Cleveland Personal Injury Lawyer - Wrongful Death

Spangenberg Attorneys Obtain $2,000,000.00 Verdict for Motor Vehicle Collision

Nick DiCello — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:43:20 GMT

On August 27, 2009, a Toledo jury returned a verdict in federal court in favor of the family of Thomas and Therese Lee in the amount of $2,000,000.00 plus funeral expenses. Tom and Tess Lee were killed on August 31, 2007, while traveling on the Ohio Turnpike to attend a family wedding in Cleveland. Tom and Tess were killed when a vehicle traveling in the oppisite direction on the Turnpike crossed the grassy median and struck them nearly head-on. Tom and Tess are survived by their five children.

Prior to trial, the defendant attempted to assert a sudden medical emergency defense. No reliable scientific or medical bases existed, however, to prove that the driver of the vehicle that struck and killed the Lees experienced an unforeseeable and sudden medical emergency rendering him incapable of controlling his vehicle. After extensive investigation and pre-trial discovery, the Spangenberg attorneys petitioned the court to exclude evidence of any alleged sudden medical emergency at trial. After a hearing on the issue, the court granted the motion and excluded any evidence of sudden medical emergency at trial. The matter proceeded to trial only as to the amount of damages incurred by the Lee family as a result of their parents' death.

After a 3-day trial, the jury returned a verdict for $2,000,000.00 plus funeral expenses.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick DiCello

Three Ohio Women Killed in Head-On Collision in Oklahoma

Nick DiCello — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:34:05 GMT

Today, October 12, 2009, we are reminded how dangerous, and deadly, a driver's inattention or inability to stay awake and alert behind the wheel can be. Tragically, the lives of four motorists, including three women from Ohio, were taken today in a head-on collision near Barndall, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol identifies the dead as 69-year-old Christine Fulghum, 85-year-old Martha Jacobs and Lavonne Gantt all of Toledo, Ohio, and 84-year-old Norma Otterstetter of Southgate, Mich.

The three Toledoans were traveling in a van on State Highway 11 near Barndall, Oklahoma around 4:30 P.M. when a pickup truck traveling in the opposite direction collided with their van head-on. Early reports indicate that the driver of the pickup truck fell asleep in the moments before the collision.

more and more we hear stories and news coverage about people texting while driving or otherwise engagning in activities that undoubtedly distract them from their driving. In addition to inattentiveness, however, drowsiness or falling asleep behind the wheel is still the most dangerous of all.

The U.S. National Safety Council offers the following suggestions to avoid drowsiness while driving:

1) Get plenty of sleep before your trip. Stick to a regular sleep schedule.

2) Try not to drive between midnight and 6 a.m.

3) Try to take long trips with someone else, and switch drivers regularly.

4) Get on the road early in the day, and keep the car nice and cool to help you stay awake.

5) Make frequent stops -- about every 100 miles or two hours. Walk around, get a little exercise or have a snack.

6) Practice good driving posture -- head up, shoulders back and knees bent at about a 45-degree angle -- to help you stay awake.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick DiCello

Family of Ohio State University Freshman Who Was Crushed to Death by Elevator Sues University

Nick DiCello — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:16:11 GMT

The civil justice attorneys at Spangenberg, Shibley & Liber, LLP have filed suit against the Ohio State University over the death of freshman, Andrew K. Polakowski, who was crushed to death by a dormitory elevator on October 20, 2006. While descending with students inside, the elevator unexpectedly stopped with its doors open in between floors. Andrew attempted to exit the elevator and was crushed when it began descending once again. Andrew's parents, Kazimierz and Janina, claim the school was negligent in maintaining, inspecting, repairing, and operating the elevator in Stradley Hall.

The suit, filed in the Ohio Court of Claims, alleges the elevator had a faulty brake, an inadequate counterweight, a disconnected load-weighing device, no overload warning system, and no adequate safety device to keep it from falling if the brake failed or should the doors open.

After Andrew's death, the Ohio Department of Commerce, a state entity which monitors the safety of elevators in Columbus, Ohio, tested the elevator and determined it would not hold the weight (3,1250 lbs.) it was supposed to. Furthermore, the Department of Commerce concluded the main brake of the elevator failed.

Andrew, age 18, was the Polakowskis' only son. The family lives in Erie, Pennsylvania with Andrew's three sisters.

The Complaint initiating the suit can be read at www.cco.state.oh.us by clicking on "civil cases" and then "case information."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick DiCello

Hazing Kills

Nick DiCello — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:30:30 GMT

All of us have likely seen or been involved in some form of hazing over the course of our lives. Indeed, making the new guy or gal earn his or her stripes is tradition in school, fraternities and sororities, sports, the military, and even the workplace. Some would say it helps build a sense of cohesiveness, and I think some traditions certainly do. For example, making the rookies carry the water establishes team hierarchy and order in athletics as well as a sense of contribution on behalf of the newbies. The spectrum of hazing, however, ranges from constructive to innocent horseplay to violence and humiliation and even to death. In fact, most states now have laws on the books making hazing illegal and stiff punishments to back those laws up.

