New York Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

Thirty-four year old, former NY Yankee star pitcher Cory Lidle, and his flight instructor, lost their lives in October, 2006, when the small plane they flew crashed into a Manhattan high-rise.

Lidle's wife blamed the aircraft's manufacturer, and sued for wrongful death in US District Court.

From news reports, the case turned on whether there was a defect in the plane's flight control system.

This case was a courtroom battle between expert witnesses. Ms. Lidle's said that there was a defect. The defense said that the crash was not due to equipment failure, one attorney declaring "As pilots, they made some mistakes"...

The statutory definition of wrongful death is a death caused by "a wrongful act, neglect or default". In this trial, which began in late April, the jury did not find proof of neglect or default by the airplane manufacturer.

The family of a Texas man has filed suit in the U.S. District Court in San Antonio, claiming that he died in June, 2010, as a result of ingesting celery contaminated by listeria.

The suit is brought against Sangar Fresh Cut Produce LLC, alleging death by infection caused by Sangar's failure to follow proper food safety regulations and guidelines. Last October, the Texas Health Department, found "an immediate and serious threat to human life or health" at the Sanger plant, ordered it to shut down and recall all products it had shipped since January, 2010.

This listeria outbreak killed at least five people. This type of food poisoning is especially worrisome for children and the elderly, as the infection can spread from the intestines to the blood stream and nervous system. Although it can be treated with antibiotics, the fatality rate for those infected is about 25%.

The lawsuit is based on an alleged breach of implied warranty, by providing food that was not fit to eat.

A Suffolk Superior Court (Boston) jury awarded $71 million in compensatory damages and $81 million in punitive damages, in a wrongful death case decided in mid-December.

The son and the estate of Marie Evans sued Lorillard, Inc., manufacturer of Newport cigarettes, claiming that the company seduced Ms. Evans into a lifelong addiction to smoking by giving out free samples, a part of a broader marketing campaign that was aimed at youngsters in black neighborhoods. She died of lung cancer in 2002.

Similar to the facts from my last blog entry First Ever Wrongful Death Settlement for Smokeless Tobacco, where the decedent began using smokeless tobacco at age 13, Ms. Evans began smoking at the same age.

The jury found that Lorillard acted with negligence, in breach of trust and in a wanton and reckless manner.

Aside from the size of the jury award for both compensatory and punitive damages, this case was novel for its challenge to the marketing and advertising of cigarettes to youngsters.

William Evans, decedent's son, graduated from Harvard Law School

Altria Group, of Richmond, Virginia, owner of Copenhagen & Skoal brands, recently settled a wrongful death suit for $5 million.

A North Carolina widow with sons, aged 11 and 14, sued on behalf of her husband who died of cancer of the tongue.

"It's the first time a plaintiff has won a wrongful death chewing tobacco verdict or settlement in the history of the industry" said one of the plaintiff's attorneys, Antonio Ponvert III, of Bridgeport, CT. In an industry with a "no settlement" rule, an Altria Group spokesman said that it was honoring an agreement made by US Smokeless Tobacco with plaintiff, declaring "We have no current intention to settle cases like this in the future". USST merged with Altria in 2009, and has since gone out of business.

Besides the merger with Altria, there were several factors that made this case unusual.

One was that the decedent had used smokeless tobacco since he was 13 years old, so the claim of "personal responsibility" would not be available to the defense.

Also, in a prior defense verdict smokeless tobacco case, where the plaintiff had used "snuff" for five years, expert witnesses for the defense testified that tumors caused by chewing tobacco took 20 years to develop. Bobby Hill, the decedent in this case, had used for 20 years. Plaintiff attorneys would use the earlier testimony from defense experts against the defense of this case.

The settlement money will provide security for Mr. Hill's family in the future. Continuing the litigation may not have resulted in better results for them.

The article in the Connecticut Law Tribune also explores some aspects of tobacco industry strategy to entice people, especially youth, into use of their products.

Ford Motor Company and the family of Brian Cole settled the wrongful death/product liability case after the huge jury verdict was awarded at trial. The settlement amount was not disclosed.

Mr. Cole, then 22 years old, was drafted by the New York Mets, and early indications were that he would develop into a stellar professional athlete. He died on March 31, 2001, when a tire blow out resulted in a rollover accident where he was ejected from the Ford Explorer.

Through their attorneys, Cole's family alleged that he died because a design defect in the seat belt caused it to fail, and also, that Ford Explorers had a tendency to roll over, particularly when a tire blow out occurred.

A settlement protects Ford from potentially greater liability for punitive damages which sometimes outstrip the compensatory damages awarded.

Ford has spent huge sums settling Explorer roll over cases. The National Traffic Safety Administration estimates that nearly 4 of 10 fatal automobile accidents involve SUV roll overs.

A multi-district litigation (MDL) has been commenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, against GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Poligrip, and Proctor & Gamble, maker of Fixodent denture adhesive.

This type of procedural vehicle is designed to combine the dozens of cases filed against the defendants from across the United State into one action in one Court.

Plaintiffs claim that they have been exposed to toxic levels of zinc, an ingredient of Poligrip and Fixodent, by the continual, daily use of the products. Plaintiffs say that there was no warning of the risks of the serious health conditions that can result from too much zinc accumulation in the body. Accumulation of zinc can lead to significant neurological problems.

The recommended daily allowance of zinc for men is 11 mg., for women, 8 mg. The maximum thought to be safely tolerated is 40 mg. per day. Some denture products have been found to contain up to 330 mg. per day.

The wife and daughter of Rodney Urbanek of Miami, Florida, have filed the first wrongful death lawsuit alleging paralysis and death caused by toxic Poligrip.

It's safe to say that there will be a battle of expert witnesses as the Urbanek's try to satisfy their burden of proof, including demonstrating the cause of death, and the defendants defend their products as benign. "The case reports mentioned in the media involved excessive use or misuse of denture adhesive on a chronic basis. When the product is used as directed, the amount of zinc that might be swallowed is not harmful," said the manufacturer.

Owners of Toyota automobiles are well advised to check with their dealership or mechanic to see if their model of Toyota manufactured automobile is one that has been involved in the recent spate of acceleration problems.

Drivers of certain model Toyota's have reported that the vehicle has suddenly begun to accelerate out of control, resulting in serious, and sometimes fatal crashes.

Toyota has issued recalls for millions of motor vehicles to install safer equipment to combat the problem.

There are a number of lawsuits brought for injury and death caused by this particular problem.