Houston Personal Injury Lawyer

Texas Couple Wins $24 Million Verdict After Near-Fatal Crash

admin — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:46:56 +0000

On March 28, 2006, Texas residents Kent and Tamara Peterson were driving home when they were struck by a pick up truck. Both suffered serious injuries. Tamara suffered a stroke. This has since resulted in cognitive problems and permanent loss of the use of her left side.

The crash occurred on Highway 105 near Brenham, west of Houston. A pick up truck of Universal Cable Holdings, driven by Gary Wayne Gibbs, crossed the center line of the highway and hit Peterson’s car.

The Petersons sued the driver of the pick up truck, Gibbs, and his in San Jacinto County, Texas. On the 4th day of the trial, a verdict of $29,391,378 was awarded.

To learn more, contact the Houston Auto Accident Attorneys at Williams Kherkher at 1.800.220.9341.

85-year-old Chicago Seriously Injured in Train Derailment

admin — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:41:47 +0000

On Tuesday July 11, 2006, a subway train derailed in downtown Chicago. The accident took place during evening rush hour traffic. The material under the train caught fire and the last coach was derailed.

All the commuters were evacuated within an hour. Over 60 persons were injured in the derailment. One of the those was 85-year-old Elfa Lari. She suffered a brain hemorrhage, broken ribs, a ruptured spleen and other injuries while trying to escape.

Lari sued the Chicago Transit Authority. The Transit Authority settled her lawsuit for $1.25 million. To learn more, contact the Personal Injury Attorneys at Williams Kherkher.

Family of Alabama Man Settles Wrongful Death Case

admin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:24:31 +0000

An accident took place on April 18, 2002, where Scott White died as a result of injuries suffered while working at construction site. White was working with a construction company IM & MC, LLC, which was located in Dothan, Alabama. The company was the general contractor on a job under contract with Georgia Pacific to remove and replace a portion of the roof on an old plywood building on Georgia Pacific’s premises in Cedar Springs, Georgia. The roof of the building at the time was in a bad state of repair.

Scott White was performing work on the roof and fell through. The incident occurred as Mr. White and another employee were carrying a large tin sheet. White stepped on a rotten part of the roof, which gave way, causing him to fall through. He died the following day.

A lawsuit for wrongful death was filed by the widow against the contractor and Georgia Pacific. The case was settled after mediation on January 11, 2008. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.

For more information, contact the Houston Personal Injury Lawyers at Williams Kherkher.

Six IEDs Found in Massachusetts Man’s Home

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:41:51 +0000

On April 7, state and federal investigators raided the house of Robert Rinaldi on the shores on White Island Pond in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They seized enough fireworks and explosives to blow up the neighborhood.

Neighbors said that’s nearly what happened 17 years ago, when a cache of fireworks exploded at 215 Sandy Pond Road.

More than 8 hours were spent by investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the state fire marshal’s office and the Plymouth Fire Department taking fireworks and explosives from the home of Rinaldi.

Six improvised explosive devices were found in an 18-foot box truck along with homemade fireworks, a quantity of black powder, and chemical equipment. Rinaldi first came to the attention of authorities in the summer of 1990 after a nearby resident was injured with fireworks.

To learn more, contact the Personal Injury Lawyers at Williams Kherkher at 1.800.220.9341.

Six-year-old Minnesota Child Dies After Being Sucked into Pool Drain

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:36:16 +0000

Six-year-old Abigail Taylor died of complications from a wading pool accident last summer. Abigail was seriously injured on June 29, 2007, when she sat on an uncovered drain in a wading pool at the Minneapolis Golf Club in St. Louis Park. The suction pulled out 21 feet of her small intestine. She died in March of this year after contracting cancer related to a triple-organ transplant.

In November, Abigail’s family sued the pool manufacturer Sta-Rite, owned by a Golden Valley company, as well as the country club. The Minnesota girl’s recent death changed the family’s lawsuit from a personal injury case to a wrongful death case.

To learn more, contact the Houston Personal Injury Lawyers at Williams Kherkher.

North Carolina Widow Sues Over Plane Crash That Killed Husband

admin — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:14:10 +0000

A lawsuit was filed by Louise Ruggiero of Acworth, North Carolina, against the Estate of John Wesley Rakestraw, Blue Sky Airways Inc and Raker Construction company, claiming damages for the wrongful death of her husband, who died in a plane crash. The plane crashed on February 1, 2008 in Mount Airy, North Carolina, killing all six on board including her husband.