In the group dynamic, particularly when young people are involved, hazing can become wildly dangerous and quickly get out of control. Most of us have probably seen footage of the high school junior girls of a wealthy Chicago suburb being beaten and covered with feces by the senior girls in what was supposed to be a long-standing tradition of innocent hazing surrounding a powder puff football game. More tragically, however, most of us have probably heard a story about a college freshman in one of our higher learning institutions die from hazing. Recently, students at numerous colleges and universities have died from alcohol poisoning, water intoxication, DUI motor vehicle accidents, and suicide, all as a result of hazing. Even more students have been injured, expelled, incarcerated, or disqualified from participating in athletics because of their involvement in hazing-related activities. For an excellent video compiling numerous unfortunate hazing cases and that is intended to educate all of us about hazing go to http://inmemoryofjack.com/ and click on the video link.

Hazing is illegal and civil liability can reach a wide spectrum of people involved or who have the power to prevent it, including fraternities and sororities, their national chapters/organizations, school administrators, students, coaches, athletes, colleges and universities, employers, co-workers, and parents to name a few. No more can we endorse the attitude that hazing is harmless or not dangerous because it may be based on long-standing tradition.

If you or someone you know is participating in hazing or being hazed, you have an obligation to report it and try to stop it. If you or someone you know has suffered injury or death as a result of hazing you should not hesitate to contact a civil justice attorney to impose civil liability on those responsible.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick DiCello

Don't Wait Too Long....Time Lines for Filing Suit

Rebecca Castell — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 17:32:40 GMT

There is a clock ticking from the date you are injured....and it only hurts the victim. In Ohio, and every state, there is a "statute of limitations" which governs the amount of time which a victim has to file a complaint against the individual/s or company which caused him or her harm. This time period typically begins when the individual is injured, for example, when the car accident occurred, and runs for anywhere between one year to fifteen years, depending on the type of claim. Regardless of the type of action, either a personal injury claim stemming from a car accident to a dog bite to case involving stockbroker misconduct, there is always a limited time frame in which the victim can file suit.
Most people are unaware that there is a time limitation for pursuing claims. All to often, a victim of wrongdoing comes in who has a solid claim but has waited too long to file a claim against the wrongdoer.
Often, the victim has thought about getting an attorney and seeking compensation for their injury, but wants to wait to see if his or her injuries "get better." Perhaps the individual hasn't sought medical treatment because he or she is without health insurance and has no way to cover the treatment. By the time the victim comes to us, several years may have passed and the pain still persists. Unfortuantely, if the statute of limitations has passed, no claim can be made against the wrongdoer. This leaves the innocent victim without recourse for the pain, suffering and expense he or she has endured.

My desire is to help individuals to get the compensation they deserve when an injury has occurred due to someone else's negligence. If there is any question whether an attorney is needed after an injury occurs, call an attorney first. Do not wait to see if the symptoms get better or to see if things will resolve. It is better to call and ask than to not know. Help us help you!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rebecca Castell

Bluffton University Students Come to Grips with Grief After Bus Accident in Atlanta

Jack Landskroner — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 12:23:29 GMT

The injured students from the Bluffton University baseball team who were on the bus when it dropped 30 feet from a highway overpass are trying to recover from their physical injuries and come to grips with the loss four of their fellow players after the bus accident last week. At the same time students back on campus are also beginning the long road of managing the grief from the catastrophe.

Bluffton identified the players who died as sophomore infielder David Betts of Bryan, Ohio; freshman third and first baseman Scott Harmon of Lima, Ohio; freshman pitcher Cody Holp of Arcanum, Ohio; and sophomore outfielder Tyler Williams, also of Lima. Also killed were the bus driver, Jerome Niemeyer, and his wife, Jean, both of Columbus Grove, Ohio.

Despite these losses there is still the immediate need to get answers as to how such a horrible accident could have occured? Preliminary investigation suggests that the driver of the bus was well rested to ruling out sleep deprivation as a possible cause and that there were no substantial skid marks to suggest that the driver had any advanced notice or reason to believe that this was an exit ramp as opposed to a continuation of the highway.

Of the 42,643 people killed on our nation's highways in 2003, over 25,000 died when their vehicle left their lane and crashed. In some cases the vehicle crossed the centerline and was involved in a head-on crash or opposite direction sideswipe. In others, the vehicle encroached onto the shoulder and beyond to rollover or impact one or more natural or man-made objects, such as utility poles, bridge walls, embankments, guardrails, parked vehicles, or trees.

