Contra Costa County to Pay Over $13 Million in Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Last week, Contra Costa County was ordered to pay over $13 million to settle two separate lawsuits.  In one case they will pay $1.5 million to the family of a man shot by sheriffs in a wrongful death claim.  The second suit requires they pay $11.7 million to the family of a man who died in a crash on a county road.

The county will pay $1.5 million in the case of a man who was shot in 2009 in the emergency room at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center.  The man had checked himself in for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal symptoms.  He became agitated and attempted to cut the restraints off himself with a knife.  His children, who filed the lawsuit, claimed the deputies used excessive force.

In the other case, jurors found the county failed to keep the road safe during road resurfacing work after a man died when he was struck by a vehicle that ran off the road after he stopped to help another driver. […]

American Electric Power to Pay Close to $ 7 Million in Explosion Death

AEP continues to pay lawsuit verdicts from tragic explosion case

A Marshall County, West Virginia jury found American Electric Power (AEP) negligent in a 2007 explosion, and they must pay close to $7 million to the family of a man that died in the explosion.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of a Tyler County, WV man who was a truck driver at the Muskingum River Power Plant.  The family’s lawyer claimed the explosion was caused by dangerous conditions on the facility’s hydrogen storage tank.  They also claimed there was an explosion 15 months prior and AEP had not taken any corrective actions to prevent a similar accident.

An Ohio jury recently returned a $6 million verdict against AEP for a man who was injured in the same explosion.

The power plant is located on the west bank of the Muskingum River, […]

Washington Cosmetic Clinic To Pay $1.8 Million in Wrongful Death Suit

Sono Bello Body Contour Center, a cosmetic clinic in Bellevue, Washington, has agreed to pay $1.8 million to the family of a bride-to-be who went to the clinic for liposuction in May 2009 and died hours later.  The 28-year-old went to the clinic for the procedure then checked into a nearby hotel to recover.  The hotel maids found the woman’s body the next morning.  The King County Medical Examiner ruled that she died from “acute lidocaine intoxication.”

Lidocaine is a nerve blocker that is pumped into the body to suppress pain during liposuction. When a representative from the Society of Plastic Surgeons was asked by KING 5 News to interpret the levels of lidocaine found, she said they were “really, really high, stratospheric high.”

In the settlement, neither Sono Bello nor the doctor admitted any wrongdoing. The family’s lawyer said that Sono Bello offered a higher, […]

San Diego Man Awarded $2.4 Million in Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit

A San Diego Navy Veteran who was diagnosed in 2010 with mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer, was awarded $2.4 million in damages after his disease was found to be attributed to his work in ship boiler rooms.

The lawsuit, filed against John Crane, Inc., claimed the plaintiff was exposed to asbestos while serving in the Navy from 1961 to 1971 in his work in the maintenance and repair of boilers, pumps and valves.  The suit claimed John Crane made some of the asbestos-containing packing material and gaskets in the equipment.

The total damages of about $2.4 million include nearly $1.4 million in noneconomic damages and $450,000 for loss of consortium.  The jury found John Crane five percent liable, the Navy and insulation companies 57 percent at fault, some manufacturers and suppliers 37 percent at fault.  […]

Iowa to Pay $875K After Hospital Error Resulted in Amputation of Leg

The Des Moines Register reports that the state of Iowa has settled a lawsuit filed against the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics after a young girl went to the hospital in 2007 for a stomach surgery, and had to have her leg amputated after she developed compartment syndrome.

The state will pay $875,000 to the now 16-year-old girl who had her right leg amputated and her left leg now suffers a permanent foot drop.  The suit alleged that the girl’s legs were elevated for over 10 hours causing increased pressure to build in her leg muscle compartments, leading to muscle and nerve damage.

The hospital is overseen by the Iowa Board of Regents and the State Appeals Board had to approve the settlement.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a form of medical negligence, you may have a medical malpractice claim.  […]