Plant Faces Fines in Fatal Workplace Fire
June 9, 2008 08:43

An Ohio chemical plant where an employee was killed in a fire in 2007 is facing more than $100,000 in OSHA fines for workplace safety violations.Trans-Acc Inc. is facing $121,800 in fines unless it can defend itself against allegations that federal investigators... (Read Article)

Wrongful Death and Non-Action
April 9, 2008 14:59

While most people understand that wrongful death can be the result of people's actions they may not realize that wrongful death can also be the result of people's non-action. For example, if a person attends a party and gets very drunk and then drives home and is involved in a fatality the host of the party might possibly be held liable for the death due to inaction in not stopping the person from driving. This is just an example of a potential wrongful death case and it is designed to show that there is more to the concept of wrongful death liability than most people think.

Loss of Income and a Wrongful Death Suit
April 7, 2008 16:35

One area that many people do not think to take into account when it comes to filing a wrongful death suit is the loss of income to the family due to the deceased relative. Some may consider this a grim task but it is very necessary because a family will be seriously impacted when household income takes a huge loss due to a wrongful death. This is a very serious situation because the loss of the family provider can led to bankruptcy, foreclosure etc and it is critical to recoup such losses before that devastate a family. This is why wrongful death suits can provide stability in a situation that can be somewhat chaotic.

Kentucky Legislature Considers Changes to Wrongful Death
April 4, 2008 13:54

Republican State Senator Robert Stivers has introduced legislation that would allow surviving spouses to seek damages for loss of companionship in wrongful death lawsuits.

The legislation comes thanks to the hard work of Kathy Ryan, who has been lobbying for a change in the law since her husband was killed in the August 2006 Kentucky Comair crash.

Kentucky is one of four states that do not allow a surviving spouse to sue for loss of companionship or "consortium." The ironic thing is that the spouse of an injured person may file a lawsuit for this type of damages, but not widows or widowers. The estate may sue for loss of income, and children may sue for loss of companionship, but spouses cannot.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Suit
April 2, 2008 16:32

Regarding the subject of filing a wrongful death suit there may be some questions in regards to who can or can not file a wrongful death suit. This is a difficult question to answer in general terms because the laws are different from state to state. In certain states, only immediate relatives can file a wrongful death suit whereas in other states non-immediate relatives may be able to file a lawsuit. Of course, if you are contemplating filing a wrongful death suit you should confer with an attorney to determine the viability of a wrongful death suit as you would not get very far filing a claim where you are not entitled to damages.

The Impact of Wrongful Death Suits
March 31, 2008 15:22

How impacting are wrongful death lawsuits? In some cases the impact of a wrongful death suit can be minimal, but in other more high profile cases wrongful death suits can send a ripple through an industry. For example, the various lawsuits that spawned from negligently manufactured automobiles in the 1960's and 1970's led to a significant increase in safety standards. The automobile manufacturers simply do not want to get hammered by a variety of lawsuits so if one manufacturer is hit with millions of dollars in judgments then the other manufacturers will follow in suit. So, it would not be hyperbole to say that wrongful death cases do not have significant impacts on the private sector.