The State of Georgia, which seems to pride itself on attention to roadside safety, missed the boat on this tragic accident. The overwhelming evidence publicly released suggests that the sole cause of this accident was the inadequate highway design. Moreover, this was not an unexpected event but a foreseeable circumstance with over 80 prior incidents providing warning to the state that action should have been taken to correct the defect.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jack Landskroner

Defective Highway Design is Likely Factor in Injuries to Bluffton, Ohio Students

Jack Landskroner — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 10:51:18 GMT

The college students from Bluffton, Ohio involved in the horrific accident this week on Interstate 75 in Georgia, are not the first to be injured at this accident site.

The highway exit ramp where a bus carrying an Ohio college baseball team wrecked has been the site of numerous crashes and can be difficult for drivers to navigate, a federal transportation official said. Kitty Higgins, who is leading the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation into the fatal accident that killed six people and left eight still hospitalized, said Saturday that there have been several crashes at the uncommon, left-hand exit from a car pool lane the bus drove off. There were no visible signs telling drivers to slow down for the ramp, which ends at a T-intersection on the overpass, she said.

It appears that the driver took the poorly marked exit at full speed not recognizing that this was an off-ramp and not continuing highway. The design of the ramp is now in question after investigation has revealed that over 80 other accidents have occurred at this location. It appears that inadequate warnings and the possible defective design of the highway were direct contributing factors to the cause of the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jack Landskroner

Nursing Homes And Wrongful Death

Paul Grieco — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 17:20:08 GMT

Each and every day families are faced with the decision as to whether to send a loved one to a nursing home for either temporary care and treatment or for permanent care. The decision making process is a very tough one and due to recent cases, which have demonstrated the inadequate care many patients receive at nursing homes, the decision must be made only after a thorough investigation is conducted. Many times nursing homes are short staffed and improperly staffed. Many times those caring for the elderly just don't care. Just yesterday I spoke to a family whose loved one was sent to a nursing home for rehabilitation after a surgery. After spending a week in the nursing home she had to be rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered a horendous infection had basically shut down her system. She died a short time later. Stories like this are not unusual. Families who have loved ones pass away while in a nursing home or after being in a nursing home should ask questions of the facility and investigate exactly what happened. The answers discovered may very well show the nursing home was negligent and a wrongful death action may hold the nursing home facility responsible.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Grieco

Ford Worker Dies in Machine at Plant in 2nd Industrial Accident of Day

Jack Landskroner — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 11:59:29 GMT

Friday evening a worker at Ford's plant in Brookpark, Ohio was killed in an industrial accident when he fell into a machine.

Francisco Fraticelli of Broadview Heights died from injuries to his chest, abdomen and pelvis after falling into a machine at Ford's casting plant.

Fraticelli was a member of United Auto Workers Local 1250. The Union along with OSHA will be conducting an investigation the incident.

This alarming incident was not however, an isolated event, but shockingly it was the second catastrophic injury occurring at the plant that day, raising serious concerns about plant safety. Earlier Friday another worker was hurt suffering a workplace injury when he was hit in the face with what was believed to be a hook sending him flying into a pit of hot sand used in the mold making process. He suffered second degree burns and was taken to the hospital.

Workplace safety must be a priority at all industrial plants because the risk of harm can be so great. When an employer is aware of a dangerous circumstance or operation within its premises it must act to eliminate the risk of harm to its employees. If the employer fails to do so, the resulting injury gives rise not only to a claim for workers' compensation benefits but also to a claim for employment intentional tort where accountability and full recovery can be obtained for the injured victim and/or his family.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jack Landskroner

Nursing Home Injuries and Neglect Continue to Be a National Concern

Jack Landskroner — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 14:33:05 GMT

Across the country we continue to hear horror stories of nursing home neglect and negligence often resulting in injury and the wrongful death of loved ones trusted to these facilities. Injuryboard lawyer Barry Doyle recently blogged on an unfortunate incident at a Kansas City nursing home where the facility was fined as a result of the death of a resident.

The facility was using bed rails to alleviate the risk of falling. Unfortunately, the resident became trapped in between her mattress and the bed rails and died.

Mr. Doyle raises a concern about proper monitoring of residents who are at risk for falls and the dangers associated with the use of bedrails with certain patients. Family members should also be concerned about proper monitoring at nursing homes for residents who have a history of wandering, dementia, and who may have difficulty at meal time with chewing and swallowing as these residents pose a choking risk.

At bottom, if you are forced to place a loved one in a nursing home, it is imperative that you determine if the level of supervision offered and provided is comparable to the needs of the resident. Ask for the opportunity to observe other patients in the course of their daily activities and pay frequent visits to you loved ones until you can develop a level of assurance that your family member will not be ignored. This is the only sure way to avoid disaster.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jack Landskroner