Houston Personal Injury Lawyer - Wrongful Death

Texas Nurse Charged with Killing 5 Dialysis patients

Scott Kappes — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:16:03 GMT

In shocking news out of Lufkin, Kimberly Saenz, a former nurse at a Lufkin area dialysis clinic, was charged with the murder of 5 dialysis patients. According to prosecutors, Saenz injected bleach into the veins of at least 10 dialysis patients, killing five of them.

Saenz was fired from the clinic on April 29, of last year when a patient witnessed her injecting a strange liquid into another dialysis patient. One month later Saenz was arrest on charges of assault in connection with patients who has become ill after being injected with bleach.

At the time police said at least two people had seen Saenz draw bleach into a syringe inject it into patients. Police also found traces of bleach in syringes and in dialysis lines at the clinic.

The clinic was run by DaVita, a publicly traded company that runs more than 1,400 dialysis centers throughout the nation. The company claims that there was nothing in Saenz’s work history to suggest that she was a threat to patients and that these malicious and deliberate acts could not have been prevented by the company.

However, the families of some victims believe that DaVita’s failure to properly supervise their employees allowed the vicious acts to take place and continue for some period of time.

State records show that 19 people died at the clinic (well over the state average) in the five months prior to Saenz’s firing. This makes me think that more charges may be yet to come.

If convicted Saenz will face the death penalty for her actions.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Dog Owner Gets 15 Years For Fatal Mauling

Scott Kappes — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:38:55 GMT

On Monday a California judge sentenced dog owner Marjorie Knoller to 15 years to life in prison, seven years after her two 100+ pound Presa Canarios fatally mauled her neighbor in the hallway of her apartment building. A jury originally convicted Knoller of second-degree murder, but a judge reduced the conviction to involuntary manslaughter landing Knoller a four year sentence in 2002.

Last year the California Supreme Court ordered that the second-degree murder conviction be reinstated. Knoller was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the second-degree murder charge on Monday.

Knoller’s attorneys plan to appeal the decision.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Woman Dies After Being Ignored in Hospital Waiting Room

Scott Kappes — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:53:28 GMT

Several employees of a Brooklyn hospital have been fired or suspended after a psychiatric patient died in the waiting room of the hospital. Staff members ignored the patient for an hour before any type of aid was rendered. Attorneys representing the victim’s family have released a surveillance tape that shows the tragic events that occurred the waiting room.

In the video you can see other people in the waiting room, along with what looks like a uniformed police officer or security guard, and several staff members pay very little attention to the woman for an hour while she tossed and turned and eventually lay motionless on the floor. Finally staff members do make an attempt to wake the woman and ultimately attempt to revive the woman after it is realized that she has no pulse.

Sources said that the woman had been waiting in the room for over 24 hours when the event occurred on June 19. The city Health and Hospital Corporation has since increased hospital staff and says that they will now check psychiatric patients every 15 minutes to ensure that this does not happen again.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Families of Va. Tech Victims Awarded $11 Million

Scott Kappes — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:28:58 GMT

On Tuesday a Virginia judge approved an $11 million settlement to be awarded to families of victims that were killed or injured in last year’s massacre at Virginia Tech University. The settlement included 24 victims that lost their lives and 18 more who were injured when Seung-Hui Cho went on a violent shooting rampage on the college campus last April. The deranged killer took the lives of 32 individuals before committing suicide when police breached the doors of the building where most of the carnage took place.

"The commonwealth has endeavored to meet the needs and concerns of the victims, including family members, through both monetary and non-monetary provisions," said Chief Deputy Attorney General William C. Mims.

Of the remaining eight deceased victims, families of two chose not to file claims and two other claims are unresolved. The other four will be brought forward at a later date, Mims said.

As part of the settlement, victims’ families will also be able to periodically meet with the Governor of Virginia and university officials to review legislation and improvements to the campus in response to the tragedy.

The families pursued the lawsuits after numerous reports and an independent panel concluded that more timely action from the university and its officials may have saved innocent lives.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Taser Maker Loses First Wrongful Death Case

Scott Kappes — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:44:31 GMT

Over the past several years the use of taser guns by police officers has increased exponentially. Thousands of people have been injured and over 300 have died after being shocked with police tasers. Numerous wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against both police, that use tasers, and taser manufacturers, but until now taser makers have never been found to liable in any of the cases. On Friday, a California jury found taser manufacturer, Taser International, to be partially responsible for the death of Robert Heston Jr., who tragically died after being zapped five time times by Salinas police in 2005.

The U.S. District Court in San Jose determined Friday that Taser International Inc. failed to adequately inform users of the effects of sustained use of the electric shocks. The city of Salinas was cleared in the ruling. The Monterey County District Attorney's Office had already cleared the Salinas police officers involved in the incident.

The jury awarded Heston’s family one million dollars in compensatory damages and another five million in punitive damages; however, the jury also found that Heston was 85 percent responsible for his own death and therefore the family will only receive 15 percent of the awarded amount, provided that no appeal is filed.

This decision is the first of its kind involving tasers and taser makers. As of April 14, 68 wrongful death lawsuits had been filed against Taser International. If juries start holding manufacturers responsible for deaths that are associated with the use of tasers it could be very troublesome next few years for taser makers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Family Files $145 Million Lawsuit Over Alleged Taser Death

Scott Kappes — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:21:44 GMT

The family of the late Jarrel Gray has filed a $145 million lawsuit against the Fredrick County, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins and Corp. Rudy Torres over the alleged taser-related death of the 20 year-old. An autopsy preformed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore could not determine the exact cause of Gray’s death, but the medical examiner said the cause was a combination of alcohol, method of restraint (taser), and a unique anatomical makeup of the victim.

