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A Christmas Eve Suicide In The Pinellas County Jail

Bob Carroll — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 05:08:15 GMT

Should this suicide have been prevented? Juvenal Hernandez Flores, 28, of 2903 Forestbrook Drive, Charlotte, N.C., was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday. He was being held on charges of failing to appear in court and driving without a driver's license. A Sheriff's Office report notes Flores made suicidal statements while he was being booked. It appears he was recognized as a suicide risk, placed in a medical wing where he could have close observation and constant surveillance by deputies and closed-circuit television. He was re-evaluated on Friday. His observations were reduced to every 15 minutes. On Christmas Eve Flores, used his inmate pants to hang himself.

Could this suicide have been prevented? Juvenal Hernandez Flores, 28, of 2903 Forestbrook Drive, Charlotte, N.C., was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday. He was being held on charges of failing to appear in court and driving without a driver's license. A Sheriff's Office report notes Flores made suicidal statements while he was being booked. It appears he was recognized as a suicide risk, placed in a medical wing where he could have close observation and constant surveillance by deputies and closed-circuit television. He was re-evaluated on Friday. His observations were reduced to every 15 minutes. On Christmas Eve Flores, used his inmate pants to hang himself. From Tampa Bay Online.

Inmates in prisons or jails sometimes have physical or emotional problems which require proper attention. That attention must be provided by the facility. If there is any indication of suicidal thoughts or ideations appropriate suicide precautions and even psychiatric evaluations are mandatory.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

School Board Admits Bus Driver Negligence In Death Of 8-Year-Old Student

Bob Carroll — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:18:08 GMT

Our entire communiity was sickened last year when Brooke Ingoldsby, an 8-year-old student was killed after being dropped off by her school bus driver at a dangerous intersection instead of her usual bus stop. The St. Pete Times is reporting today that Pinellas school officials have formally admitted negligence on the part of the district bus driver. A mediation is being scheduled in the hopes that a protracted lawsuit can be avoided.

The Times article details the terrible facts of this tragedy and outlines the limitations upon compensation that the family can seek.

State law caps liability at $200,000 for school districts and other public agencies. But a district insurance policy would allow the school system to pay the family up to $1-million more, officials said. Any settlement would have to be approved by the School Board. Any award larger than the $1.2-million available at the district level would have to be approved by the Florida Legislature.

If Brooke had been severely injured instead of killed and the govenernmental entity had not carried the $1 Million insurance policy her statutory limits would have been only $100,000. For any sum larger than that she would have had to beg the Florida Legislature to pass a claims bill. Is this fair?

Our entire communiity was sickened last year when Brooke Ingoldsby, an 8-year-old student, was killed after being dropped off by her school bus driver at a dangerous intersection instead of her usual bus stop. The St. Pete Times is reporting today that Pinellas school officials have formally admitted negligence on the part of the district bus driver. A mediation is being scheduled in the hopes that a protracted lawsuit can be avoided.

The Times article details the terrible facts of this tragedy and outlines the limitations upon compensation that the family can seek.

State law caps liability at $200,000 for school districts and other public agencies. But a district insurance policy would allow the school system to pay the family up to $1-million more, officials said. Any settlement would have to be approved by the School Board. Any award larger than the $1.2-million available at the district level would have to be approved by the Florida Legislature.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

Big Thunder Railroad Death Brings Big Admission From Disney

Bob Carroll — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 04:52:39 GMT

Big is a word that describes much of Disneyland and Disney World. In a big departure from normal business practice Disney has admitted that poor maintenance of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride caused the death of its guest, a 22 year-old man. According to an article posted on SignOnSanDiego.com Disney has agreed to settle the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of the deceased for an undisclosed amount. The family's attorney had to work overtime to accomplish the acknowledgement of fault, a step that is most unusual in the settlement process.

Excerpts from news story:

LOS ANGELES â€“ The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the family of a 22-year-old man killed on a roller coaster at Disneyland in 2003.

Disney said Friday it accepts responsibility for incorrectly performing maintenance on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride. An axle assemble came loose on the ride on Sept. 5, 2003, causing the first passenger car to jackknife and slam into the lead car, which is shaped to resemble a locomotive.

The accident caused the death of Marcelo Torres of Gardena, who suffered severe blunt force trauma and extensive internal bleeding.

Terms of the settlement were confidential. But Torres' family said it would take $500,000 from the settlement to establish a memorial scholarship at Brooks College for aspiring animators. Torres graduated from the school and planned on a career in animation.

"We are still grieving the loss of our son Marcelo, but we understand that we must move forward," the family said in a statement. "There is no money possible to pay for his life ... ever, but that is the only remedy the law can provide. Now, that this exhausting emotional process has finally concluded and we have our answers, we will hopefully have some closure."

