North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

Johnson & Johnson is announcing the recall of two lots of Duragesic pain patches. The recall, by its PriCara Division, is being issued because tears in the patches could expose users to the product’s gel and may result in an overdose. The recalled patches were made by ALZA Corp.

Recalled lots include:

• Duragesic 50 mcg/hr patches, lot number 0817239
• Sandoz Inc 50 mcg/hr patches, lot number 0816851

J & J is conducting the recall with the Food and Drug Administration. This is not the first recall involving improperly sealed Duragesic pain patches. In February 2008, J & J recalled some 32 million Duragesic Pain Patches over similar concerns. In 2004, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Products recalled 75 patches over leakage concerns also.

In 2007, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that accidental overdoses have been associated with use of the pain patch. The FDA has received over 100 reports of deaths that may have been related to use of fentanyl pain patches.

Duragesic, also known as fentanyl, is an opioid pain reliever that is 100 times stronger than morphine. You are not supposed to use fentanyl if you have drug allergies or a history of mental illness, seizures, breathing problems, heart problems, drug or alcohol dependence, low blood pressure, depression, liver disease, kidney disease, a brain tumor, or a head injury. Direct skin exposure to the gel that is inside the patch can cause respiratory problems, nausea, drowsiness, sedation, serious health complications, or lead to fatal overdoses.

Direct Exposure to Duragesic’s Gel:
If you or anyone has come into direct contact with fentanyl gel, it is important that you wash the skin completely with water only. Do not use soap or rub the skin too much. Do not directly handle patches that are torn or have cut edges. Use gloves or tissue instead. You can also get rid of the patches by flushing them down the toilet.

Medical device makers and pharmaceutical drug manufacturers are supposed to make sure that their products are safe for consumer use and free from defects that can cause illness, injury, or death. If you or someone you love was injured by a defective or dangerous medical device, you may be able to file a products liability claim or lawsuit against the negligent manufacturer.

J&J Recalls Two Lots of Pain Patch, The Wall Street Journal, December 31, 2008

Duragesic Patch Recall Adds to Johnson & Johnson Patch Woes, News Inferno, February 13, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Duragesic

Johnson & Johnson

US Food and Drug Administration

Continue reading "Johnson & Johnson Recalls Defective Duragesic Pain Patches" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Defective Medical Devices , Products Liability

Bookmark:

The World Health Organization has released its World Report on Child Injury Prevention. Among its findings is that motor vehicle deaths continue to be the leading cause of child fatalities. Almost a million children die around the globe annually because of accidental injuries, many of which are preventable.

The WHO Report's Leading Causes of Accidental Child Injuries:

1. Traffic Accidents: 260,000 kids a year are killed. 10 million others are injured. This is also the #1 cause of fatalities among children, ages 10-19. Motor vehicle crashes are also the #1 cause of child disabilities.

2. Drowning Accidents: While some 3 million children survive drowning accidents each year, about 175,000 others are killed. Many drowning accident survivors suffer from permanent brain damage.

3. Burn Accidents: 96,000 kids die each year from their burn injuries.

4. Fall Accidents: 47,000 youths die every year because they fell. Hundreds of thousands of children survive fall accidents, but with injuries.

5. Accidental Poisoning: Over 45,000 youths are killed annually because they ingested something that was poisonous.

The WHO’s Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention director, Dr. Etienne Krug, says that injuries become the number one cause of child deaths once a young person turns 9. In the US, these leading causes of child injuries and fatalities are also among the common causes for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits involving injuries to minors.

If your son or daughter died in a North Carolina auto accident, bus crash, pedestrian accident, bus collision, train accident, premises liability accident, or fall accident, there are steps you can take to make sure that you hold the liable party responsible and that you get your child the medical care he or she needs to recover.

