Category: Wrongful Death

The unexpected death of a loved one is devastating for surviving family members, especially if it was the result of an accident or negligence. Fortunately, the Florida Wrongful Death Act, a state law, ensures that surviving family members who qualify have a means by which to obtain compensation for their loss.

The law allows for surviving family members who were dependent financially or emotionally on the decedent – such as a wife or children – to file a lawsuit against the person or company responsible for the negligence that caused the death.

Commonly, Wrongful Death cases involve automobile accidents, accidents involving motorcycles or semi-trucks, or pedestrians. They can also include victims of criminal or other actions who die from their injuries. A death occurring as a result of a botched medical procedure, or nursing home neglect, may also provide the basis for a Wrongful Death lawsuit.

In addition to replacing lost future wages, a Wrongful Death lawsuit can also allow for a grieving family to recover monetary damages for their pain and suffering. Money certainly cannot replace a loved one. But faced with the tragic circumstances of losing a husband or wife, compensation for pain and suffering can help assist the healing process.

Here are some of the most commonly frequently asked questions we receive about Wrongful Death cases.

Who are we suing in a Wrongful Death case?

It’s a common misconception among the public that personal injury lawyers “sue people”. That’s not completely accurate. We bring legal claims to recover monies from any insurance company that has a current policy with whomever the negligent party is. That is the standard for all personal injury case types our firm accepts, whether it be an automobile accident, a slip and fall, or a Wrongful Death. We try to obtain a recovery from insurance companies, not people.

With a Wrongful Death lawsuit, our job as personal injury lawyers is to hold the insurance company responsible for paying the Wrongful Death claim. After all, the negligent person or company paid insurance premiums to protect them from their possible negligence. It is therefore the insurance company’s responsibility to pay the claim.

Who can file a Wrongful Death lawsuit?

Florida law dictates who among the surviving family members can file a Wrongful Death lawsuit. The surviving spouse, as well as any natural or adopted children, can bring a claim. In cases where there is no surviving spouse, but there are children, a claim can still be filed. Also, it’s possible for a claim to be filed by a sibling, in some limited circumstances.

However, it’s important to note that each case is different, and there may be reasons that preclude an individual from filing a Wrongful Death claim, even if there is clear negligence involved. It’s best to consult a personal injury lawyer if you are wondering whether you qualify to file a potential claim.

How do you determine how much money a Wrongful Death lawsuit is worth?

How much a case is worth is the most common, yet the most difficult, question to answer. Each individual circumstance of a case needs to be taken into consideration in order to determine the value of a case.

The value of a case is referred to by lawyers as “damages”. Damages can vary widely, again, depending on the circumstances of the case, including how “at fault” or negligent the Defendant was at the time of the accidental death. Every case is different, and it is impossible to say how much a “typical” wrongful death case is worth.

We hope that you never suffer the loss of a loved one due to another’s negligence. But if you do, make sure to consult a qualified attorney with experience in handling these types of cases.

Changes in a nursing home’s financial status can sometimes lead the executives of the company to do terrible things to hide their problems. Things like fraud, understaffing and wrongful death can occur as a result, and that’s what appears might have happened in a Florida nursing home last year. Wrongful death damages due to claims of “lethal negligence” and “civil conspiracy” have been filed against Lakeland Hills Rehabilitation Center, two of it’s past administrators, Ellis J. Williams and Ruth J. Bentley, and it’s management company Senior Health Management.

The suit claims Barbara J. Seabron died last year due to a host of untreated severe infections including MRSA and sepsis. The claim states that there was a “failure to monitor significant signs and symptoms” of these infections and that the nursing home staff and administration should be held responsible.

The suit contends that in order to increase revenues, of which Williams and Bentley were paid a percentage as a management fee, Lakeland Hills management increased the severity level of health conditions of people that would be admitted there as residents. There was no commensurate increase of staff or the hiring of more qualified personnel that the more ill residents required. Money paid by residents was transferred to a non-profit corporation the suit claims didn’t exist. In addition, assets were transferred to a third company, Airamed, “to avoid creditors,” which included nursing home residents and past owners of Senior Health, leaving less to be spent on the more critical patients’ care.

Nursing home litigation takes a very long time, and these lawsuits are extremely complicated. These kinds of claims are almost always fiercely defended by the nursing home’s counsel. If you’re the victim of nursing home abuse, you need an experienced, dedicated lawyer like Craig Goldenfarb.

Every year more than 200,000 Americans die of sudden cardiac arrest, the unexpected stoppage of the normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract. This prevents oxygen from getting to all parts of the body, including the brain. If cardiac arrest goes untreated for more than five minutes, brain injury is likely to occur.

