When Fraternity Hazing Turns Deadly: Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Many freshman college students are excited to join a fraternity or sorority as they start their college experience. It’s a way to create a sense of belonging when away from home for the first time. Most people love their experiences but sometimes things can go very wrong when hazing is taken way too far. Hazing is humiliating and sometimes dangerous initiation rituals, often imposed on students seeking membership into a fraternity or sorority. In recent years, there have been some tragic deaths associated with college hazing that have made the national news. Some of these deaths have resulted in wrongful death lawsuits brought by the family of the deceased. When the actions of a fraternity lead to the death of a person, it may be appropriate to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the university and/or fraternity to recover damages. Here is one example: on February 3, 2020, the mother of the Rutgers student who was killed by a train after becoming intoxicated at a frat party sued the school and fraternity for wrongful death.
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Can I File a Wrongful Death Claim For A Slip and Fall Accident?
While the snow and ice has cleared from the snowstorm in mid-January, the Pacific Northwest isn’t out of the woods yet. Slip and fall accidents increase during winter months because of icy walkways. Snow, sleet and freezing rain can all turn into hazardous traveling conditions. Pedestrians should take reasonable precautions to protect themselves from a fall by slowing down in icy conditions but property owners can reduce the chances of a slip and fall injury on their property by salting or sanding walkways.
Injuries from slip and fall accidents vary in severity from a bruised tailbone to broken bones and yes, even death. Senior adults over the age of 65 are particularly susceptible to slip and fall accidents leading to serious injuries; falls are the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among the older population. Each year at least 300,000 older people are hospitalized for hip fractures with more than 95 percent of hip fractures caused by falling. According to the National Council on Aging, one in four Americans over the age of 65 has a slip and fall accident every year. Every 11 seconds, a senior adult seeks emergency room treatment for a fall and every 19 minutes, a senior person dies from a fall. In fact, falls are the number one cause of fatal injury among seniors.
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The Top 5 Causes of Wrongful Death During the Holiday Season
The holiday season is a joyful but stressful time and it brings some particular injury risks. Some of the factors that lead to increased risk of wrongful death during the holidays are longer hours of darkness, people not handling stress in appropriate ways, and the new products that come in the form of gifts.
If you lost a loved one during the holiday season and you believe that it was caused by the negligence or willful act of another, contact a local wrongful death attorney as soon as possible. The wrongful death lawyer can discuss your legal rights and may be able to help you recover damages so you aren’t left with a financial disaster on top of the pain of losing your loved one.
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How does Physician-Patient Privilege Affect Wrongful Death Cases?
Physician-patient privilege is a legal concept that protects a patient’s right to privacy of their medical records. This means that without a patient’s consent, a physician is not usually permitted to share their patient’s private or protected health information with anyone. There are some exceptions to physician-patient privilege, including a court order for medical records.
The protection of patient records becomes difficult after someone is deceased, with some believing that a patient’s privacy should continue after their death while others believe that privacy should end after death.
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How are Wrongful Death Settlements Paid Out? Are Wrongful Death Settlements Taxable?
Wrongful death lawsuits are brought against a defendant accused of legal fault for the death of a loved one. The defendant may be a negligent driver, doctor, employer, caregiver or manufacturer or any other person or entity whose negligence caused the death of your loved one. A representative of the estate brings the claim on behalf of immediate family members or other parties depending on the laws of the state. The purpose of a wrongful death claim is to recover damages through a wrongful death settlement.
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Seeking Compensation For a Wrongful Death Bike Accident
As cities like Bellingham, WA have become more bike friendly the number of bikes sharing the road with cars has grown. With more bikes on the road, the risk for bike versus car accidents increases. According to federal data shared on Streets Blog USA, cyclist fatalities rose 10 percent while traffic fatalities overall fell one percent in 2018. This was the second year in a row to see an increase in cyclist fatalities. When a bicycle versus car accident happens because of the reckless or negligent behavior of a driver, it is often the unprotected cyclist who pays the price.
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Doctors Found Negligent in Wrongful Death Case Involving Florida Woman Who Died After Childbirth
As reported by the Miami Herald, doctors who delayed a scheduled C-section for a Florida mom for over 14 hours have been found negligent in her death. The woman bled to death after giving birth to her last child, Lillian, in July 2015 at Broward General Hospital. A Broward County jury awarded $24.5 million to the family of the mom who was 34-years-old at the time of her death.