Injury Risks For Children Vary Around The World, Washington Post, December 23, 2008

Traffic Accidents Top Cause Of Fatal Child Injuries, NPR, December 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:

World Report on Child Injury Prevention Report, WHO (PDF)

CDC Childhood Injury Report, CDC

Continue reading "Motor Vehicle Accidents Continue to be the #1 Killer of Children, Says World Health Organization" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bicycle Accidents , Catastrophic Injuries , Injuries to Minors , Motorcycle Accidents , Pedestrian Accidents , Premises Liability , Wrongful Death

Bookmark:

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), out of the 419 North Carolina nursing homes that are Medicare and/or Medicaid certified, 119 of them received 1-star ratings for the quality of care they provide residents. 68 North Carolina nursing homes were awarded 2-stars. Members of the public can visit the Medicare Web site for more information about each nursing home to help them more easily evaluate the kind of care residents are likely to receive at a nursing home.

Under the federal consumer rating system, patient bedsores, failure to relieve patient pain, significant staff turnover, urinary tract infections, lost mobility, long-term catheter use, and excessive use of restraints were some of the factors taken into consideration when determining how many stars each nursing home should receive. This new system, which rates some 16,000 US nursing homes, will hopefully prevent residents from getting into a home where they may become the victims of nursing home abuse or neglect, as well as discourage such negligent conduct from occuring.

In order to receive a five-star rating, a member of the nursing home’s staff had to provide residents with at least four hours of patient care each day. 57 North Carolina nursing homes received 5-star ratings. Out of 175 South Carolina nursing homes, 46 received 1-star ratings and 24 received 5-star ratings.

Critics of this new system say CMS should try to work with nursing homes to fix any problems before giving them low ratings. Jeff Horton, the head of the North Carolina Division of Health Services Regulation, says that while the ratings system can provide useful information, it is also important that potential residents and family members visit a North Carolina nursing home before making a decision.

What to Look for When Visiting a North Carolina or South Carolina Nursing Home:

• Note whether the location is convenient enough so that you or another family member can pay regular visits.
• Look at the staffing schedule and inquire about the caregiver – resident ratio.
• Check the nursing home for cleanliness. Note whether you can smell urine or feces and if the bathroom is clean.
• Ask about the availability of hot water.
• See whether residents and nursing home workers appear to engage with each other and notice how much attention the patients receive when it comes to grooming, medical attention, feeding time, and other activities that may require supervision.
• Inspect the kitchen for cleanliness.
• Find out about quality of food and how much attention is paid to each resident’s particular diet.
• Check out inspection reports to note whether the nursing home has a previous history of nursing home abuse or neglect.

Nursing homes in state rated low, News and Observer, December 18, 2008

Choosing a Nursing Home, AARP, January 2007

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Compare, Medicare

Nursing Homes, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

Continue reading "119 North Carolina Nursing Homes Receive 1-Star Rating, Says Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services " »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect

Bookmark:

A North Carolina construction worker died on December 2 after he was struck by a tool that fell from the 11th Floor in an elevator shaft located in the Wachovia tower. Jonathan Beatty, an elevator installer employed by Thyssenkrupp Elevator Corp., was 24. The work accident that caused his death is the third accident to occur at the Wachovia construction site, located at Tryon and Stonewall, within a month.

On November 10, steel beams dropped from a crane, smashing into windows before hitting the ground. Shards of glass fell toward motorists and pedestrians below. No one was injured in this second construction accident.

On November 4, Leslie Hopper sustained damage to her property when glass from the Wachovia construction site fell onto her vehicle, flattening her tires, breaking her windshield, and damaging her sunroof. Hopper and her daughter were headed out of town when the accident happened. Hopper has expressed frustration that the construction company didn’t do more to ensure motorist and pedestrian safety.

North Carolina Construction Accidents
Construction accidents can result in serious injuries for construction workers and others, such as pedestrians and motorists passing by the site, and other parties that may be on or around the work premise. For the year ending in September 2008, 18 construction-related fatalities occurred in North Carolina.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers do not have to report a work accident unless three or more people end up in the hospital or one person is killed. An OSHA investigation usually takes at least four weeks. During this time, OSHA employees will inspect the accident scene, gather evidence, and interview witnesses to determine the cause of the work accident and find out whether any safety standards were violated.

