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Archive for October, 2011

Settlement for Death from Derailed Train

Posted on: October 28th, 2011 by Injury Claims.

The family of Zoila Tellez, who was killed in a tragic railway accident, have had a negotiated settlement for death from a derailed in excess of £22.5m in compensation for a victim killed by a derailed train approved by an Illinois County District Court judge.

Zoila (44) of Chicago, Illinois, was travelling in an automobile with her spouse Jose and pregnant daughter Adriana in June 2009, when the family pulled up to red lights at a level crossing just outside of the city. The train that was about to pass was a Canadian National Railways freight vehicle, which consisted of 114 freight wagons – 76 of which were tankers filled with liquid ethanol.

Due to heavy rain, a nearby retention pond had overspilled, washing away some of the ballast underneath the track and, as the Illinois Court heard, leaving the rails “hanging in the air”. The oncoming train, unaware of the danger ahead, derailed shortly before the level crossing at which the Tellez family had pulled up, causing several of the ethanol tankers to explode and setting the Tellez car alight.

Jose and Adriana Tellez were able to escape from the incident with severe burns – Adriana miscarrying her baby soon after – while Zoila Tellez was unable to get out of the vehicle and burned to death.

In two different legal cases following the tragedy, it was revealed that the County Sheriff’s Office had previously alerted the Canadian National Railways communication centre in Montreal about the potential hazard, but the employee who received the warning had not been trained about how to respond to the alert, and the message was never transmitted to the train driver.

Legal representatives for the family also found that a weather warning had been sent to the company’s Edmonton office two hours before the tragedy, but the employee there had not read the full message as so many alerts were being delivered that evening. Canadian National Railways conceded that had the messages been dealt with in a prompt and efficient regard, an engineer would have inspected the track before allowing the train to proceed and would have therefore prevented the accident.

Admitting that the death of Zoila Tellez and the injuries to her husband and daughter were due to neglect, insurers agreed an award which sees Jose Tellez receive £14.2, while Adriana had a separate settlement of £8.7m approved by the judge.

Cerebral Palsy Birth Legal Claim results in £1.6m settlement

Posted on: October 28th, 2011 by Injury Claims.

A six year old girl, who a cerebral palsy birth injury has seen her legal claim result in an interim settlement of £1.6m.

Isabelle Sheehan was born with severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Ms Sheehan sustained her birth due to the acknowledged negligence of Dr David Corr, who was practising privately from Bon Secours Maternity Hospital, Cork, at the time of Isabelle’s birth in November 2004.

Isabelle’s claim was made through her mother Catherine, who alleged that Dr Corr should have referred her to an expert in foetal medicine when complications started during her pregnancy. Dr Corr stated that he had made a mistake and Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill heard at the High Court that an interim settlement of £1.6m had been agreed between the parties.

The £1m settlement is to cover general damages and loss of future earnings for Isabelle, and to pay for the care provided already for the child and future care until October 2013. By that date, it is hoped that a system of periodic payments will be introduced for persons with catastrophic injuries. However, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill stated that if the necessary legislation was not enacted by that time, a lump sum payment must be provided.

Work Brain Damage Settlement set at £9.6m

Posted on: October 22nd, 2011 by Injury Claims.

A dock worker, who sustained a brain injury when hit by a defective mooring cable, has won work brain damage settlement for an injury suffered at work.

Cody Karl of League City, Texas, was working in a job at the Magellan Terminal located on the Houston Ship Channel when, on 1st June 2008, he formed part of a team tasked with docking a 600 foot tanker. Cody was working on board a docking skiff when one of the cables used to moor the ship snapped and hit him on the head.

Despite wearing a hard hat, Cody was found to have brain injuries which lead to cognitive dysfunction and a loss of physical strength along the left side of his body. After seeking legal representation, Cody took an injuries at work case against the Magellan Terminal, claiming that the mooring cable was in an unsafe condition for the tension it had to withstand.

Cody’s employers refuted the claim, saying that Cody himself should have seen that the cable had deteriorated and was not safe to use, but at the 125th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas, Judge Christine Butts found in favour of the claimant and awarded him £9.6m.

Settlement for Pool Death

Posted on: October 20th, 2011 by Injury Claims.

The family of a woman who sustained horrific injuries and subsequently died after an inflatable pool slide “bottomed out” has been awarded £13m in a settlement for pool death compensation claim by a judge in Salem, Massachusetts.

Robin Aleo (29) from Boston, Massachusetts, was spending a day by her relative’s swimming pool in July 2006 when she attempted to go down the slide into the pool where her husband and daughter were playing. As she approached the bottom of the inflatable slide, it “bottomed out”, causing her to hit her head on the pool decking.

Robin was rushed to hospital with a fractured neck and was put on life support in a quadriplegic condition. When she showed no signs of recovery, the life support system was turned off and Robin passed away a short time after of her injuries.

