insurance broker sued the broker in small claims court for $5,100 that was a down payment for 26 car insurance policies. The thieving female broker did not show up for court and there was a default judgment issued. “In May of the same year, the female broker was sued by another insurance agency claiming she sent fraudulent checks that bounced. She once again chooses to not go to court and the plaintiff is awarded a default judgment in the amount of $16,213,99,” Smith said.
In 2010, there were a further two small claims actions against the same female broker, for similar reasons. The end result of all this illegal activity? The woman was charged with 33 felonies on behalf of 13 clients, covering the time period from 2006 to 2010. The key to her scam appeared to be that she sold homeowners and auto insurance, but did not turn in the paperwork or all of the premiums collected. Since the full premiums were not sent in and there was no paperwork, the policies were never issued.
“In one other case involving the female insurance broker, she charged a 94-year old woman close to $3,000 over four years for an insurance policy she did not have. If there had been a fire, the elderly woman would have lost everything she had,” Smith said about a situation too distressing to consider. There are still investigations into who else did not get insurance, despite paying premiums.
“It seems the scams did not end with stealing premiums and the woman also handed out insurance ID cards for invisible, nonexistent auto policies. It turns out that five of her clients were involved in accidents and all of them thought they had insurance, but did not. It is quite the mess and the lesson here is to always make sure you do have insurance,” Smith said.
“This type of conduct is reprehensible and it appears that it is also far too common in the insurance industry. While you may think you know your insurance agent, double check to make sure you actually have insurance,” Smith said.
Learn more by visiting http://www.Arkansaslawhelp.com
Big Rig Disintegrates Upon Impact
You do not often see cases like this one. The big rig slammed into a median on the highway and the front end disintegrated.
This particular big rig crash was nothing short of completely spectacular. The semi could be seen travelling along the highway, suddenly veering into the median and plowing through it. Usually, in cases like this, the truck would jump the median or jackknife and roll over. This truck, however, completely disintegrated right on impact, with the pieces flying across the other two lanes of traffic.
As a result of this wreck, there was a 40-car pileup right behind the rig, or what remained of the rig. It was a nasty chain reaction that miraculously did not involve too many serious injuries. One woman, who climbed out of her car after she crashed, was struck and killed at the scene. Her family will likely want to file a wrongful death lawsuit with an Arkansas injury lawyer and get the case either settled fairly or taken to trial for justice.
What caused the 18-wheeler driver to lose control? This and a whole series of other questions will dog the investigation until the police are able to sort out what the trucker was doing just prior to losing the rig and it spinning out of control. There is certainly speculation that the trucker may have dozed off at the wheel, been driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, was texting, was reaching for something on the dashboard and took his eyes off the road or was speeding despite unsafe winter road conditions.
Any one of the drivers and passengers of the 40 vehicles involved in this horrendous crash may want to speak to an Arkansas injury lawyer about recovering the costs of their medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and other items. While the injuries may have seemed to be minor on the surface, silent injuries, like whiplash or traumatic brain injury, may not show up until later.
If you have even been in an accident like this, do not wait to call an experienced Arkansas injury lawyer and discuss your case. You will find out your rights, what to expect when you go to court, what damages you may claim and find some closure in the process.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicingpersonal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
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