The odds of survival increases and the risk of brain damage decreases if the patient can be immediately treated with an Automated External Defibrillator, or AED. An AED is a device that is about the size of a lunch box that analyzes a heart rate, determines if it is treatable, and then attempts to shock it back to a sustainable rhythm.

AEDs are so effective that in 1997, Florida law mandated that AEDs be installed in many public locations in order to save the lives of those suffering from sudden cardiac arrest. These AEDs are designed to be easily used by a bystander with little training. They provide visual and voice prompts that guide the user through the process of delivering a resuscitating shock.

However, even a trained user cannot save a life with an AED that is defective. In the past five years, numerous models of AEDs have been recalled because of design problems or other defects.

Here is a list of AED recalls from 2006-2010:

• Physio-Control Inc., LIFEPAK 20 and LIFEPAK 20e External Defibrillator/Monitors were recalled on May 27, 2010 because a failure on the power supply assembly can result in either “No DC power” or “No DC or AC power”. The failure of battery power can result in the inability to deliver defibrillation therapy.
• Defibtech LLC, DBP-2800 Battery Pack for ReviveR AED™ and Lifeline AED® Semi-automatic External Defibrillators were recalled on May 21, 2010. AEDs used with the affected battery packs may falsely detect errors and not provide shock therapy when needed.
• Physio-Control Inc., LIFEPAK 15 Monitor/Defibrillators were recalled on March 4, 2010 because of a potential for the device to unexpectedly power Off and then On by itself, or power Off and not turn On again, or power On and not allow itself to be turned Off. These defects can prevent the unit from delivering needed therapy.
• Cardiac Science Corporation’s Powerheart, Cardiovive, NK, and Responder Automated External Defibrillators were recalled on November 13, 2009 because defects in some electronic components may not be detected in the device’s self-tests. The defects can cause the device to malfunction during a rescue attempt and prevent resuscitation.
• Cardiac Science Corporation’s Powerheart, CardioVive, Nihon Kohden, and GE Responder Automated External Defibrillators were recalled on October 12, 2009 because they may not have received adequate electrical safety testing prior to being shipped from the factory.
• Physio-Control Inc., LIFEPAK CR Plus Automated External Defibrillators were recalled on July 31, 2009 because in an extremely humid environment, the LIFEPAK CR Plus AED may improperly analyze heart rhythm and this may cause the device to delay or fail to deliver therapy.
• ZOLL Medical Corporation, ZOLL AED Plus Defibrillator was recalled on February 12, 2009 because the AED failed to deliver the defibrillation energy.
• Welch Allyn AED 10 Automatic External Defibrillator and MRL JumpStart AEDwere issued three separate recalls on December 15, 2008 because the device may experience: low defibrillation energy delivery, unexpected device shutdown, and/or inadequate filtering of electromagnetic noise. Any of these issues could lead to a sudden stoppage of the device and may prevent defibrillation of a patient in cardiac arrest.
• Physio Control, Inc. LifePak CR Plus Automated External Defibrillators were recalled on August 28, 2008. This AED instructs the responder, using voice prompts, to press the shock button. But, because of improper design, the shock button is not visible and the responder is not able to provide therapy.
• Welch Allyn AED 10™ Automatic External Defibrillators were recalled on October 26, 2007 because of a defective part that caused a possibility of the devices experiencing failure or unacceptable delay in analyzing a patient’s ECG resulting in possible failure to deliver the appropriate therapy.
• MRL/Welch Allyn AED 20™ Automatic External Defibrillators were recalled on August 24, 2007 because the devices may display a “Defib Comm” error message on the device display during use which may result in a terminal failure of the device to analyze the patient’s ECG and deliver the appropriate therapy.
• LifeLine® Semi-Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) and ReviveR® Semi-Automatic External Defibrillators were recalled on February 17, 2007 because the self-test software for these devices may allow a self-test to clear a previously detected low battery condition. This may leave the operator unaware of a low battery, and the device may be unable to deliver a defibrillation shock, which could result in failure to resuscitate a patient.
• Welch Allyn PIC 50™ Automated External Defibrillators were recalled on June 30, 2006 because an electrical contact problem may result in the device’s failure to provide a defibrillation shock, which could result in delay or failure to resuscitate the patient.
• Welch Allyn AED 20™ Automated External Defibrillators were recalled on June 15, 2006 because an electrical connection within the recalled devices may fail intermittently, impairing the device’s ability to analyze the patient’s heart rhythm and deliver appropriate therapy. There may or may not be an error message on the device display reading “DEFIB COMM FAIL SELF TEST FAILED.”

If you have lost a loved one because a defective or malfunctioning AED, West Palm Beach heart attack injury attorney Craig Goldenfarb can help. Mr. Goldenfarb has led the efforts to save lives in Florida with AED lawsuits that bring justice to those who have lost family members to cardiac arrest because there was no functioning AED present.

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