According to the Sheriff’s department the incident occurred in the early morning hours of November 18, 2007. Deputy Torres responded to a call of a fight. When he arrived at the scene the deputy found Gray and another individual fighting. He ordered them to stop and when Gray did not comply Torres fired two electric jolts into the victim from his X26 Taser.

Gray was taken to the hospital where he died a short time later. A grand jury found that Torres was justified in his actions.

The plaintiffs have disputed the accuracy of the Sherrif’s department account of events leading to the death of Jarrel Gray. In a press conference one of the men with Gray on the night in question painted a very different picture of the events alleging that Torres acted hastily and with reckless disregard for the life of the victim.

The case seeks damages for seven counts, including wrongful death, police brutality / excessive force, deprivation of civil rights, and negligent training and supervision.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Another Crane Accident Leaves Two Workers Dead

Scott Kappes — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:48:11 GMT

Yesterday two construction workers were killed and five others were injured when a portion of a crane fell 30 stories at a Miami high-rise condominium. The 20-foot portion of the crane that fell smashed through a nearby home being used by the contractor for storage. One worker inside the home was killed. With the terrible Manhattan crane collapse only ten days ago, the all too familiar scene has left the nation rattled and many Americans asking questions about the safety of cranes.

The March 15 collapse of a crane in Manhattan left seven dead and injured many more injured. The 18-story collapse crushed one townhouse and damaged at least seven other buildings. New York authorities have enacted new guidelines that now require a build inspector to be on site whenever a crane is raised or lowered within the city.

This week an attorney representing the family of one of the construction workers who perished in the Manhattan collapse announced plans to sue the city of New York for $30 million, alleging that negligence played a role in the catastrophic accident. Lawsuits will likely surface in the coming months regarding yesterday's tragic crane accident as well.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Teen Dies From Complications During Breast Surgery

Scott Kappes — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:47:09 GMT

An 18 year-old senior at West Boca Raton High School in Florida tragically passed away over the weekend after complications during breast augmentation surgery. Stephanie Kuleba, a well-liked cheerleader, was having corrective surgery to repair a symmetrical breasts and an inverted areola, when she suffered a fatal reaction to anesthesia used during the surgery.

Doctors believe the cause of death was malignant hyperthermia, a relatively rare metabolic condition that can be triggered by certain anesthesia. A patient's heart rate and metabolism rises, causing the body temperature to rise as high as 112 degrees.

The surgery was being preformed by board certified plastic surgeon, Stephen Schuster, at an out patient facility in Boca Raton. He expressed his sadness by saying, ""I am devastated by the loss and I feel for the family."

The grief-stricken family is still awaiting a definitive cause of death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Magnetic Toys Pose Dangerous Health Risk If Swallowed

Scott Kappes — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:18:38 GMT

"Don't swallow magnets," is the advice that four year-old Braden Eberle is giving to other children. Braden recently spent six days in the hospital recovering from surgery to remove magnets from his intestines. Last April Braden swallowed a piece from a Magnetix toy set. Braden somehow had gotten one of the magnets loose from one of the rods and swallowed it. His mother, Jill, was not that concerned and until the following day when it happened again. Braden once again had found a way to get another magnet free and again swallowed it. Jill says that she could not find any loose or broken pieces when examining the toy but still took the toy away and would not allow Braden to play it anymore. Jill thought that was the end of it, but she and Braden were not so lucky as they would soon find out.

Braden woke in the middle of the night with a stomachache. Concerned that the swallowed pieces could possibly be stuck Jill to Braden to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. There, Dr. Sanjeev Dutta examined Braden's aching belly.

"What caught my attention though was the nature of the thing that was swallowed and that made me very concerned," Dutta said.

Dutta was rightfully concerned as an x-ray quickly determined that the two magnetic pieces had in fact become stuck together through the walls of two different sections of Braden's intestines. The strong magnets can squeeze together leading to perforation. This is a very dangerous and even fatal in some cases. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has 27 reported cases of this type of injury, including one death.

Braden underwent immediate surgery to have the pieces removed. He would spend the next six days recovering from surgery and an infection caused by the magnets. Dr. Dutta published this cautionary tale in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, available this week. He aims to warn other physicians about the dangers of ingested magnets and urges them to be vigilant even if a child shows very few symptoms.

Newer Magnetix toys have the small magnets incased in plastic to make them more difficult to remove and later in 2008 plans to release a new design with magnets in plastic pieces that cannot be swallowed.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes

Defibrillator Leads Get More Attention

Scott Kappes — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:20:19 GMT

This week Boston plays host to the ICD Lead Performance Conference. This conference is dedicated to the wires that connect implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) to the heart. These little wires were tossed into the public eye back in October when medical device giant, Medtronic, recalled one of its most popular leads due to an elevated risk of breakage. Reports of the defective wires giving shocks at in appropriate times and failure provide the desired shock to the heart in the time of need prompted the FDA to issue a Class I recall of the leads.

Experts from around the country expressed their concerns about the lack of voluntary reporting of failures by doctors and lab testers. St. Jude Medical representative, Philip Tsung, estimated that as many as 50 percent of all removed leads are sent back to the factory for failure analysis.

Lab tests got criticized, too. Megan Moynahan, chief of the FDA's defibrillator branch, asked why manufacturers only bend leads a limited number of times, simulating heartbeats, so that "all devices pass all tests." Why not flex them until they fail, she asked, to separate stronger leads from weaker ones.

It is nice to see the manufacturers addressing the issues with these devices and making an attempt create more awareness and ultimately make a safer product for everyone.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Drugs, medical Devices, and Implants.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Kappes