Philadelphia Injury Lawyer Blog

The father of a Philadelphia area man with severe Autism is suing his caretaker for wrongful death. The caretaker left 20 year old Bryan Nevins in a van in sweltering heat last summer, leaving him to suffer and die of hyperthermia.

Caretaker Stacey Strauss of Woods Services, a Bucks County facility for people with disabilities, left Nevins in the back of the van on July 24, one of the hottest days of 2010. That day, Strauss was assigned to take Nevins and three other Woods Services clients to Sesame Place. The trip was cut short when Nevins misbehaved. Instead of simply disciplining Nevins by ending the Sesame Place trip, Strauss inexplicably left him in the back of the van alone even after returning with the other clients to Woods Services campus.

Other workers on the Middletown campus of Woods Services found Bryan Nevins dead in the van more than five hours later, possibly of wrongful death. Prosecutors contended that Strauss may have been distracted by a 44-minute phone call with her boyfriend as Nevin’s suffered and died in the van.

Bryan Nevins lived at Woods Services and was diagnosed with autism, mental retardation, and other conditions. According to reports he functioned at the level of a toddler, and his file at Woods said he was supposed to be within reach of a caretaker went outside his residence.

Strauss, 41, of Northeast Philadelphia, is currently serving a two to five year state prison sentence after pleading guilty in March to involuntary manslaughter, neglecting a care-dependent person, and recklessly endangering another person.

Nevin’s father is now suing Woods Services saying Woods never should have hired Strauss and that the organization failed to adequately supervise her or ensure proper care for Nevins. The wrongful death suit was been filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia by William Nevins of Oceanside, N.Y.

An extremely tragic possible case of wrongful death occurred last week near Philadelphia. An 11 year old girl fell to her death while riding the Ferris Wheel at Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey.

The victim has been identified as 11 year old Abiah Jones of Pleasantville, New Jersey. She was a student at the PleasnTech Academy Charter School and was attending a school class trip to the pier for their annual educational extravaganza during the day of the accident. Jones attended the trip with several other students, teachers, and chaperones.

Police say Abiah Jones fell from the upper half of the ride from about 100 feet in the air at about 12:30 p.m. She was apparently alone in one of the ride's passenger gondolas before falling. The ride is secured by a double latch door which opens inward, designed to make it hard to climb out during the ride.

Emergency responders and Morey’s staff tried to administer first and called a Medivac helicopter immediately to take the victim to the nearest trauma center. The helicopter ended up being recalled due to the severity of Abiah’s injuries. She was instead rushed by ambulance to Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House where she was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m. according to reports.

Although preliminary investigations found that the accident did not seem to be caused by a mechanical problem with the ride, there was obviously something wrong that tragically killed Abiah Jones. An investigation is ongoing to determine what exactly caused the Child’s injuries. Police are still trying to get more witnesses to learn more about this extremely tragic incident and the ride that is likely to have caused the wrongful death of such a young child.

Community Affairs Head Hollie Gilroy said the ride opened in 1985 and was last inspected on March 17 and passed. Similar rides are only inspected once per year. Police are still trying to get more witnesses to learn more about this extremely tragic incident and the ride that is likely to have caused the wrongful death of such a young child.

Out of respect for the victim’s family the president of Morey’s Piers reduced the pier's hours throughout the weekend.

If you ever need an attorney who is experience in wrongful death law suits, we encourage you to contact Edith Pearce for a free consulation.

Over the last decade sex abuse scandals involving Catholic priests have gone widely public. The general public has been shocked and upset to learn that several now adults have come forward claiming to have been abused by one or more of the priests at their local parishes when they were children.

Several families have sought compensation for damages from archdioceses throughout the country in the last several years for pain, suffering, and emotional damage.

Recently one family of a Pennsylvania man is filing a wrongful death law suit against the archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The family claims that their loved one killed himself as a result of trauma involving alleged past abuse by a priest.

After the man alleged that he was the victim of abuse by Rev. Joseph Gallagher in the 1980’s, the charges were not heard, resulting in what family members say was the final straw for their loved one who has only been identified in reports as “Ben.” Ben killed himself after his allegations were deemed “not credible.”

Ben’s family filed a wrongful death suit on Wednesday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas after alleging that the archdiocese covered up Ben’s sexual abuse case.
It is too early to speculate whether the family’s lawsuit will be upheld, earning them compensation for wrongful death from the Philadelphia archdiocese.

If you or loved one has suffered a similar loss and feel that your family member may have been the victim of wrongful death, it is important to ensure that your case gets the attention it deserves. Contact a Philadelphia accident lawyer as soon as possible. Contacting a Philadelphia accident lawyer immediately after the incident will help to ensure that statute of limitations does not further complicate your case.

A Best Western hotel near Allentown, Pennsylvania has agreed to pay an unspecified settlement amount to the family of a South Carolina man who died of carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at the hotel in 2008. In the tragic personal injury accident, a plastic construction canopy being used to contain construction debris from a remodeling project funneled carbon monoxide into the hotel room where the man and his wife were sleeping, killing the man. His wife survived.

Six months after the man's death, his family initiated a wrongful death lawsuit against the hotel and several contractors involved in the remodeling project. Experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorneys note that, in cases of wrongful death, it is not unusual for there to be a time gap between a fatal accident and the filing of a lawsuit. It can take several months for the completion of police, coroner and insurance investigations and the filing of their reports. Grief-stricken families also need time to find the strength to cope with their loss and decide to act.

Hiring an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney immediately after an accident occurs can relieve a family of much of the burden of dealing with legal requests and insurance inquiries. An attorney expert in the handling of wrongful death lawsuits will also ensure that the family's rights are fully protected and will fight to compensate the family for its loss. In the Allentown hotel case, the man's family sued for $350,000 in compensation for the loss of household services, Social Security benefits and health insurance, as well as compensation for the emotional and physical pain the wife suffered when her husband died at her side.