Wachovia tower incident provides window into worksite rules, Creative Loafing, December 9, 2008

Job at tower gave worker new hope for his dream, Charlotte.com, December 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Wachovia Condominium Tower, Emporis.com

Continue reading "Charlotte Construction Worker’s Death is Third Work Accident Involving Wachovia Project in a Month" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Construction Accidents , Personal Injury , Workers' Compensation

Bookmark:

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has approved a new rule requiring that the licenses and medical examination certificates of bus drivers and commercial truckers be combined in a single electronic record. This will make it easier to determine whether drivers meet the medical criteria to drive a commercial vehicle. US states have three years to comply with this new rule.

The FMCSA is also proposing creating a medical examiners registry made up of people qualified to medically certify bus drivers and commercial truckers. The administration hopes that making sure that only qualified individuals are allowed to operate such large vehicles will result in greater safety and less truck accidents on US roads.

Unfortunately there are bus operators and tractor-trailer drivers who have suffer from a heart attack, a seizure, lost consciousness, or experienced another serious health emergency while driving. The repercussions of these health problems can be catastrophic for the driver and anyone else involved in the bus or truck accident. Thousands of serious motor vehicle crashes have happened because a bus operator or trucker who shouldn’t have been allowed to operate a commercial vehicle was behind the wheel.

In 1999, 22 people died in a New Orleans bus crash when driver Frank Bedell experienced life-threatening heart and kidney conditions. Despite his poor health, Bedell, 46, had a valid commercial driver’s license and a certificate declaring him medically fit to drive.

Based on a May 2007 - June 2008 study, the Government Accountability Office reported that 536,000 truckers and bus drivers had been issued licenses to operate commercial vehicles even though they qualified for federal medical disability payments. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee also determined that it is very easy for commercial bus operators and truck drivers to obtain a forged medical certificate and that this is a common practice.

2007 Large Truck Facts from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• Out of the 2,224 deadly North Carolina motor vehicle crashes that occurred last year, 151 of the collisions involved large trucks.
• In South Carolina, there were 80 deadly large truck crashes in 2007.
• Nationally, more than 100,000 people were injured in large truck collisions.

Rules Target Medically Unfit Truck, Bus Drivers, AP/CBS, December 2, 2008

Rule seeks to help identify unfit truckers, Business Insurance, December 4, 2008

FMCSA Improves Medical Requirements for Commercial Truck and Bus Drivers, FMCSA, December 1, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Final Rule: Medical Certification Requirements as part of CDL Part of the CDL, FMSCA, December 1, 2008

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading "FMCSA Approves New Rule Targeting Medically Unfit Truck and Bus Drivers" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Truck Accidents

Bookmark:

A North Carolina mental hospital in Butner is considered unsafe for patients. North Carolina inspectors who had evaluated the conditions and quality of care at Central Regional Hospital say their findings show an “immediate jeopardy” identification. This means that the hospital’s patients could be in imminent danger if the problems that were identified are not remedied. Already, the new $138 million facility has been cited with multiple violations and is in danger of losing its federal funding.

Inspectors cited the hospital staff for its failure to prevent patient abuse and neglect and failure to provide the proper care in a safe environment. A 131-page report even noted that there is video footage showing workers falsifying records to indicate that they had closely monitored a patient with schizophrenia when this, in fact, was not the case.

The inspectors also criticized the mental hospital for improperly restraining an 8-year-old for two hours. Another problem noted at Central Regional Hospital was that a stairwell door at the home could not be unlocked from the inside, which could potentially trap hospital staffers and patients in the facility during an emergency.

Federal regulators say the hospital has until December 14 to correct all violations. The state of North Carolina had hoped to transfer patients at a Raleigh hospital it was planning to shut down to the Butner facility. Now, these plans will likely have to be modified.

In a little over 12 months, four of North Carolina’s state-run mental hospitals have either lost or have been on the verge of losing their accreditation because of patient abuse and neglect incidents, as well as patient deaths. This summer, a fifth North Carolina mental facility was shut down after workers strapped down a female patient and beat her.

