A wrongful death case is a civil action against an entity or individual who wrongfully causes someone else’s death. Alabama’s wrongful death statute is unique, and prosecution of a case under Alabama’s Wrongful Death Act requires experience and resources. Our firm possesses both of these. If you believe that someone you love has been wrongfully killed in an accident, because of a defective product, or as a result of professional negligence and would like to contact us for more information, please click here.
Wheeler v. Lemond Construction Co.
Verdict of $3,500,000 (Chambers County, 1996). Christopher Wheeler was a young boy riding in a car driven by a friend of his. The friend was not old enough to drive. A high-speed police chase ensued, during which the car drove over a bump in the road caused by ongoing construction by Lemond Construction Company. The company had failed to post any warning signs about the construction. As a result of this accident, Christopher was killed. At trial, the jury gave a verdict in the amount of $3,500,000 for Christopher’s estate. The verdict was affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court in March 1996.
Estate of Charles Alvin Milstead v. Anonymous defendant
Settlement of $3,060,000 (Randolph County Circuit Court, 2006) Alvin Milstead was killed in a collision with an intoxicated, underinsured motorist. The intoxicated motorist, who had a blood alcohol content of 0.24, was on the wrong side of the road and struck Alvin head-on. The intoxicated motorist was killed in the collision and his insurance carrier paid the policy limits of $20,000 even though there was a coverage issue related to the vehicle that the intoxicated motorist was operating at the time of the collision. Mr. Milstead and his wife were personally insured and their underinsured insurance carrier paid their policy limits of $40,000. At the time of his death, Mr. Milstead was operating a truck that was owned by his employer. The truck was covered by a commercial general liability policy, which provided an underinsured motorist benefit of $1,000,000. Pursuant to Alabama statute and case law, the attorneys were able to convince the commercial carrier that the $1,000,000 underinsured benefit could be stacked to provide a total benefit of $3,000,000 to Mr. Milstead’s estate. The commercial carrier tendered the entire amount of underinsured motorist benefits, which exhausted all possible insurance coverages.
Anonymous Plaintiffs v. Anonymous Defendants
Settlement of $2,350,000 (Tallapoosa County Circuit Court, 2007). This case involved two wrongful death claims for the deaths of a mother and her 9-year-old daughter, as well as personal injury claims for her 13-year-old son. The family’s vehicle was struck by another automobile while stopped in the median waiting for oncoming traffic to clear to cross a highway.
The defendant driver admitted to falling asleep at the wheel; however, the Plaintiffs discovered documentation of medical conditions and past episodes where the driver had suffered seizures.
Remember that each case is tried on its own merits and that a successful result in one case does not guarantee a successful result in your case.