Alabama Injury Attorney Blog

This case arose out of a shooting that took place on August 15, 2003, in the north Alabama town of Grant (Marshall County). Verlon LeMaster, the Chief of Police of Grant, received a tip that two 17 year old boys, who had been reported as runaways, were located at a particular house in Grant. Chief LeMaster and three other officers relying on this tip, proceed to this house to pick them up. One of the runaways was Brian Alan Butler, who was also wanted on a misdemeanor marijuana charge.

When the officers arrived, the Chief went to the front door and an adult female confirmed the boys were at home. So the Chief and another officer entered the home. The female called out to the boys to come out from a back bedroom, but they did not come out. So the Chief and one other officer went to the back bedroom where the two boys were located. The evidence at trial revealed that the Chief walked into the room and Mr. Butler was standing in the closet doorway and the Chief, whose gun was still in his holster said, "Come on son, let's go." At that point in time, Mr. Butler raised a gun and fatally shot Chief LeMaster in the head. Equally alarming, the occupants of the house knew the boys had .45 cal pistols and had made threats to shoot the police if they came to pick them up, despite these threats the occupants of the house never warned Chief LeMaster he was walking into an ambush.

When the original civil lawsuit was filed in this case there were numerous claims and defendants; however, the verdict in this case was against Brian Alan Butler. Mr. Butler has already been convicted of capital murder, but the family felt strongly that Mr. Butler should also be punished civilly as well. After, a two day trial, the jury returned a $15 million dollar wrongful death verdict in favor of the Estate of Verlon LeMaster.

Plaintiff's counsel were George Beason and Morris Lilienthal of Martinson and Beason, P.C. of Huntsville, Alabama.

A recent Alabama Supreme Court decision alleviates the liability of hospitals if they have any affiliation with State of Alabama. Lauree Durden Ellison was seen in the Emergency Room at Baptist Medical Center East Hospital in Montgomery. The hospital failed to notify Ms. Ellison or her doctor that she left the hospital with an antibiotic-resistant staph infection. Sadly, Ms. Ellison died. A Montgomery jury found the hospital was liable for failing to make this disclosure and awarded Ms. Ellison's family a $3.2 million dollar verdict. Under Alabama's wrongful death statute all of these damages are punitive in nature intended to punish the wrongdoer and prevent such acts in the future. However, the Alabama Supreme court in a 5-3 decision held that the hospital was immune from liability.

In the months prior to Ms. Ellison visit to the ER, Baptist Medical Center East parent company was undergoing financial difficulty and transferred operations of the hospital to the University of Alabama and UAB Health Systems for a set period of time. Once the term ended the operations of the hospital were to revert back to Baptist Medical Center East. Based upon the fact that a board of trustees created by the University was set up to run the hospital, the majority of the Court held that was enough to give the hospital state immunity.

This ruling creates a very dangerous precedent as noted by Chief Justice Cobb's dissent. This ruling frees the hospital from responsibility for the harm that may be caused by its negligence. Shouldn't hospitals be held accountable, like everyone else? Consider this: Medical errors are the fifth-leading cause of deaths in the US, with up to 98,000 deaths annually. (source Medical News Today). If the judicial system cannot serve as a checks and balances on state run hospitals who will? Would you want to seek medical care in a facility you know can cut off your wrong leg during surgery and have no responsibility?

For a good overview of this case and its holding see John Archibald's article "It's good to be in the service of the king."

An Alabama wrongful death lawsuit has been filed as the result of a high speed police chase in May of 2008. The Huntsville Alabama Car Wreck occurred on Redstone Arsenal as police were involved in a high speed chase with a suspected drug buyer. According to the Huntsville Times report, the suspected drug buyer, Valorie Cox, led police from several jurisdictions on a high speed chase through several parts of Huntsville at speeds of up to 90 mph. Tragically, the chase ended when Cox's vehicle struck and killed a vehicle being driven by Darren Spurlock a Marshall Space Flight Center engineer. The Alabama wrongful death suit names the cities of Huntsville, Madison, Decatur, and Morgan and Madison counties as defendants. The suspect, Valorie Cox, has already pleaded guilty in federal court to a second-degree murder charge and is now serving a 30-year sentence. Essentially, the wrongful death suit claims that law enforcements actions in maintaining such a high speed pursuit in a heavily traveled area created a danger to the public greater than the suspected drug crime under investigation.