Louise’s husband was Frank Ruggiero. John Rakestraw was the pilot of the aircraft, Blue Sky Airways inc , owned and operated the C90A airplane and Raker Construction company where Rakestraw was working as CEO. It is claimed that the crash occurred as the pilot Rakestraw failed to maintain control at the time of landing.

Ruggiero had two adult sons, Angelo, 25 and Anthony, 23 and a minor Adrianna, 15. He was employed by the Facility Group in Smyrna as a Senior Vice President.

In addition to Rakestraw, the others aboard were Harold Echols of Hiram, Steve Simpson of Dallas, Robert Butler of Chamblee and Tony Gunter also of Acworth.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory damages from all of the defendants. To learn more, contact the Personal Injury Lawyers at Williams Kherkher at 1.800.220.9341.

Washington State Man Wins $40 Million Verdict

admin — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:10:21 +0000

54-year-old Paramjit Singh was awarded $40.1 million by a Snohomish County, Washington, Superior Court jury which found that Singh’s heart was ruined by a malfunctioning machine during an operation at an Everett hospital.

This award is the largest in county history and thought to be one of the state’s largest personal injury verdicts. Singh had to undergo a heart transplant and is suffering other problems as a result of the injury. He also has to take anti-rejection drugs. The defective machine was manufactured by Edwards Life Sciences Corporation of Irvine, California.

Faulty lines of computer code aided by damaged cable caused a catheter to overheat and burn Singh’s heart. The jury ordered Edwards to pay 99.99 percent of the damages to Singh and his family. The jurors found Providence to be responsible for .01 percent of the damages. Edwards also was ordered to pay Providence $310,000 for breaching a contract and fraud.

For more information, contact the Personal Injury Lawyers at Williams Kherkher.

$22 Million Verdict for California Woman

admin — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:06:30 +0000

Dawn Renae Diaz was awarded $ 22.5 million by a Ventura County, California, jury. Diaz suffered a severe brain damage and other injuries that she suffered in a car accident in 2006 on Highway 101. Diaz worked as the head emergency-room nurse at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.

As a result of the accident Diaz requires round-the-clock care. She has difficulty walking and speaking and has double vision. The accident caused her to be in a coma for two and a half months. The $22.5 million was a record for the county in recent history in a personal injury case.

She was 38 years at the time of accident. To learn more, contact the Car Accident Lawyers at Williams Kherkher.

Oakland Man Killed Trying to Cross Interstate

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:46:12 +0000

Jose Villa Galvan of Oakland, California, was killed while trying to cross Interstate 880 on March 2, 2006.

Jose was driving a 1995 Honda Accord. He lost control of the car, hit the center median and then came to a halt in the far left lane. He along with his two passengers left the car and walked to the right shoulder.

Jose then walked back to his car crossing the highway when he was hit by a driver in a 2002 Acura. Another car, an SUV, coming behind the Acura hit Jose and the Acura.

This led to several vehicles crashing at the scene of the accident site: a Mercury Mariner hit a Lincoln Town Car, that overturned and burst into flames, the Town Car then struck a Dodge Ram and the Ram struck a Cadillac DeVille.

The driver of the SUV as well as the two passengers from the Honda fled from the scene. For more information, contact the Houston Personal Injury Lawyers at Williams Kherkher at 1.800.220.9341.

Illinois Woman Sues Employer After Suffering Permanent Injuries on the Job

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:42:14 +0000

Laurie Hilliard was employed by An Angel Wallpaper & Painting, in Illinois. She had a contract with Thery Construction Company for trim work services. While working on this project, Laurie fell after she encountered a hazard at the top of an unfinished stairwell.

Laurie fell several feet causing permanent and disabling injuries to her head, neck, shoulders, spine and feet. Laurie has filed a suit against Thery Construction alleging that she was injured while performing work for Thery as a sub-contractor and it was while performing tasks assigned to her that she got hurt.

Thery could have corrected the unsafe condition and provide a safe environment for work, according to the lawsuit. The injury has caused her pain, loss of earnings and medical expenses.

Laurie is seeking damages in excess of $100,000. For more information, contact Houston Personal Injury Lawyers at Williams Kherkher at 1.800.220.9341.