Wrongful Death

Washington DC Strangulation Accident Prompts Baby Monitor Recall

February 11, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last year, our Washington DC wrongful death lawyers reported on a DC injuries to minors accident linked to a baby monitor cord. Savannah Caroline, 10 months, died last March after she became entangled in the cord. Eight months later, a 6-month old baby died after he too was strangled because of his video monitor’s cord.

Now, Summer Infant and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are recalling about 1.7 million video baby monitors. The recall will allow Summer Infant to provide new on-product warning labels and instructions so that parents and guardians will know where they can place the baby monitor so that it doesn’t pose an injury hazard to kids. Summer Infant is also recalling the rechargeable batteries of another 58,000 video monitors because they pose a possible burn hazard. These monitors were sold at Babies R Us in 2009 and 2010.

Injuries caused by products that malfunction, have design defects, or fail to provide instructions or warnings on proper use can be grounds for a Washington DC products liability lawsuit against the manufacturer. The supplier or seller can also be held liable for DC personal injury or wrongful death for making the defective or dangerous product available for purchase.

Strangulation is an all too common problem when it comes to babies and certain product defects. Manufacturers know this and it is their responsibility to prevent these types of accidents from happening.

Last year, the CPSC provided a Safety Alert warning parents of what to do to keep their kids from strangling in a baby monitor cord:

• Make sure that the cord and the monitor is placed far away enough that the baby cannot reach for it.
• Make sure that the cord is over three feet away from any crib, play yard, bassinet, or sleeping area.
• As your baby grows, constantly check to make sure that he/she still cannot reach the monitor cord.
Two Strangulation Deaths Prompt Summer Infant to Recall Video Baby Monitors with Cords; Firm to Provide New On-Product Label & Instructions, CPSC, February 11, 2011
Big recall of baby monitors linked to 2 deaths, AP/Google, February 11, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Baby Products, Consumer Reports

Recalls

Related Blog Posts:
Washington DC Injury: Strangulation Accident Involving Baby Monitor Cord Causes 10-Month-Old’s Death, Washington DC Injury Lawyers Blog, October 28, 2010
Preventing Washington DC Injuries to Children: Graco Strollers, Fisher-Price Toys, and Drop-Side Cribs by Ethan Allen, Victory Land, and Angel Line Among Latest Recalls Issued, Washington DC Injury Lawyers Blog, October 23, 2010
Washington DC Injuries to Children: Banning Drop-Side Cribs, Washington DC Injury Lawyers Blog, August 17, 2010

Judge Refuses to Dismiss Washington DC Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Robert E. Wone Case

December 9, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A judge has refused to grant the requests of the three defendants in the Washington DC wrongful death lawsuit filed by Robert E. Wone’s family. Wone, a 32-year-old DC lawyer, was stabbed to death while at the DuPont Circle house where Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky, and Dylan Ward were living. All three men have been acquitted of criminal charges accusing them of covering up his murder. Wone’s widow Katherine, however, is still suing them for $20 million.

In the DC wrongful death complaint, which she filed in 2008, Katherine is accusing them of committing negligent, reckless, and intentional acts that led to her husband’s death, including a failure to act promptly to save his life. The three men have said that an unknown intruder entered their residence and killed Wone.

Attorneys for the three defendants had petitioned D.C. Superior Court Judge Brook Hedge to drop the civil suit on the grounds that the statute of limitations had passed. However, the judge did not agree with their claim. He noted that the most recent evidence was found in 2008 and was what prompted federal prosecutors to file the criminal charges against the men.

71-Year-Old Dies in Hit-and-Run Washington DC Pedestrian Accident

November 18, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Police have charged Michael Glover with negligent homicide in the Washington DC pedestrian accident death of Duffie Claridy, a 71-year-old man who went for a walk but failed to return to his Southeast home.

Claridy, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, was found by the authorities on the 2900 block of South Capitol Street SW at almost 1 am on November 8.The elderly pedestrian had been fatally struck by a car that did not stop at the Washington DC traffic crash site.

