Charlotte Wrongful Death Settlements

Wrongful Death Verdicts And Settlements

Vehicle Accident Wrongful Death

• Jury awards 6 million dollars to families whose children were killed at an intersection.

  In 2013, a Mecklenburg County jury award 6 million dollars to two minors who were killed in a high speed crash. The crash occurred at an intersection where a developer had promised to pay for a traffic signal – but never did. The two week trial was litigated by our firm and Amanda Mingo of the firm Rawls, Scheer, Foster, Mingo & Culp.

  Update: Recently, the Supreme Court of North Carolina affirmed the maximum recovery of $3,000,000 dollars against the state after three persons were killed at the intersection by a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. The North Carolina Department of Transportation failed to install a traffic signal at a busy intersection. This resulted in a total verdict of 9 million dollars for the families.

• $1.913 Million dollar settlement – Auto/Bicycle – Wrongful Death – Personal Injury – Unsafe Intersection

  Wrongful death and personal injury action against City of Charlotte for failure to maintain safe intersection by removing trees that obstructed view. Car-bike accident, one child killed, one child paralyzed for life.

• $1.28 million dollars awarded for Wrongful Death

  The estate of a 19 year old man was awarded one million dollars by a Mecklenburg County jury after they found that the death of the young man was caused by a truck driver operating a commercial vehicle. There was an allegation that drugs were found in the cab of the truck. After the verdict, the case was settled for the sum of 1.28 million dollars.

• Widow and child receive confidential settlement in wrongful death helicopter crash.

  When the pilot of a helicopter struck power lines, the subsequent crash killed the passenger. The passenger was survived by his wife and young son. The confidential settlement included the creation of a trust fund for the child to assist in future educational and other needs.

Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death

• 71- Year-Old Accident Victim – Misread Spinal Films – Failure To Spot Fractures – Quadriplegia, Resulting Death – $1.575 Million Settlement

  This was a claim for the wrongful death of a 71-year-old male. The patient was involved in a motor vehicle accident and was taken to an emergency room via ambulance. Spinal films taken in the emergency department were interpreted as normal. He remained hospitalized for 31 days before his spinal fractures were discovered during a neurological consultation. By this time, the fractures had become dislocated and bone fragments had torn the spinal cord. The patient lived the remaining 15 months of his life in a long term care facility. Patient subsequently died from complications of quadriplegia.

• $800,000 – Wrongful Death – Nursing Care- Drug Overdose /Error Ativan/Lorazepam Overdose

  A 68 year old man was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. He was put into a drug induced coma to allow him to be intubated while he recovered from the pneumonia. The nurses on duty administered 473 mgs of Ativan over a 24 hour time period. The patient became comatose and never regained consciousness. At the time of his death, he was retired but working part-time. He was survived by his wife and adult children.

• $490,000 – Wrongful Death – Patient Bled to death during Laparoscopic Surgery

  A 66 year old female underwent laparoscopic surgery for a hernia. Upon insertion of the trocar, the surgeon injured several vessels and arteries and the patient bled to death. She was a travel agent who was survived by her adult children.

• $450,000 – Wrongful death – Emergency Room Auto Accident – Hematoma-Head Injury – Failure to order Brain CT

  A 69 year old man was involved in a rear end auto collision. He was taken to the emergency room via ambulance. He complained of head ache in the emergency room and had low blood pressure. He was on anticoagulants. No head studies were performed and he was discharged. While waiting for his daughter to pick him up, he was found unconscious in the emergency department waiting room. He later died as a result of an undiagnosed bleed in his brain. He was 69 years old and employed as a caddie at a country club. He was survived by his adult daughter.

• $425,000 – Wrongful death – Nursing error Sleep Apnea, failure to insure post op patient was wearing CPAP machine while hospitalized post-operatively

  A 60 year old female was admitted to the hospital for neck surgery. She suffered from sleep apnea and brought her CPAP machine with her to the hospital. She informed the staff that she had to wear it at night. The surgery went fine. At 11:30 p.m. she was given an injection of Demerol. When the nurse checked on her at 5:30 a.m. she was unresponsive and was not wearing her CPAP machine. The staff at the hospital had not insured that she was wearing her machine and failed to perform proper neurological checks on her in the post operative period. She died as a result of the brain injury she suffered. She was employed in the medical records department of a local neurosurgery group. She was survived by her adult son and daughter.

• $399,000 – Wrongful Death – Methotrexate toxicity – Nursing home, pharmacy negligence

  A 75 year old female suffered methotrexate toxicity while a resident in a nursing home. She had recently been discharged from the hospital and the physician’s discharge medication orders were misinterpreted by the nursing home. The pharmacy providing the drugs to the nursing was also negligent in that they should have recognized she was receiving too much methotrexate. She was hospitalized but did not survive. She was survived by her adult children.