A second lawsuit brought by the family of Torres' best friend, Vicente Gutierrez, was also settled. Both cases were to be tried together beginning Monday.

Gutierrez was sitting in the car next to Torres and suffered substantial injuries. He also suffered from post- traumatic stress disorder and is recovering, according to Wylie Aitken, the attorney representing both the Torres family and Gutierrez.

A third suit brought on behalf of other passengers injured in the crash has also been settled, Disney spokesman Rob Doughty said.

"We all deeply regret that the tragic accident occurred and are terribly saddened by the grievous pain this caused the Torres family," Doughty said.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

Cardiac Death At Gym Without Defibrillator

Bob Carroll — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 06:33:09 GMT

As a result of some recent litigation our health clubs, gyms and other exercise facilities may be safer. Among the treadmills and weights there may be a defibrillator. Why a defibrillator? Because it can save a life. Because gyms now know it should be part of their safety equipment and service.

Overlawyered feels gyms do not need defibrillators:

Gym didn't have defibrillator
...so a Florida jury ordered it to pay $619,650 to the family of a Fort Lauderdale customer who had a heart attack. A spokesman for L.A. Fitness says it wasn't common, let alone legally mandatory, for health clubs to stock defibrillators in 2003, when the incident occurred. (Jon Burstein, "Gym told to pay $619,650 in man's death because it didn't have a defibrillator", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Mar. 30)(hat tip: Florida Masochist).

The Florida Masochist calls the lawsuit stupid:

5%
A Broward County jury has awarded over $600,000 to the family of a man who died at a Fitness Club in 2003 after having a cardiac arrest. The suit claimed LA Fitness should have had a defibrillator on the premises.
I'm sorry for the Tringali family but don't feel LA Fitness is liable. Having a defibrillator is all well and good, but these things are not toys. I'm medically trained, but don't know how to use one. They can kill a person as easily as save a life if not properly used.
Its also true if someone has a cardiac arrest outside the immediate care of a doctor or a hospital, that the survival rate is horrendous. The Sun-Sentinel quotes 5%, I've heard 5-10% myself. Mr. Tringali died for no fault of LA Fitness. It's these types of stupid lawsuit verdicts that cost the public money. For it drives up the cost of every product or service we buy.

There is another side to this story. Read on.

Sun-Sentinel.com has a more objective report on the jury verdict:

Gym told to pay $619,650 in man's death because it didn't have a defibrillator
Health-club chain LA Fitness must pay $619,650 to the family of a Fort Lauderdale man who died of sudden cardiac arrest while working out at an Oakland Park gym, a Broward Circuit Court jury ordered Wednesday.
The jury needed only two hours of deliberations to find that LA Fitness' negligence contributed to Alessio Tringali's death. No one attempted to perform CPR on the dying 49-year-old man and the club didn't have an automated external defibrillator that could have saved his life, argued Russell Adler, the attorney for Tringali's family.

The case is believed to be one of the first in the country where a health club has been held liable for failing to have a defibrillator on site, Adler said.
"It is a symbolic verdict and a therapeutic verdict because it sends a loud message to the health club industry that they need to do a better job to protect their members when they have a medical emergency," Adler said.
Adler had asked jurors to award $10 million to the Tringali family.
LA Fitness officials could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Gene Kissane, an attorney for LA Fitness, declined to discuss the verdict.
In closing arguments, Kissane told jurors that Tringali's death on April 3, 2003, was inevitable, comparing his heart to a time bomb. The chance of surviving a sudden cardiac attack outside a hospital is 5 percent, he said.
In addition, it wasn't common practice at health clubs at that time to have defibrillators, he said.
Adler said LA Fitness facilities now have defibrillators.

Take a moment to reread that last sentence.

A Missouri health club death had previously raised the issue of the need for defibrillators.

Extensive excerpts from an article posted at ATLA.org (password required):

Recovery against health club for lack of defibrillator
Self v. Summit Athletic Club, Inc., Mo., Platte County Cir. Ct., No. 04CV84985, Sept. 2, 2005.
John Self joined the Summit Athletic Club hoping to use the facility to improve his health. However, the self-billed "largest and most complete" health facility in Kansas City, Missouri, failed to protect John's life when he collapsed at the gym from arrhythmia and suffered a fatal heart attack.
John, 57, had been diagnosed with high blood pressure and coronary artery disease and was on medicine to control his diabetes. He joined the gym following his doctor's advice to exercise as a way to reduce his high cholesterol and hypertension. But when John collapsed while working out at the health club, none of the facility's employees attempted to resuscitate him, even though an off-duty certified personal trainer employed by the club saw him lying unconscious on the floor. Further, the facility did not have on-site an automatic external defibrillator (AED) that could have restarted his heart. John was taken to a local hospital, where he died of cardiac arrest.
John's wife, Marsha, was referred to ATLA member John E. McKay of Kansas City, Missouri, an attorney who knew of the AED's lifesaving benefits. McKay immediately obtained John's medical records, reviewing them to determine whether his collapse would have been treatable if an AED had been used in time. He found that the ventricular fibrillation that caused John's death is exactly the kind of heart condition AEDs are designed to treat.
Investigating medical technology that could have helped John, McKay discovered that in 80 to 90 percent of cases, an individual suffering an arrhythmia can be revived with the swift use of an AED.
The health club ultimately chose to avoid trial and settle for $500,000, its insurance policy limits. And although John's family can never fully recover from their loss, McKay notes, "they are pleased that when the truth was shown, the health club was held financially accountable."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