To “hit and run” is against the law. A DC car accident victim or an injured pedestrian who might otherwise have been saved if medical help had been called right away could end up dying because a motorist involved opted to flee the crash site rather than call the police and/or an ambulance.

Elderly Pedestrians

According to the US Department of Transportation, the chances of dying from injuries sustained during a pedestrian accident goes up with the older the victim. Senior pedestrians, ages 65 and above, have a two to eight times greater chance of dying than do younger pedestrians. In 1994, 15% of pedestrians in the senior age group who were struck by a car died from his/her injuries—that’s 1,249 senior pedestrians. 6,850 elderly pedestrians sustained injuries.

Washington DC Wrongful Death

Losing someone you love is never easy—especially if in an accident or under other circumstances that could have been prevented were it not for the other party’s negligence or carelessness.

Michael Glover charged in the death of Duffie Claridy in Washington, DC, Oye Times, November 13, 2010
Police say man charged with in hit-and-run death of SE Washington resident, The Washington Post, November 12, 2010
Focusing on Senior Pedestrians, US DOT
Related Web Resources:
Elderly Pedestrians, WalkingInfo.org

District of Columbia DMV

Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog

Pedestrian Accidents, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog

Washington DC Wrongful Death: Parents of Toddler Who Was Allegedly Refused Medical Transport File Lawsuit Claiming Paramedic Malpractice

October 19, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of two-year-old Stephanie Stephens is suing the city of Washington DC and DC Fire and EMS for her wrongful death. Stephens, who died last February, was allegedly refused medical transport after her parents contacted 911. At the time, she was having problems breathing. Yet it would be another 8 hours, and after Stephens’ condition grew worse and her mother contacted 911 again, before the toddler would finally be transported to the hospital.

Stephens later died from pneumonia. She also had septic shock and a strep infection.

According to the plaintiffs, who are also seeking damages for Washington DC medical malpractice, paramedics that arrived following the first 911 call failed to diagnose any of these health issues.

$50 Million Washington DC Wrongful Death Alleges Excessive Use of Police Force in Man’s Fatal Shooting

September 14, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The parents of a Fort Washington man are suing the US Capitol Police for Washington DC wrongful death. They are seeking $50 million in compensatory damages for what they are alleging was excessive use of police force.

According to Leroy and Thomasine White’s Washington DC police brutality complaint, police shot 27-year-old Kellen A. White at least 12 times on July 15, 2009 following a traffic stop.

While US Capitol Police contend that White attempted to flee in his 1999 Mercedes Benz, almost hit two cops, collided with a police vehicle, and shot at officers, his family contends that White was unarmed, did not pose a threat to anyone, committed no crime, and had followed the commands issued to him by police. They are arguing that the shooting was unjustified and excessive.

Washington DC Train Accident: NTSB Cites Systemic Problems Even Before the Metrorail Crash that Killed 9 People

July 27, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, Metro was experiencing systemic issues even before the June 2009 Washington DC train crash that left 9 people dead and injured at least 70 others. The Red Line collision, called the worst in Metrorail’s 34-year history, involved one transit train rear-ending another during rush hour. One train ended up jackknifing and falling on top of the other train.

The Metro’s tracks were not working properly at the time and did not automatically slow down the approaching train. This means that the train operator of that train was getting messages telling her that she could keep going at a speed of 55 mph. She applied the emergency brakes three seconds after seeing the other train. Although the brakes worked, this only gave the train enough time to slow down to 44mph by the time of impact. Now, NTSB Chairwoman Deborah A.P. Hersman is saying that Metro was on a collision course long before this train accident and that its safety system had already been compromised.

Prior to the June 2009 DC Metrorail accident, there had been other fatal crashes that had killed employees. Unfortunately, according to Hersman, Metro failed to implement the needed prevented measures after they happened.