It is worth noting, that prior to filing this wrongful death suit the plaintiff was required under Alabama law to give a notice of claim to each municipality and county that was sued. Pursuant to Alabama Code §§ 6-5-20, 11-12-5, 11-12-8, 11-47-23, and 11-47-192 a plaintiff must file a notice of claim within 6 months within the date of the accident for a claim against a city and within 1 year of the date of the accident for a claim against a county. Alabama law also requires that claims against a city and a county be filed in the county where city is located. Since this wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Madison County, it will be interesting to see if the city of Decatur and Morgan County file a motion to transfer the case against them to Morgan County.

A settlement has been reached in the wrongful death lawsuit of an Alabama woman. Jennifer Hampton was tragically murdered in her room at the Days Inn on Lovell Road in West Knoxville, Tennessee in September of 2008. According to a report, a hotel employee was indicted and charged with the rape and murder. The report does not disclose the exact settlement amount but reports it was more than $10 million dollars.

Since this horrific act occurred in Knoxville - Tennessee and not Alabama law would apply. If this had occurred in Alabama, Alabama's wrongful death statute would apply and the only damages that would be recoverable would be punitive damages. Further, Alabama's case law on the criminal act of a third party would apply. This law essentially states that a person or entity is not typically liable for the criminal acts of a third party. I.E. a business would not typically be liable for the criminal acts of their employee unless they were on notice of this employee's dangerous propensity and failed to take the proper measures to remedy the situation. Horrific events such as this one are a perfect example of why employers should be held responsible if they fail to do a proper investigation and background check when they hire new employees.

The process of selecting an Alabama Personal Injury Lawyer or Alabama Wrongful Death Attorney following an accident is an extremely important decision. For most people, selecting an Alabama Injury Attorney can seem very intimidating with so many attorneys to choose from. This article is intended to aid the accident victim and their family in their search for an attorney.

Questions to consider and pose to potential personal injury attorneys:

• What is your experience in this field?

• Have you handled matters like mine?

• Do you have the resources to pay for depositions, hire experts and to go to trial?

• Will you handle my case or will you refer it to another attorney?

• Do you have any experience with the court system and judge where my case will be filed?

• Have you been peer reviewed by any service such as Martindale Hubbell?

• Can you provide me with any references from past clients and other attorneys?

• Are you a member of any trial lawyer associations such as the Alabama Association for Justice or the American Association for Justice?

• What type of contingency fee would you charge in a case of this type?

• Do you keep your clients informed of the progress of their case?

• Who else in the office will be working on my case?

These are all questions an accident victim should have answers to before hiring a personal injury lawyer.

Continue reading "Checklist For Hiring an Alabama Personal Injury Attorney" »

A west Alabama family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Alabama Federal court this week concerning the September 2008 shooting death of Joe Louis Bell. According to an article about the lawsuit, Mr. Bell was shot and killed in September 2008 by then York Chief of Police David Rowry. Currently, Rowry is awaiting a criminal trial on manslaughter charges.

The newspaper article indicates the family is seeking damages for pain; medical, funeral and burial expenses; financial support for Bell's widow; and compensatory and punitive damages. Although the article does set forth the exact causes of action the family is seeking these damages under, it is apparent that the family is not seeking recovery under Alabama's wrongful death statute. Alabama's wrongful death statute Ala. Code 6-5-410 is purely punitive in nature and intended only to punish the wrongdoer and deter such future conduct. An experienced Alabama wrongful death attorney would to tell you that a plaintiff can not recover compensatory damages under Alabama's wrongful death statute.

The Yamaha Motor Corp. announced this week that it is offering free repairs on about 145,000 Rhino two-seat utility vehicles. This announcement follows an investigation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) into the high propensity of these ATV's to rollover at relatively low speeds and on level terrain. According to the CPSC, there have been at least 46 wrongful deaths in U.S. as a result of Yamaha Rhino accidents. Yamaha is also facing hundreds of products liability lawsuits from the personal injuries and wrongful deaths that have occurred as a result of the defects in these ATVs. According to reports, the repair installs a spacer on the rear wheels and removes the rear anti-sway bar to help reduce the chance of rollover. It also installs half-doors and more passenger handholds to help users' arms and legs stay inside the vehicle in a rollover. The CPSC said consumers should stop driving these vehicles until the repair is done.

Continue reading "46 Wrongful Deaths Leads to Yamaha Offering Free Repairs on Rhino ATV" »

A recent rash of fatal Alabama car wrecks on U.S. Highway 43 in the Florence Muscle Shoals area has again raised concerns over the safety of the highway. According to a recent report, there have been three wrongful deaths in two separate car accidents within a week on this stretch of U.S. Highway 43. The report cited local a mayor who noted that he knew of 15 people who have been killed on that 2-mile strech of Alabama highway. According to the mayor, there is a water drainage problem on this highway and every time it rains cars and trucks begin to hydroplane. In response to these accidents, the Alabama Department of Transportation is currently surveying the road and proposing to implement the installation of guardrails, a median divider and the resurfacing of the highway.

Hydroplaning accidents are caused when a driver loses steering control because a layer of water on the roadway prevents direct contact between the tires and the road surface. When a roadway is designed or resurfaced it is required to comply with federal and state specificaitons. For example, certain portions of a highway are typically required to have a 2% slope so that if a drop of rain lands in the center of the highway the rain will run off to the shoulder. Often Alabama car accidents such as the ones on U.S. Highway 43 could be avoided if road contractors simply complied federal and state guidelines.

The family of an East Dubuque, Illinois woman who was killed in a three-vehicle pileup on Halloween has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.  Tabitha Carroll, her husband and son were stopped in traffic when their Ford truck was hit from behind by a semi-truck and pushed forward into a dump truck.  A subsequent investigation determined that the driver of the semi-truck was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the truck accident.  The investigation also revealed that half of the truck's brakes were deemed faulty. 

Had this tragic truck accident occurred in Alabama the proper party to bring a wrongful death lawsuit would be the personal representative of the estate.  Alabama's wrongful death law is unlike any other, in that it only permits recovery for punitive damages and denies any recovery for compensatory damages. Thus, Alabama's wrongful death statute is setup to punish the wrongdoer, not to compensate the family for economic losses.     

Continue reading "Truck Accident Leads to Wrongful Death Lawsuit " »

A Collinsville, Alabama man is dead after a four-wheeler accident Monday morning.

The man, whose name was not released Monday, allegedly lost control of the four-wheeler on Ellis Street in Collinsville around 9:30 a.m.  "It flipped, left the highway, and landed in a ditch," said DeKalb Ambulance Service Director Mark Ford. "The man was thrown from the vehicle and suffered blunt-force trauma." 

Unfortunately, this tragic situation happens far too often.  According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission there were 467 related ATV deaths reported in 2005. Many four-wheeler and ATV driver's don't have the proper training and don't wear appropriate protective gear such as helments that can prevent and minimize many ATV accidents and injuries.  Often four-wheeler and ATV accidents are the result of some defect in the manufacturer's product design.  Over the years, thousands of product liability lawsuits have been brought against some the world's largest four-wheeler and ATV manufacturers in an effort to correct such design defects.  If such a design defect exists in the four-wheeler involved in this accident, a wrongful death and products liablity lawsuit could be brought under Alabama law.