$25.8M Awarded in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Walgreens

Chrissie Cole — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 19:05:00 GMT

A wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2003, by the family and children of a cancer patient that died when she was given the wrong prescription, was settled Friday when the jury awarded $25.8 million.

In 2002 the woman was prescribed Warfarin, a blood thinner, to treat breast cancer. The prescription she was given was ten times stronger than what her doctor had prescribed.

The mother of three passed way in January, she was only 46. The Polk County Circuit County jury found the prescription error was responsible for the cerebral hemorrhage that resulted in permanent bodily injury, physical pain and disability.

"She died unnecessarily because this tenfold overdose with Warfarin by the pharmacy she trusted caused her cancer to come back with a vengeance and it interrupted all of her cancer treatments," her lawyer said. "They have been seeking justice for almost five years and this was a case that screamed out for justice."

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to our section on Wrongful Death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Father To Sue Over Handling of Jessica Lunsford Case

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:12:51 GMT

Jessica Lunsford was killed in 2005 by a registered sex offender living about 100 yards from her home. John Couey was convicted of killing her and has been sentanced to death. He claims he held the girl captive for days in his bedroom closet before killing her. Mark Lunsford feels the sheriff's office did not do enough to find his daughter. He is now planning to sue the Citrus County Sheriff's Office in order to force them to change their procedures.

They also said sheriff's deputies twice visited Couey's half-sister's mobile home on both Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 but failed to ask if they could search inside. They said suspicious behavior from one housemate - who was "visibly trembling" and had been peering through the blinds while law officers searched the premises - should have indicated that something inside was amiss.
"It's pretty elementary. You search the inside of these homes, or at least ask to search the inside of these houses," Gelman said.

Mark Lunsford says he is not suing for the money which would be limited to $100,000 by state law. He is just trying get the sheriff's department to admit to mishandling the case and change policies. The sheriff's department defends their handling of the case and says that Jessica was killed within hours of being kidnapped from her bedroom.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Man Dies After Riding Roller Coaster at Disney

Jenny Albano — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:31:58 GMT

On Tuesday, December 19 a man died after riding a roller coaster at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Jeffery Reed, 44, was unconscious at the end of the Expedition Everest ride at the Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom.

Disney personnel provided medical assistance to Reed, and he was transported to Celebration Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Orange County Sheriff's officials said. Inspectors found no problems with the ride, Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest, but Disney was keeping it closed pending further review.

A camera took Reed's photograph around 50 seconds before the ride ended, and according to the photo he was still conscious. The ride is listed as a "high-altitude, high-speed train adventure", and on the ride passengers are hurled forward and backwards. According to officials, Reed was bot found to have any trauma or injury.

The Sheriff's Office is continuing to investigate the cause of Reed's death. The ride is currently closed while officials reconfirm proper operation of the ride.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Wrongful Death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Riptide Drownings At City Beach

Bob Carroll — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 03:50:08 GMT

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that a city’s public swimming area creates a duty to warn the public of certain dangerous conditions.

The Court determined that a jury, under these circumstances, should be permitted to decide whether the city knew or should have known of the riptide at the city beach and whether it breached its duty of care by not warning of the danger it created.

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that a city’s public swimming area creates a duty to warn the public of certain dangerous conditions.

A woman and her rescuer drowned after being caught in a riptide at or near a public beach. The city’s public beach had many of the typical beach facilities, such as, restrooms, water fountains, picnic tables, metered parking and a place to rent beach equipment. There was no lifeguard, but there were also no signs warning of the dangers of swimming at that location.

I view this important decision by the Florida Supreme Court to be a logical extension of the general rule that once a city decides to operate a swimming facility, it is obligated to operate it safely.

As would be expected, beach communities in Florida have taken note of this court decision.

“In the Breaux vs. Miami Beach case, it was determined that because the municipality licensed concessioners and had metered parking generating income to the city, Miami Beach was liable for the safety of swimmers in public swimming areas.” These are the reported words of Edwin Peck, town attorney for North Redington Beach, Florida, according to the Beach Beacon.

“Peck suggested the elimination of the profit factor to minimize North Redington Beach’s future liability in lieu of the precedent set by Breaux vs. Miami Beach. Currently the town licenses only two concessioners at $50 per annual license. This would be a negligible reduction in revenue to the town of $100 a year.”

“Another suggestion to reduce the town’s liability was signage. The prospect of riptide flags and warning signs at the beach access were contemplated. Possible wording for signs included, “Swim at your own risk. No lifeguard on duty” along with lightning warnings for tourists unaware of local hazards.”

In my opinion, the most responsible step for a city to take would be to follow the last comment of Peck and to erect proper signage to warn persons unaware of local hazards. That may not improve the beauty of the beach, but it would give tourists a reasonable chance to survive their vacations to the Sunshine State.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

Crying In The Courtroom

Bob Carroll — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 05:50:06 GMT

Attorney Roy L. Glass was at the end of a four week trial delivering his closing argument when he started sobbing. Mr. Glass was experiencing an emotional reaction to the suicide death of John Patterson while an inmate in the Pinellas County Jail. No matter what the circumstances of the incarceration and death, the human tragedy of the death suddenly overwhelmed him. He apologized after returning to the courtroom for his outburst. I believe no apologies were necessary. We need more honest human emotion, not less, when we consider the consequences of our actions.

The verdict has not been rendered in the Patterson trial. We do not know if the jail or jailor acted improperly and, therefore, contributed to the death of the inmate. We do know, however, that a life was lost and that is something to cry about.

Excerpts from the St. Pete Times article:

Six years have passed since John Patterson was found dead in a Pinellas County Jail cell, a victim of the anxiety and racing thoughts that led him to hang himself with his own shoelace.
The date was Oct. 1, 1999. In the weeks, months and now years of finger-pointing and tears that followed, that is one of the few facts that remains undisputed.
Attorneys made closing arguments Thursday in a wrongful death lawsuit that Patterson's mother brought against former Sheriff Everett Rice, the Pinellas County Commission, and Mark Ondrey, the detention deputy who supervised the psychological observation unit where Patterson was held the day before his death.
When Patterson, 42, violated his probation and turned himself in to authorities on Sept. 28, 1999, his problems were already well-documented. The skilled mechanic and father of a newborn girl, Kaylin, was estranged from his wife and had recently lost his job. When he entered the jail, he brought medications for his various mental illnesses, among them bipolar disorder with psychotic features.
Glass alleged that Ondrey was recklessly negligent of Patterson's condition when he periodically patrolled the psychological wing until his shift ended at 11:30 p.m. Inmate witnesses had testified that Patterson, of Treasure Island, was depressed, feeling suicidal and told them so.
Ondrey testified that he spoke with Patterson after noticing that he was weaving something with his shoelace. Patterson said he was making a cross. Ondrey confiscated it as contraband, according to court records.
With the other shoelace, Patterson hung himself on a towel rack about 4 a.m.
During his closing statement, Glass also emphasized who he thought to be the real victim of the suicide: Kaylin Patterson, a friendly 6-year-old with an IQ of 113 who asked if she could dig up her daddy the first time she visited his gravesite.
"You have the loss of one life," he told jurors. "And you have the loss of a father."
At that point, Glass paused, head bowed and face red. Then he broke down in tears. He excused himself and walked out of the courtroom.
As the doors swayed, his sobbing could be heard throughout the gallery.
When arguments resumed about 10 minutes later, Glass apologized for losing his "professional objectivity." He had been working on the Patterson case for five years, he told the court, and the trial had lasted four weeks instead of two.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll

Comair Sues U.S. And Lexington Airport

Bob Carroll — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 06:12:43 GMT

You are an airline. One of your planes took off from the wrong runway and, as a result of this grossly negligent action, forty-nine people died. What are you to do?

You could sue the federal government and the airport to make sure other parties that bear responsibility pay their fair share of the compensation which will have to be paid to the families of the victims.

In a novel tactic that is exactly what Comair is doing.

Government, airport sued in plane crash that killed St. Pete man

The airline that operated the flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky in August is suing the federal government and the Lexington airport.
The flight mistakenly took off from a runway that was too short. Forty-nine of the 50 people on board were killed, including Arnold Andrews of St. Petersburg, CEO of WestCare Foundation's Eastern/Offshore Division.
In a statement, Comair says it intends to reach fair settlements with the victims' families -- but that it's suing to make sure other parties that bear responsibility pay their fair share.
A week before the crash, an airport repaving project changed the taxi route that led to the runway the plane should have used.

Thanks to TampaBays10.com for the story.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Carroll