In January, 2007 Marvin E. Schur, age 93, froze to death when the Bay City Electric Light & Power and Bay City, MI itself, limited his electric usage for non-payment.
An autopsy confirmed the cause of death.
Neither the power company nor the city paid sufficient attention to their customer/citizen when the power to his home was limited.
In August, 2011, the US District Court approved the $500,000 settlement. Members of the Schur family were granted $6,000 each. The family lawyers got $187,747.57 for their fees, and the Bay Regional Medical Center, received the balance: $323,182.29, pursuant to Mr. Schur's Last Will. How nice.
This case is factually similar to one I wrote about in June, 2010: Velma Arlene Fordham, age 58, who froze to death because her apartment's gas service had been cut off during a major lake-effect snowstorm in Buffalo, NY.