Personal Injury News: Pick Of Last Month: May-2022

18-year-old's Plea In Fatal Crash Rejected By Jury

An appeal from prosecutors and an attorney for an 18-year-old man accused of killing four people in a traffic crash has been rejected by a Florida judge.

As per the lawsuit, the defendant stole a sports utility vehicle from Rapids Water Park and drove it at speeds high as 100 mph (161 kph). He ran a red light resulting in a collision with an SUV that was making a turn. The accident resulted in the death of all the passengers traveling in the SUV.

West Palm Beach police informed that they spotted the speedy vehicle before the mishap happened and even tried to stop it. The defendant is charged with vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter and grand theft for the crash. He was even sentenced to be prisoned for 10 years, but the attorneys representing the plaintiffs said that the punishment is very lenient.

As per the court records, the plaintiff would have pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft auto, vehicular homicide and two counts of each of DUI manslaughter. Even his driver's license has been revoked considering the crash.

Injured Child Gets $20.3M In Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A federal jury has awarded $20.3 million to a local family in a medical malpractice lawsuit against a University Health doctor for an injury to a child.

As per the court documents, a Jackson County judge announced the settlement citing that the doctor improperly treated the mother who was giving birth to a child. The child developed cerebral palsy due to the negligence of the doctor.

As per the firm representing the family's lawyer, the Jackson County jury ruled that the doctor failed to supervise a student doctor in terms of administration of medication used to speed up labor and also violated the duty. The overdose of Pitocin resulted in oxygen loss to the baby's brain, which resulted in cerebral palsy. The Pitocin overdose was evident on the monitoring equipment. The trial took place for two weeks.

The settlement will address all the future medical expenses, past and future noneconomic damages, and other future expenses for the child.

Waverly Flood Victims To Get $450M From CSX

A railroad company is sued for $450 million in damages for emotional distress and injuries suffered by Tennessee residents after a record-breaking flood last summer.

A part of Middle Tennessee was hit by a storm on August 21, 2021, which resulted in catastrophic flooding in Humphreys County. One of the town recorded precipitation of nearly 21 inches, which is the largest 24-hour rainfall record in a non-coastal state.

The flood resulted in the death of 20 people and even damaged properties of people, including cars and houses. The families of the individuals lost in the floods are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit claiming wrongful death, negligent infliction of emotional distress and general negligence.

As per the lawsuit, the flood was caused due to a debris-blocked culvert that was a part of the CSX Transportation railroad. It resulted in water backing up and pressurizing before being burst through the blockage and flooding the Waverly town.

The attorney representing the plaintiffs said that CSX should be held legally responsible for the incident and referred the calamity as manmade. CSX responded to the accusation by stating that the infrastructure of the culvert is regularly inspected and abides tofederal regulations.

The company has even been subjected to scrutiny in other cases related to floods. The attorneys even suggested that the company needs to build infrastructure keeping in mind the worst scenario, as per the climate change.

$83M For Victims Of Champlain Towers South Collapse

An $83 million settlement has been awarded by a Florida judge to the victims affected due to the collapse of Champlain Towers South residential building located in Surfside.

As per the court documents, on June 24, a part of the condo building collapsed in the middle of the night, killing 98 people. The victims of the accident ranged from 1 to 92 years old. The settlement was agreed upon in February, which stated that the condo association's insurance carrier will contribute $50 million of the total amount. The remaining $33 million would be generated from the sale of the property where the building stood. The opening bid for the property is set at $120 million.

The judge approved the settlement after listening to an emotional testimony that brought him to tears during the trial. The victims were referred to as the wrongful death class, and the survivors were addressed as economic class.

The jury even informed that the settlement is mandated with two conditions where the condominium owners will get the money only after the sale of the property, and $750,000 will be deducted to compensate counsel and for the past expenses of maintaining the property.

City Of Portland Sues TriMet For $10M Over Faulty Construction Work

The region’s public transit agency and the construction company has been sued by the city of Portland's attorneys for $10 million in repairs over poor construction work on a Southeast Portland streetcar platform.

The lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court against TriMet and Stacy and Witbeck. Both of these are California-based construction companies that were hired by the transit agency to make improvements to the streetcar platform located near the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

As per the lawsuit, two governments entered into an agreement for the project and a firm was to be hired by TriMet to make fixes to the city-owned platform. Ultimately Stacy and Witbeck was hired as the main contractor by the agency.

The lawsuit argues that the construction would need millions to fix severe changes. The suit even alleges that the company failed to supervise subcontractors and perform in a professional manner to construct the platform, which had cracks and other foundational flaws.

The city has maintained a streetcar system for over two decades that runs through downtown. Trimet launched a “Eastside Close the Loop Project” along with the city in 2013 to create a full streetcar loop around the central city tha would connect the Tilikum Crossing Bridge.