There is no excuse for patient abuse or neglect, whether at a hospital, a nursing home, in the sick person’s home, or anywhere else. If you believe that your loved one is the victim of patient abuse or neglect, it is important that you take steps to remove them from the unsafe environment immediately. Failure to provide the proper patient care at a hospital could be grounds for a North Carolina medical malpractice or wrongful death lawsuit.

Mental hospital deemed unsafe, News & Observer, December 3, 2008

Central Regional another signal of troubled system, WRAL.com, December 3, 2008

Related Web Resources:
CMS Report 1 (PDF)

CMS Report 2 (PDF)

Continue reading "North Carolina Inspectors Say Patient Abuse and Neglect Make Butner Mental Hospital Unsafe " »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect

Bookmark:

In North Carolina, two of the four defendants named in the wrongful death lawsuit involving 7-year-old Joshua Beckles-Palomares have reached settlement agreements with the boy’s parents. Joshua died in a Winston-Salem motor vehicle accident on May 20, 2006 while riding his bicycle.

The defendants in the North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit are the city of Winston-Salem, driver Michael Logan Jr., homeowner Norman Moore, and Flow Cos. The accident happened at the intersection of Freeman and Wells when Logan, driving on the wrong side of Wells street, hit Joshua. The boy was dragged under Logan’s vehicle and he later died. Logan later pleaded guilty to driving while impaired, felony death by motor vehicle, and involuntary manslaughter. Joshua’s parents are accusing all the defendants of negligence leading to the boy bicyclist’s death.

The family’s lawsuit contends that the city owed a duty of care to make sure that there was nothing at the intersection that might prevent drivers and pedestrians from being able to clearly see the roads. Homeowner Moore was accused of failing to trim the bushes next to his property that blocked Joshua’s view, and one of Flow’s dealerships was accused of also making it harder for motorists to see the road because it illegally parking its cars on Wells Street. Last month, Moore and Flow Cos. reached confidential settlement agreements with Joshua’s family.

Also last month, a judge refused a request by the city of Winston-Salem to rule in its favor without a trial. The city has argued that it did not know there was a problem at the intersection of Wells and Freeman and therefore could not have prevented Joshua’s bicycle death.

A Few 2007 NHTSA Pedalcyclist Facts:

• 698 pedalcyclists died in the United States.
• 44,000 others were injured.
• 15% of all pedalcyclists killed were children younger than 16.
• 18 pedalcyclists were killed in North Carolina.
• 20 others were killed in South Carolina.

Two defendants settle with family in lawsuit over boy's bicycle death, Journalnow.com, November 27, 2008

Bicyclists and Other Cyclists, 2007 Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:

Separate pain, but common purpose, for mom, officer, Journalnow.com, May 18, 2008

Second Annual Bike Safety Day, RideofSilence.org

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bicycle Accidents

Bookmark:

In North Carolina, former WXII News anchor Tolly Car has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of the man he fatally struck during a 2007 drunk driving accident in Winston-Salem. Carr is currently serving a 25 – 29 month prison sentence for his role in the deadly motor vehicle crash.

Police say Carr drove his pickup truck through a construction zone before running his car off the road and striking Casey Bokhoven in March 2007. In August 2007, Carr pleaded guilty to felony serious injury by vehicle, felony death by vehicle, and driving while impaired.

Carr, whose blood was tested four hours after the accident, had a blood alcohol level of .13. North Carolina’s legal BAC limit for driving is .08. In their wrongful death lawsuit, the plaintiffs accused the former news anchor of trying to conceal his actions by telling witnesses not to call police.

The terms of the wrongful death settlement with Bokhoven’s family are confidential. However, their wrongful death lawyer says Carr will start making payments to the family in 2010.

Also named as defendants in the wrongful death lawsuit are three Winston-Salem bars. The plaintiffs accused the establishments of serving the former news anchor about 17 drinks. Their wrongful death lawyer says that bar employees should have stopped serving Carr more alcohol or made him get into a cab.

The Burke Street Pub reached a wrongful death settlement with Bokhoven’s family last week. Another bar, 6th and Vine, settled with the family in August. The third establishment, Sounds on Burke, has filed for bankruptcy.

