Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

There are few things more stressful and life-altering than losing a loved one in a sudden and unexpected personal injury accident. This type of loss is referred to as a wrongful death claim under North Carolina law and there are many rules that apply to how a wrongful death claim must proceed. While you are coping with the sudden loss and grief, the competent Charlotte personal injury lawyers at Maurer Law are prepared to help you explore your legal rights and recover the compensation that you deserve. Although no amount of money will truly make you whole again, it can go a long way towards covering the financial impact of a sudden loss.

Recently, the North Carolina Court of Appeal heard an appeal in a case where the defendant appealed from an award of compensatory and punitive damages in an action where the plaintiff alleged that the defendant was responsible for his wife’s death. Punitive damages are a special category of damages that a jury can award if it finds that the defendant’s conduct is particularly egregious and reckless.

Before trial, the parties stipulated to a set of facts establishing that the defendant was negligent in causing the death of the plaintiff’s wife while driving. The defendant agreed that she lost control of her vehicle and swerved into the opposing lane of traffic and running directly into the decedent as she was walking along the shoulder of the road. The trial was split into two phases, which is called bifurcation. The first phase was to determine the amount of compensatory damages that the plaintiff should receive for his suffering and loss. The jury awarded $4.25 million.

Continue reading

Few things are more devastating than losing a loved one in an accident that could have been avoided if someone exercised proper care. In North Carolina, the estate of someone who died in a personal injury accident can bring a wrongful death claim to recover compensation for the costs associated with the accident as well as compensation for his or her surviving loved ones. The idea of dealing with a lawsuit during this already stressful and shocking time can be a lot to manage while other individuals are eager to seek justice for their loved ones. At Maurer Law, our Charlotte wrongful death attorneys are standing by and ready to help you determine the best route to asserting your legal rights after the loss of a loved one.

In a recent North Carolina Court of Appeal opinion, a man working as a pipe fitter died when he was attempting to reconnect water pipes to a portable chiller machine on North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus. The device had been turned off for winter break. When he loosened a 13.1-pound metal flange on the water pipe, accumulated pressurized gas that had built up within the machine projected the flange directly into his head. He died at the hospital five days later as a result of his injuries.

His widow brought a wrongful death action against several parties including employees in the maintenance department and HVAC department for the school requesting compensatory damages and punitive damages. The latter category of damages is a category of damages designed to punish defendants for particularly reckless conduct. She alleged in her complaint that the defendants were negligent in shutting the chiller unit down and that it led to the explosion that killed her husband. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss on several grounds including lack of subject matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, and failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The defendants alleged that they were sued in their official capacities, which meant that their employer’s status as a public entity entitled them to sovereign immunity.

Continue reading

Wrongful death accidents are a devastating occurrence for any family, but they are particularly traumatic when the victim is a child. Although no amount of money can truly compensate you for the loss of a child, it can help you cope with the expenses that result from medical treatment, burial, and more. At Maurer Law, our seasoned team of Charlotte wrongful death attorneys is ready to assist you with holding someone responsible for the unnecessary loss of your child.

Recently, the North Carolina Court of Appeals considered a claim in which a five-year-old child died when an overloaded dump truck engaged in an uncontrolled roll and struck him while he was playing near his home. Evidence provided in the case showed that the dump truck was left unattended with the engine running and without the wheel chocks engaged. The dump truck was at the location as part of a home construction site near the home of the decedent’s family.

The estate of the decedent brought a lawsuit against a number of parties including the real estate developer who designed the neighborhood on the basis that the developer maintained a duty to develop a safety plan, to reduce harm to residents from construction accidents, and to conduct inspections even though it sold lots to independent builders. The real estate developer responded by filing a motion for summary judgment on the basis that it did not owe a legal duty to the decedent. The lower court granted the motion and the plaintiffs appealed.

Continue reading

The holidays are a season for spending time with friends, family, and loved ones often in the form of parties and gatherings that involve food and drink. Alcohol is a common offering at many holiday parties and people usually spend more time going out to restaurants or bars during the season to take advantage of their vacation or time while visiting family. Although this is usually a harmless activity, there are unfortunate situations where someone is overserved and then gets behind the wheel of a vehicle. Drunk drivers cause some of the most devastating and even fatal accidents. At Maurer Law, our Charlotte injury lawyers are prepared to help you fight for the compensation that you deserve after being involved in an accident with a drunk driver.

In a recent case, the North Carolina Supreme Court considered a case involving the state’s dram shop liability act. These laws are a set of rules that hold bars, restaurants, and other retailers who serve alcohol to the public liable for overserving a patron who later causes a North Carolina accident. In the case, the court was specifically asked to address a situation where the plaintiff was contributorily negligent. This is a term used to describe a situation where the plaintiff was also negligent at the time of the accident, contributing to the harm that he or she suffered.

The facts of the case are as follows. The defendants were hotel operators who operated a bar in one of their resorts. A husband and wife checked into the hotel and began drinking at the restaurant. Over the course of the evening, they ordered 24 alcoholic beverages. The wife consumed at least ten drinks and was so intoxicated that the hotel workers had to transport her to her hotel room in a wheelchair according to evidence provided during trial. The next morning, the husband found his wife dead on the floor. The cause of death was later determined to be alcohol poisoning.

Continue reading

Losing a child is perhaps the most horrific thing that a parent can experience, particularly if it happens as the result of another person’s carelessness. Although no amount of money can truly repair the damage and pain that your family has experienced as a result of the sudden loss, it can help you cope with the financial burden associated with the loss. As seasoned Charlotte personal injury lawyers handling wrongful death cases, we are prepared to help you determine whether your family is entitled to compensation from the person who caused your child’s death.

Recently, the North Carolina Court of Appeal considered a case in which the plaintiffs left the minor child in the care of the defendants, who ran an unlicensed childcare facility in their home. They regularly cared for the plaintiffs’ child. On one occasion, the defendants reportedly had a loaded 12-gauge shotgun on the kitchen table that the children were able to access. One of the defendants had not completed a firearms safety course. One of the defendants’ children discharged the shotgun in the direction of the plaintiffs’ child, resulting in her death.

The plaintiffs filed a wrongful death claim and included claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The plaintiff’s father heard about the shooting over a CB radio and saw the ambulance pass him, knowing that his daughter was inside. He followed the ambulance to the hospital and saw his daughter being unloaded. He was told at that time that his child died in the ambulance. The mother of the child taught at a school nearby and immediately came to the hospital where she held her daughter’s lifeless body until she was required to leave.

Continue reading

Wrongful death accidents are some of the most tragic and stressful accidents that we handle as seasoned North Carolina personal injury attorneys. One of the most common defenses that the other party will assert is that your loved one was acting negligently at the time of the incident and that this contributed to his or her death, rendering the defendant not liable.

In a recent case, the plaintiffs filed a wrongful death claim against an energy company and its associated companies after the loss of their son who worked at a summer camp. The decedent was assisting another camp counselor with bringing a sailboat out of the water when the mast made contact with an uninsulated high voltage power line overhead, thereby electrocuting the decedent who had his hand on the metal portion of the boat at the time the mast made contact.

In their complaint, the plaintiffs admitted that the decedent was reasonably unaware that the high voltage power line was above the boat and that insufficient vertical clearance for the mast of the sailboat to pass under the power lines existed. The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants acted negligently in several regards, including an allegation that the defendant knew or should have known that the uninsulated high-voltage power lines created a risk for the camp employees and guests. The plaintiffs also alleged that the defendants breached their duty to the plaintiff to maintain a safe electrical wire.

Continue reading