Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer articles in category: Wrongful Death

Dudley Do-Right would be so ashamed of his Canadian brothers and sisters that make up the Canadian police force. One has to wonder if the same end run is being made in American. As any good lawyer...

Today is the birthday for my older sister and brother. They are twins. Not identical but nevertheless twins. I think my sister is the older one. She certainly acts older. She lives next door to our...

With all the text messaging and cell phones being used while operating cars it’s no wonder more cyclists aren’t injured or killed. A Shelton man was recently killed when struck from behind. The...

Crawford County - Stop being mad, you make us all look bad. It's time to step into this Century. Start thinking and getting better legal advice.To set this up let's review the facts. A bike rider in RAGBRAI is allowed to ride and he hasn't signed the required waiver. He enters Crawford County, rides on their roads, hits a hole, flips and ends up dying. His widow sues Crawford County and gets a...

Crawford County double standard. We've all said it to our children, "Take responsibility for your actions." And then there is the often quoted word to the wise normally stated after trouble has occurred, "There are consequences to your actions." We've all said it to our children, "Take responsibility for your actions." And then there is the often quoted word to the wise normally stated after...

Iowa news reports that Iowa counties don't want RAGBRAI coming through their counties if they will have to be financially responsible for the risk of injury to the participants. "RAGBRAI organizers stayed clear of Crawford County. Last year, county supervisors there banned RAGBRAI from using its roads. The ban followed a deadly crash in the county involving a RAGBRAI rider in 2004.Kirk Ullrich...

Farming remains one of the most dangerous occupations.Almost as many farmers were killed on the job as truckers, according to a new state study. During 2007 23 truckers and 22 farmers died on the job. A total of 79 work-related fatalities occurred last year. For farmers it's mostly caused by using older tractors that don't include a ROP (Roll Over Protection). Surprisingly farmer deaths are 25%...

Charges pending in West Burlington Bicyclist's Death - It's been officially reported that charges are pending in the bicycle accident that claimed the life of Douglas Kenney. A truck struck him from behind. If you want to know how to look at this accident and decide if you would file charges switch one fact that applies to each; their age. I've previously written about this accident. The truck...

The Siouxland man whose conviction for driving a boat on the Missori River while over the legal limit that resulted in the death of Sihn Do, a 21 year old man, has been sentenced to 4 years in prison. In addition he was ordered not to operate a boat for 6 years and will be on probation for 5 years after serving time.If a civil suit were brought against Justin Nguyen it would a wrongful death...

May it please the Court? An eight year old boy was skiing; ran into another skier and the collision caused the old geezer injury. So the old geezer in turn sued for damages. One might be lead to ask if this is legal, fair or morally right. And my answer is, "Absolutely, positively, unequivocally - it is!" Why not? Children today want all of the privileges but none of the responsibilities....

Rural Iowa - Loss of Control of Vehicle Is the Driver's Age a DefenseQuestion: If one driver loses control of their vehicle, over corrects, then crosses the center line hitting the other vehicle and causing serious injury or death, are they excused from liability due to age or infirmity?Answer: The most likely answer is no. Old age and infirmity do not create a defense to driving with your...

One has to ask if age was a factor in causing the driver to not yeild at the intersection of Echo Avenue and U.S. Highway 18 near Nora Springs. So it was reported by the Iowa State Patrol. Mary E. Ott, 81, died in the accident that sent two others to the hospital. She was a passenger in a Cadillac driven by Richard E. Ott, 83, also of Greene. The vehicle was northbound on County Road T24 (Echo...

There is a report of a car-pedestrian collision in the Leland area. A 79 year old gentleman is crossing Highway 69 in Winnebago County. The report indicates on the way he is struck by a car traveling northbound on Highway 69. It may seem simple to many but not so to a trial lawyer. There are many unknown facts that you need to know before deciding on which is at fault of more at fault for the...

Why does the federal law exempt any vehicle whose rear height is high enough to decapitate a driver or passenger? When will the manufacturing of buses add this very simple safety design feature that will save countless lives like that of Mr. Buseman? I read about the Buseman boy crashing into the rear of the school bus on October 24, 2007 in Wright County. The first thought that occurred to me...

A Polk County jury awards nothing to the parents for love and companionship when their daughter is killed. Some people justify it by saying money won't bring her back. Heck, if I shot a deer out of season the Iowa DNR would get $20,000.00. The State of Iowa would get more for a frog killed out of season than my clients were awarded for the investment of their time, energy, love and money in the...