Tolly Carr Settles Wrongful-Death Lawsuit, MSNBC.com, November 18, 2008

Bokhoven Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Tolly Carr, MyFox.com, May 21, 2007

Related Web Resources:
Tolly Carr Pleads Guilty, Sentenced To Prison, Digitriad.com, August 13, 2007

WXII

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Wrongful Death

Bookmark:

In North Carolina, officials have fired three workers at the Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro over the death of a 50-year-old mental patient. Roanoke Rapids resident Steven H. Sabock’s death made the headlines earlier this year because of surveillance footage showing hospital workers neglecting him for almost 24 hours while he sat slumped in a chair.

According to a report filed by the hospital’s nursing director, workers checked his vitals during this time period. However, the video does not show this happening. Instead, hospital workers are seen watching TV and playing cards. Sabock, who was suffering from a bipolar disorder, was also seen falling and striking his head. He also choked on his medication.

The surveillance footage also shows Sabock being taken away by paramedics. He died soon after. According to the North Carolina medical examiner’s office, Sabock’s cause of death was a pre-existing heart condition. Autopsy reports,however, indicate that there was fluid in his brain, which could be a sign of a brain injury. A federal report also states that the 50-year-old patient appeared to not have eaten much food in the three days leading up to his death.

Following Sabock’s death, a number of Cherry Hospital workers were disciplined over the incident, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services closed the ward.

Medicaid and Medicare withdrew $800,000 a month in reimbursements from the North Carolina hospital. In August, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation began a criminal probe into Sabock’s death.

This is not the only reported incident of abuse or neglect this year at Cherry Hospital. In August, two of its hospital workers were arrested for allegedly beating a patient. Earlier in the year, three other employees were also arrested and charged with assault crimes.

Unfortunately, patient abuse or neglect by hospital staffers and nursing home workers happens way too often in the United States. It is the hospital patients and nursing home residents who suffer when abuse or neglect leads to personal injury, deteriorating health, or wrongful death.

Three Employees Fired After Patient Chokes on Medicine, Dies, Foxnews.com, November 20, 2008

Patient appears neglected in hours before his death, WRAL.com, November 18, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Cherry Hospital

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Continue reading "3 North Carolina Hospital Workers Fired for Neglect of Mental Patient Who Was Left in Chair Without Being Fed For Nearly 24 Hours" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect , Wrongful Death

Bookmark:

In North Carolina, a 12-year-old Greensboro boy is in critical but stable condition after a drunk driver hit him last Tuesday afternoon. Drew Gardner and Taylor Rhynehardt were playing near a creek bed when a van, driven by Michael Charles Parks, rolled through a stop sign and drove through 40 yards of wood before striking Gardner and then crashing into a tree.

Gardner, who is at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, sustained two collapsed lungs, eight fractured ribs, a broken collarbone, and skull fractures. He has been sedated and unconscious a majority of the time since the North Carolina auto accident.

Rhynehardt, who was not hit by the van, sustained less serious physical injuries when the tree broke and fell on him. However, he told a local TV news program last week that he has not been able to close his eyes without reliving the accident.

Greensboro police have charged Parks with driving with a revoked license and driving while impaired. They say more charges are likely. However, the 40-year-old has not been arrested for his involvement in the crash.

This is not Parks’s first DWI offense. He has one prior DWI conviction, while two other DWI charges that were dismissed.

NHTSA 2007 Children and Traffic Accident Facts
• 200,000 children, age 14 and under, were injured in motor vehicle crashes last year.
• 245 of the 1,670 kids in this age group were injured in drunk driving accidents.
• 306 children, age 14 and under, died in pedestrian accidents in 2007.
• 14,000 kids sustained pedestrian-related injuries.
• In North Carolina, 54 child pedestrians, age 14 and younger, died in traffic accidents.

If your son or daughter was seriously injured in a North Carolina or South Carolina traffic accident, you and your family may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent party.

