According to terms of the settlement agreement, Vega's widow Reyna gets $4 million, their two daughters each get $1 million and their two grandchildren each get $500,000. No amount of money will replace Mr. Vega but at least his surviving loved ones can get some money that may help them move past this. In many cases, the person responsible does not have much in the way of insurance so a large judgment which is collectable is not possible. Given all of the circumstances, they are at least fortunate that Verizon was capable of paying such a large amount.

Cole was moved to a medical unit for observation 12 days later and then moved to County-USC Medical Center a day later and diagnosed with an infection. At this point Cole, who was described as 3 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 79 pounds, died of meningitis after being transferred to the hospital. This is a real tragedy and we feel for the parents of the young man. Hopefully the county will put in place better procedures to prevent this from happending in the future.

This is a tragic accident and one that could have been avoided. Often times, just a little bit of neglect, like leaving a piece of concrete in a bike path, can cost a person their life and a company of city millions of dollars in damages.

The lawsuit alleges that Greater Omaha Packing Co., was negligent in failing to have a protective guardrail on the ramp. As a result of the accident the U.S. Department of Labor fined the company $100,000 for violating child labor laws in connection with the fatal accident. With many companies breaking unions in this country the working conditions inside many factories is getting worse.

According to the wrongful death lawsult Chasse was tackled by three large men, "repeatedly and viciously punched, struck, kicked, kneed in the head, back, ribs and chest." He was repeatedly shot with a stun gun and then died when paramedics and jail medical staff failed to provide treatment. This is a very tragic case and shows what happens when the police believe they can do anything to anybody. Hopefully this settlement will change the behavior and proceedures the police utilize in the future.

Three years before the accident, the parking garage stairwell was inspected by McClintock Civil Engineering Service, which reported to the city that the stairway was beginning to fail and cited an accumulation of "pack rust," a collection of rust between metal parts, as the problem. The engineer also reported that the stairwell had no connection at its base and that it was very springy and would be prone to collapse under occupant load. I can't believe this was allowed to go unrepaired.

Car accidents like this involving inexperienced drivers many times turn fatal. In many states inexperienced drivers cannot have more than one person in the car with them. This case was very tragic and shows that parents should watch closely who their child drives with.

"No boys with cars," he said, according to court records. Paula McDonough answered, "Don't worry, I promise we'll take good care of her."

Recently a federal jury found against Pfizer and said it violated an antiracketeering law by promoting Neurontin for off-label uses, and awarded damages of $47 million, which are to be automatically tripled under the law. You can see that Pfizer is having problems with this drug and that may be one reason this case settled. Neurontin was previously one of Pfizer's best-selling drugs, generating $2.7 billion in sales in 2003 alone.

This is a tragic case involving a minor and it shows how liability may attach to someone who owns property even if they are not on the property when something bad happens. Many times kids don't realize the consequences on their actions until it is too late. Lets hope this lawsuit settles quickly so the parents don't have to re-live what happened and can try and get some closure to this horrible event.

According to the policy in place at the jail the officers were suppose to check inmate cells every 20 minutes. It is not uncommon in wrongful death lawsuits to learn that policies and procedures are not being followed. It is hard to say if Lihvarcik would be alive today had the officers checked his cell every 20 minutes but policies are in place for a reason. This is a sad case and I am glad to see it resolved early so the family does not have to re-live the case over and over.

According to the lawsuit the driver failed to check the mirrors before moving the bus forward and failed to make sure the road was free from pedestrian traffic. Additionally, the lawsuit claims the bus driver failed to stop the bus after Minter fell. This type of accident is avoidable and very tragic. The damages that are available to the estate include lost wages, and loss of society from the deceased. Wrongful death lawsuits are very emotional lawsuits and sometimes hard for the family to proceed with.

CTA spokeswoman Katelyn Thrall said after the accident that preliminary reports indicated the bus was proceeding towards a green light when the man fell and was struck. The bus driver was removed from service following the accident, a standard procedure, Thrall said.

This case illustrates the problems people can have when they are prescribed too many drugs for too long. The Estate of Dobyns filed a wrongful death lawsuit and a jury returned a verdict of $100,000 but offset the verdict based on 50% contributary negligence. The case can be read by clicking here: Dobyns Case

The former firefighter who killed the people has no income. He was convicted of three counts of aggravated murder and is serving life in prison with no chance for parole. Given the fact that he has no income and is in prison the rest of his life, there is probably no chance the large settlement will ever get paid. I write about this case to illustrate that even when there may be liability against someone that warrants a large settlement amount, if the person does not have the ability to pay the settlement--the large amount is illusory.

The family of the dead man claims the man had a fire start in his car causing him to hit three other cars and the reason he acted the way he did was that he had severe burn injuries, was in shock and the officers were asking him to do things that would hurt him even more. For example the police officers had ordered him to lie on hot pavement even though he was suffering from severe burns. This is a tragic case and illustrates how sometimes both sides of a confrontation don't see the same events through the same sets of eyes.