$20 Million Washington DC Wrongful Death Case is Next for Three Men Acquitted of Covering Up Dupont Circle Murder

July 19, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Although Dylan Ward, Victor Zaborsky, and Joseph Price have been acquitted on charges that that they covered up the 2006 murder of DC lawyer Robert Wone, their legal troubles are far from over. They now must deal with a $20 million Washington DC wrongful death lawsuit accusing them of negligence, conspiracy, and spoliation of evidence.

Wone, a 32-year-old attorney for Radio Free Asia, was stabbed three times in the chest on August 2, 2006 at the DuPont Circle house shared by Ward, Price, and Zaborsky, who are in a polyamorous relationship with each other. The three defendants have always said that an unknown intruder murdered Wone. However, no evidence of a break-in has ever been found and no one was ever charged with murdering Wone.

Zaborsky, Ward, and Price were acquitted of the charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and evidence tampering. However, that doesn’t mean that Wone’s widow, Katherine, doesn’t have a good chance of collecting Washington DC wrongful death recovery from them.

One Year After Deadliest Metro Train Crash, Families of Victims Oppose WMATA’s Motion to Dismiss Washington DC Wrongful Death Lawsuit

June 26, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As loved ones and friends gathered on Tuesday to mark the one year anniversary of the deadliest DC Metro train crash in the Metrorail’s history, the attorneys for eight of the families gathered in court to file a motion opposing Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s petition, submitted last month, to dismiss their Washington DC wrongful death complaint on the grounds that because WMATA is a “quasi-government entity” it has “sovereign immunity.” The family of one of the victims, train operator Jeanice McMillan, is not included in the legal action.

The plaintiffs have accused WMATA of bearing no responsibility for the deadly Red Line crash that killed nine people and injured at least 70 others when one Metro train rear-ended the back of another train last June. One train ended up on top of the other, and firefighters had to cut open train cars to rescue some of the victims.

Metro contends that filing the “partial” motion to dismiss is standard and routine in a Washington DC wrongful death lawsuit. It says that it hopes that the case will be “resolved or tried as soon as possible.” The civil trial is tentatively scheduled for September 2011 but Metro wants it delayed until 2012.

Washington DC Wrongful Death Lawsuit Accuses Police of Negligence and Failure to Protect

April 14, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Kimberly Trimble is suing the District of Columbia, the Metropolitan Police Department, and unnamed cops for Washington DC wrongful death and police negligence, failure to protect, and failure to respond in the stabbing deaths of her sister and nephews. She is also suing Joseph Randolph Mays, who is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in their slayings.

The victims, Erika Peters, 37, and her children Dakota Peters, 10, and Erik Harper, 11, were killed during a domestic dispute in March 2009. Documented injuries included multiple stab wounds to the head, face, (over a dozen to the) chest, and hands for Erika, multiple stab wounds to the chest and a large laceration on the side of the head for Erik, and stab wounds to the head, right ear, and the back of the neck for Dakota.

Mays was Peters’ live-in boyfriend. Police later found him at the murder scene with superficial chest wounds that the treating doctor says appear to have been self-inflicted.

$17 Million Washington DC Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against District and FEMS Medical Director Over Botched Response to Fatal Heart Attack

December 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Edward Givens is suing the District and Fire and Emergency Medical Services medical director Dr. James Augustine for Washington DC wrongful death. Givens, 39, died of a heart attack in December 2008 just hours after a DC paramedic informed him he was suffering from acid reflux.

The wrongful death complaint holds the defendants responsible for Givens’ death because the paramedic allegedly committed paramedic malpractice. Mishandling documents, incorrectly interpreting medical information, and telling Givens to take Pepto Bismol are some of the actions cited in the Washington DC civil lawsuit.

Six hours after the paramedic’s wrong diagnosis, Givens was dead. The wrongful death complaint says that tests previously taken by the paramedic who treated Givens indicate that the medical worker did not display knowledge meeting the US standard of care for how a paramedic should deal with cardiac conditions and complaints. Givens’ family claims Augustine should have known that the paramedic’s skills were not up to par.