seek Archives - Atlanta Georgia Wrongful Death Lawyer

Lawyer To Seek $20 Million In Wrongful Death Suit Against Toyota – CBS Local

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawyer for plaintiffs in a wrongful death lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corp. told a jury on Thursday he will ask for $ 20 million in damages for the family of a woman who died when her Camry suddenly accelerated and crashed despite her efforts to stop.
The case involving the 2009 death of Noriko Uno is the first involving the issue to go to trial in state court.
Toyota recalled millions of vehicles worldwide after drivers reported that some of its vehicles were surging unexpectedly. The company agreed to pay $ 1 billion in other suits.
In his opening statement Thursday, attorney Garo Mardirossian said Toyota was at fault for the death of Uno because it failed to install an override safety system in the 2006 model she was driving.
“Toyota made a decision to leave out the brake override system in the 2006 Camry,” he said.

Witnesses will testify that they saw Uno’s car traveling at speeds up to 100 mph as it careened the wrong way down a one-way street, he said.
Toyota was expected to present its opening statement later in the day.
The company issued a statement at the courtroom saying the 2006 Camry had a state of the art braking system and had earned top safety and quality honors. It said an override system would not have prevented the crash.
The 2009 accident involving Uno occurred when another driver went through a stop sign and broadsided her car at slow speed. Mardirossian said the Camry spun around and started accelerating.
Uno was in control of the car and managed to avoid other drivers, including a woman with six children in her vehicle, the [...]

By jwj|August 9th, 2013|News|Comments Off|

Peterson lawyers seek dismissal of lawsuit – Chicago Tribune

Just days after a jury found Drew Peterson guilty of murdering his third wife, defense lawyers filed a motion Monday to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit against the former Bolingbrook police sergeant.
Peterson, 58, was found guilty Thursday of drowning Kathleen Savio in 2004. The couple’s two sons have asked to be removed from a lawsuit filed on their behalf by Savio’s estate. During the second week of Peterson’s murder trial, Kris Peterson visited the Will County Courthouse the day after his 18th birthday to file paperwork in the civil case. Kris spoke briefly with his father during a break in the murder trial, leaving the courtroom before testimony resumed.
Kris’ 19-year-old brother, Thomas, was allowed to be removed from the case when he turned 18 last year, and Peterson’s lawyers have said that under Illinois law, the wrongful death case cannot move forward because only a victim’s children — or spouse — can make a claim for compensation in a wrongful death case. The civil case has been on hold while the criminal trial was pending.
Martin Glink, an attorney for Savio’s estate, said Monday that the lawsuit still can move forward, and he speculated that Savio’s sons may have been pressured into withdrawing from the case. Since Peterson’s arrest in 2009, both lived with their older half brother, Stephen Peterson, Drew Peterson’s son from a previous marriage. Thomas Peterson is now a student at the University of Pennsylvania.
“It’s a very interesting question” whether the case can move forward with neither of Savio’s sons apparently interested in pursuing it, Glink said.
“I know (Savio’s sons) would deny they were manipulated, but we all know Drew Peterson is a master manipulator,” he said.

By jwj|September 11th, 2012|News|Comments Off|