Boy hit by van is critical but stable, News-Record.com, November 15, 2008

Other Boy Injured In DWI Crash Speaks Out, Digitriad.com, November 11, 2008

Children, 2007 Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA

Related Web Resource:

2007 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment -- Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities, NHTSA, (PDF)

Continue reading "12-Year-Old North Carolina Boy is in Critical Condition Following Greensboro Drunk Driver Accident" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries to Minors , Pedestrian Accidents

Bookmark:

A deadly North Carolina motor vehicle crash that occurred outside Lillington on Tuesday afternoon at the intersection of Shady Grove Road and N.C. 210 has left three young people dead and one adult with serious injuries. According to State Highway Patrol, excessive speeding may have been the cause of the multi-vehicle crash.

Police say they believe that 20-year-old Sharon Southerland was driving her 2000 Lincoln at a speed of 90mph when she lost control of the vehicle, which crossed the center line and struck another vehicle headed in the opposite direction. A 2008 Ford passenger sedan, driven by Spring Lake resident Timothy Evan, drove into Southerland’s speeding Lincoln, while the car of Raleigh resident George Tracy, was struck by flying debris.

Southerland and her two passengers, Abraham Ryan Lowe, 18, and Ashley Williams Richardt, 21, died from injuries they sustained in the crash. Lowe and Richardt were siblings. Evan was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center with serious injuries. Tracy was not injured in the auto crash.

According to the NC State Highway Patrol, the Lincoln was moving at such a fast speed that it split in half upon impact. Southerland and Richardt, who were sitting in the front of the car, were ejected from their seats.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2005:

• Over 13,000 people died in the US in speeding-related motor vehicle crashes.
• Speeding was a contributing cause in 30% of all deadly crashes in the US that year.
• 86% of all speeding-related traffic deaths happened on non-interstate roads where the speed limits were no more than 55 mph.
• 28% of all deadly accidents that took place on dry roads involved speeding.
• Speeding was a contributing cause in 33% of fatal traffic accidents that took place on wet roads.

Mother Of Crash Victims Warns Others To Slow Down, Dunn Daily Record, November 6, 2008

NHTSA Speed Campaign Tool Kit

Related Web Resources:

North Carolina Department of Transportation

Speeding, SafeRoads.org

Continue reading "Speeding May Have Been the Cause of Deadly North Carolina Accident that Left Three People Dead and Another Person in Critical Condition" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Wrongful Death

Bookmark:

In North Carolina, the mother of a pregnant Wake County woman who was murdered in her house two years ago is suing her daughter’s husband for wrongful death. Michelle Young’s body was discovered in a pool of blood in her Raleigh home on November 3, 2006. Her two-year-old daughter, found by her side, was unharmed.

Police say there were footprints around Michelle’s body. Her daughter made one set of footprints, while other footprints could have belonged to two kinds of shoes that belonged to Michelle's husband Jason.

Jason maintains that he was not in town on the night that Michelle was murdered, and police say there is video footage showing him leave a hotel in Virginia. Although police are investigating him in connection to her murder, no arrest has been made.

Now, Michelle’s mother, Linda Lee Fisher, wants the Wake Superior Court to say that Jason either killed Michelle or was an accessory to her murder. Fisher also wants Young barred from receiving any assets from her estate as well as her insurance benefits. Fisher is seeking a minimum $10,000 for her daughter’s wrongful death.

According to documents that were made public yesterday, detectives have found records from Jason’s computer indicating that Internet searches were made on the subject of “head trauma knockouts” right before his wife was killed by a violent blow to the head. He was also having an affair and communicated with his lover numerous times on the day Michelle died. Police say that after they told Jason that his wife's body had been discovered, he refused to come home and did not enquire about his wife’s cause of death or his daughter’s well-being.

In North Carolina, victims of violent crimes are entitled to seek personal injury and wrongful death compensation in civil court. These cases are separate from any criminal proceedings being pursued against criminal suspects or defendants.

Suit claims husband killed Michelle Young, News and Observer, November 4, 2008

Jason Young researched 'knockout', News and Observer, November 7, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Young, Pregnant Mother Slain At Home, CBS News, November 13, 2006

Warrants in the Young Murder Investigation (PDF)

Continue reading "Michelle Young's Mother Files North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Her Son-In-Law" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Wrongful Death

Bookmark: