Mississippi Injury Lawyer Blog

Fatal car accidents always leave the loved ones of the victims feeling a mixture of emotions and wondering what could have been done to prevent the untimely deaths. The case of Matther Hoskins and Evan Raasch, tow good friends from Grady County, Oklahoma, was no different. But the high-speed car crash that killed the two teenage boys in Chickasha, Oklahoma last year has left their parents embroiled in a bitter lawsuit.

As reported by Newsok.com, the mother of Evan Raasch, 15, who died riding in a souped-up car last year, has sued the parents of the driver. Evan's 17-year-old friend and driver of the car, Matthew Hoskins, also died in the crash. Briana Hoskins, 15, the sister of the driver, was thrown 92 feet from the point of impact but survived, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The wreck happened about 3:45 p.m., about 700 feet south of County Road 1380 at County Street 2760, just south of Chickasha. Hoskins was passing three vehicles when he lost control due to excessive speed and went into a skid, the lawsuit alleges. The car then hit a tree. Evan Raasch was thrown from the car and died on the way to the hospital. Matthew Hoskins died at the scene. The car was not equipped with air bags, and no one in the car was wearing a seat belt.

Karla Raasch, Evan's mother, filed the lawsuit alleging negligence in Grady County on January 12, 2012. The suit alleges the car was traveling more than 100 mph at the time of the wreck. According to the lawsuit, the car was modified with a nitrous oxide kit. The lawsuit names the estate of Matthew Hoskins and Mack and Cammy Lyons, Matther's parents, as defendants. The suit asks for damages in excess of $1 million.

According to Ron Durbin, Raasch's attorney, photographs of the wrecked car show a nitrous oxide bottle hanging out of the trunk. Nitrous oxide is used to enhance engine performance. The kit is legal to install in a vehicle for a racetrack or for drag-racing but not for use in a vehicle on a public roadway, Durbin said.

Continue reading "Fatal Car Accident- Fueled by Nitrous Oxide - Causes the Wrongful Death of Two Teens " »

If a bar or restaurant continues to serve a visibly drunken patron, should that establishment be held liable for the actions of that drunken patron? Is it a bar's responsibility to ensure that their passengers do not leave the establishment and subsequently cause harm to others? These are just a couple of the issues that a Washington State Superior Court will have to delve into in the wrongful death and negligence case filed by the estate of a man who was killed in a drunk driving accident.

According to The News Tribune, a complaint filed in the Pierce County Superior Court by the estate of Samuel Stephens alleges that Stephens, a youth pastor who was killed in a DUI car accident, might still be alive had a Sumner, Washington bar not over served the drunken driver who ran into him.

The lawsuit was filed against Captain Jack's Bar and Grill and its owners, Lee and Penny Hogenson and Horst and Janice Vierthaler and is seeking unspecified damages. The lawsuit also names Joseph P. McNeil as a defendant. McNeil was the drunken driver who was convicted of killing Stephens. As reported by The News Tribune, Stephens, who was 24 years old, died on September 6, 2010. Stephens was driving on Stewart Road in Pacific about 2 a.m. when McNeil's car crossed the center line and hit him. McNeil pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and in April was sentenced to two years, seven months in prison. As part of his plea deal, he admitted being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.

According to the lawsuit filed by Stephens' estate, McNeil consumed the alcohol, way too much of it, at Captain Jack's Bar and Grill. He complaint states: "Over the course of many hours, owners and/or employees of defendant ... sold numerous alcoholic beverages that were consumed by defendant McNeil," the lawsuit states. "McNeil eventually departed in the early-morning hours of Sept. 6, 2010, in an obviously intoxicated condition."

Continue reading "Should Bars and Restaurants who Serve Alcoholic Beverages be held Liable for the Actions of Their Drunken Patrons?: This Issue Will Soon be Determined in a Washington State Superior Court" »

Normally, a medical malpractice lawsuit involves several factors, including proving the applicable standard of care, securing witnesses, confirming the facts of the incident, determining the extent of the patients injury or damages, and preparing for trial. However in the case of one Jackson, Mississippi couple, these factors did not apply. In a sense the resolution of this case was to the advantage of this couple, but in some ways it is a testimonial to the severe injury and pain that this couple clearly suffered.

On Tuesday January 10, 2012, Hinds County, Mississippi Judge Bill Gowan awarded Daschica Thomas and her husband, Christopher Thomas of Jackson, Mississippi $600,435 in a lawsuit arising from a pregnancy termination procedure that Mrs. Thomas received in 2003.

According to the Clarion Ledger, the Thomas' medical malpractice lawsuit was filed against Dr. Joseph Booker in 2005. At the time Mrs. Thomas received her procedure, Dr. Booker was practicing at what was previously known as the Jackson Women's Health Organization abortion clinic. In addition to Dr. Booker, the lawsuit also names the clinic, the National Women's Health Organization of Jackson, and others as defendants.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas alleged in their lawsuit that Booker stopped performing the pregnancy termination shortly after starting it and said he was unable to finish it. Dr. Booker recommended that Thomas come back so it could be completed by another doctor. According to the Clarion Ledger, the Thomas' complaint states in part: "Booker did not recommend antibiotics to her," according to court papers. Thomas, a diabetic, began cramping and went home, but there "she continued to spot, bleed and she felt dizzy, sick and feverish." As a result of Dr. Booker failing to complete the procedure, Thompson suffered sepsis poisoning, and fell into a coma for a week and half.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were saved the possible agony and anguish of reliving their injury at trial because the defendants, Dr. Booker and the Jackson Women's Health Organization failed to respond to their complaint. As a result of the defendants' failure to answer, Judge Gowan entered a default judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas.

Continue reading "Jackson, MS Couple Victorious in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Regarding Doctor's Refusal to Complete Pregnancy Termination Procedure" »

Two Georgia men died over the weekend in an unfortunate car accident in southern Mississippi. The men, both of whom hailed from Georgia, were traveling with a group of friends to New Orleans for the BCS championship game when their motorhome experienced a tire blowout, ejecting several people from the recreational vehicle. Mississippi Highway Patrol Cpl. Todd Miller confirmed that the motorhome blew a front tire, and ran off Interstate 59 in Forrest County, Mississippi, before striking a tree in the median. Of the 14 people riding on the 2002 Freightliner, 10 were injured, aside from the two fatalities.

The owner of the vehicle, a 70-year-old man and former NFL player, Solomon Brannan reported to the Associated Press that he had allowed his friends to borrow the home for this trip, after he was unable to go. One of the deceased, 61-year-old Allen Holt, was a professional bus driver, but the blowout he encountered while on the road in the large vehicle was one even the most experienced driver might not be able to overcome. The second victim, Darryl Parker, had been injured in a previous car crash almost 17 years ago. In a striking turn of events, in 1995 Parker was partially paralyzed and left in a wheelchair after an accident that occurred while he was on the way to a game, but he survived. Unfortunately, this was an incident that claimed his life.

Normally, the tread on a motorhomes tires are designed for extensive wear and tear. Blowouts sometimes result when the tires have aged, and, as this unfortunate incident demonstrates, can be deadly at high speeds. Experts advise that motorhome tires be changed every seven years, especially because over time exposure to sunlight can result in cracks in the tires themselves, serving as a kind of warning before the actual blowout occurs.

Continue reading "Motorhome Blowout in Mississippi Results in Fatal Crash" »

Only a few days after Christmas, one Mississippi man received news that no plaintiff to a lawsuit wants to hear, that his jury award, which had been the largest verdict awarded to a single plaintiff in an asbestos case, had been vacated. The jury award was vacated by Mississippi judge William F. Coleman in an order signed on December 27, 2001. According to Forbes.com, the plaintiff, who had suffered personal injuries, or "asbestos maladies," as a result of being exposed to the chemical, was awarded $322 Million dollars by a Mississippi jury in May 2011.

According to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Thomas Brown Jr. filed the case styled Brown v. Phillips Co., 2006-196, in the Circuit Court of Smith County, Mississippi in 2006. Brown, who worked in the Mississippi's oil fields from 1979 to the mid 1980's, was later diagnosed with asbestosis. According to Brown's lawsuit, he acquired the condition as a result of inhaling asbestos dust while mixing drilling mud sold by Chevron Phillips Chemical and manufactured by Union Carbide Corporation, which was tainted with asbestos used as a thickening agent.

The jury found that Chevron Phillips and Union Carbide were liable to Brown in this product liability case, for defectively designing their product and failure to provide an adequate warning. Brown, who was 48 at the time of the award in May, said he was diagnosed with asbestosis and required to take oxygen 24-hours a day. As a result, the judgment included awards for medical expenses, damages for pain and suffering, and punitive damages. In total, Brown was awarded $322 million - $22 million in compensatory damages, and $300 million in punitive damages. According to Brown's lawyer, Allen Hossley, this was the biggest asbestos award ever to a single plaintiff. However, only months later, this award was vacated.

According to Bloomberg.com, Brown's award was overturned as a result of Carbide asking the state Supreme Court to overturn the verdict. Both companies claimed that Smith County Circuit Judge Eddie Bowen, the judge who had presided over Brown's case, had a conflict of interest because his parents had been involved in asbestos legal claims, including one against Union Carbide. According to the Associated Press, Union Carbide first asked Circuit Judge Eddie Bowen to toss out verdict shortly after the record award was handed down. They also asked Bowen to step down from the case. When Bowen didn't respond, Union Carbide went to the Supreme Court and asked the justices to remove him.

Continue reading "Largest Asbestos Verdict in History Tossed Out by Mississippi Judge" »