Claiming that the slide had been malfunctional and failed to comply with federal standards for inflatable toys, Robin’s husband took the retailer of the slide – “Toys R Us” – to court in a product liability compensation claim.

In the Salem Superior Court, the jury ruled with the argument and found Toys R Us professionally negligent in importing the inflatable slide from China and selling it – both online and in their retail outlets. After a short deliberation, the judge awarded compensatory and punitive damages coming to £13m to the family, saying “Although nothing can bring Robin back, this award will help provide some security for the husband and daughter who lost her.”

Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Compensation case results in £1.7m award

Posted on: October 19th, 2011 by Injury Claims.

A young girl, who was found to have cerebral palsy shortly after her birth, has had a compensation settlement of £1.7m approved in the High Court.

Deborah French, aged 24), was diagnosed with cerebral palsy shortly after her birth in August 1987. Her parents brought a claim for birth injury compensation against consultant obstetrician Harry Murphy and the Health Board, alleging that Dr Murphy had been negligent in the lead up to and during Deborah’s birth.

The case was settled with no admission of liability by the defendants, a course of action supported by Mr Justice John Quirke as he approved the settlement, stating that the conflicting opinions offered by medical experts may have put the family at risk of getting nothing in a trial.

The judge recommended that the funds be allocated to Deborah’s parents – Ann and John French – in annual increments of £120,000.

Claim for Being Injury at Supermarket Car Park is settled

Posted on: October 18th, 2011 by Injury Claims.

A 16 year old male, who sustained deep cuts in his thigh when climbing over a supermarket car park fence, has had a supermarket car park injury compensation settlement of £44,555 approved.

Michael Hogan was eleven years old when the accident happened in 2006. Climbing over a supermarket car park fence, he caught his leg on an unprotected and protruding nail, which tore a deep V-shaped wound into the inside of his left thigh.

Michael’s injuries were so severe that he had to have a double layer of inner flesh stitched together while under a general anaesthetic and, although he has recovered now, will be left with a permanent scar as a reminder of his injury for the rest of his life.

Liability was uncontested by the owners of the shopping centre and the judge was told that the defendants had made a settlement offer of £44,555. The judge approved the settlement offer, also ordering that it should be invested in court funds until Michael’s 18th birthday in March 2015.

PPD Chemicals in Hair Dye Blamed for Teenage Girl´s Death

Posted on: October 14th, 2011 by Injury Claims.

A preliminary investigation into the death of Tabatha McCourt has suggested that PPD chemicals in hair dye she was using at the time were responsible for causing the violent fit which lead to the teenager´s death.

Tabatha (17) from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, had been dyeing her hair with a hair product containing para-Phenylenediamine (PPD) at a friend´s home, when she suddenly rushed from the bathroom screaming in agony.  After a period of vomiting she collapsed into a heap and, despite an ambulance being summoned immediately, she died shortly after at Monklands General Hospital, Lanarkshire.

Investigators examining Tabatha´s death have pointed to the PPD chemicals in hair dye – suggesting that Tabatha could have suffered a rare allergic reaction to the chemical. PPD is added to hair dyes as it withstands hot temperatures from hair dryers and does not fade readily with washing and drying.

However, PPD chemicals in hair dye have been identified as a contact allergen which should not be applied directly to the skin, come into contact with the eyes, inhaled or ingested. People who regularly work with PPD chemicals in hair dye have previously reported allergic reactions to PPD and the chemical is believed to also cause lung irritation, damage the nervous system and potentially be carcinogenic.

Although the final cause of Tabatha´s death will not be known until after a post-mortem has been performed, hair dye manufacturers have repeated their advice that nobody should use hair dye containing PPD chemicals without first conducting a 48 hour patch test.

£19k award in Claim for Injured Toe at Work

Posted on: October 11th, 2011 by Injury Claims.

A postal worker, who had a toe injury inflicted at work has won his compensation claim at Court. He damaged the big toe on his right foot when a package of floorboards fell onto it.

Edward Pyne, aged 61, brought his claim against the postal service after the accident in November 2006 left him needing several operations for an ingrown toenail which had resulted from the injury. He also said that he had suffered from several infections which had developed in the injured toe.

The judge was told how the worker should have been supplied steel toe-capped boots as part of a postal worker’s uniform, but Edward had long worn out the pair that had been most recently given to him three years previously. Consequently the shoes he was wearing on the day of the incident offered insufficient protection against such an accident happening.

Liability was denied for the compensation claim, but Mr Matthew Deery heard evidence that many of Edward’s colleagues also failed to wear the obligatory steel toe-capped footwear, and had better staff supervision been provided, the accident could have been avoided.

Upholding Edward’s claim for injuries at work, the judge stated that he was satisfied that the postal service had not provided adequate protective footwear for their staff, and awarded Edward £19,300 in personal injury compensation.

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