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Wrongful Death

Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against SC Department of Public Safety
Dec 07, 2011

The family of a Taylors man has filed a wrongful death suit against the S.C. Department of Public Safety for the crash that took the man's life. On March 4, 2011 Everett Hancock was traveling east on Wade Hampton Boulevard. He tried to make a left turn onto Rutherford Road and his SUV was hit broadside by a State Transport Police cruiser going 29 mph over the speed limit with no lights or sirens on. Officer Gerald Sims, Jr was charged and pleaded guilty to driving too fast for conditions. He paid a fine and was reprimanded by the DPS.

Hancock was killed in the accident and his niece and nephew have filed a wrongful death suit against the agency claiming they were negligent in hiring Sims because he had previously been involed in 2 crashes while working as a law enforcement officer.

According the DPS, they do review a driving record before hiring someone but did not state which traffic charges would disqualify a candidate. The DPS has filed an answer to the suit denying all claims of negligence and stated that Hancock caused the accident by turning against oncoming traffic.

The family will continue to pursue justice and answers for the loss of their loved one.

If you are in need of a Myrtle Beach SC wrongful death attorney, Conway lawyer Dirk Derrick at the The Derrick Law Firm has been handling wrongful death cases in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Conway SC for over 23 years. Please call 843-248-7486 today.
Charleston Doctor Killed in Bicycle Accident
Jul 07, 2011

A Charleston area doctor was killed Tuesday after the bicycle he was riding was hit by a utility van and he was thrown over the side of the James Island Connector. 54-year-old Mitchell Hollon was riding his bicycle on the westbound side of the connector in the shoulder around 8:40 a.m. when a AT&T utility van drifted to the right and struck him. He was knocked over the side of the connector and into the marsh 40 feet below.
Authorities recovered his body from the marsh and concluded the driver of the van contributed to the collision. Charges have not yet been filed but the investigation is still ongoing.

If you are in need of a Myrtle Beach SC wrongful death attorney, Conway lawyer Dirk Derrick at the The Derrick Law Firm has been handling wrongful death cases in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Conway SC for over 23 years. Please call 843-248-7486 today.
California City Pays $1.8 Million in Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Jun 15, 2011

The city of San Diego has agreed to pay $1.8 million dollars in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the city's failure to install a $3,000 traffic signal at an accident prone intersection. The family of Kenneth Charles Sully, a motorcyclist, brought the action against the city after he was killed in April 2009 at the intersection after being hit by a car. City records indicated that a dozen other acccidents had occured at that intersection between 2006 and 2009.
According to the city attorney, Jan Goldsmith, the city had been slow to address the issues at the intersection. A left turn lane had been created, however the city didn't put up any left-turn yield signs or a turn signal which undoubtedly gave motorists the impression that they could turn left into oncoming traffic once the signal turned green. Goldsmith did state that several attempts to fix this issue were not completed because of budget concerns and employee incompetence.

The details of the accident show that Sully was traveling north on Pacific Highway when a car heading the opposite direction turned left onto Cedar Street in front of him. Sully tried to maneuver around the car but was unsuccessful and struck the rear passenger side. He later died of traumatic head injuries. In the lawsuit, his family referred to the the issue as " a foreseeable, preventable accident."

Three months after Sully's death, the city completed the installation of a left-turn signal at the intersection.

If you are in need of a Myrtle Beach SC wrongful death attorney, Conway lawyer Dirk Derrick at the The Derrick Law Firm has been handling wrongful death cases in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Conway SC for over 23 years. Please call 843-248-7486 today.
N.C. Woman Charged in Teen's Hit-and-Run Death
Mar 22, 2011
In Winston-Salem, N.C. a woman has been arrested and charged after a hit-and-run crash that caused the death of a teenage boy. Winston-Salem police Sgt. R.K. Peterson stated that Kaitlin Smith Slater, 24, turned herself in to authorities on Friday, March 4, 2011. Slater now faces chages of aggravated felony death by vehicle, felony hit-and-run causing injury, and driving with a revoked license.

Police officials say that Slater was behind the wheel when her car slammed into 18 year old Trevor Prough of Lewisville. He was walking home from the store when he was hit. After hitting Prough, Slater then drove away from the scene.

Slater is being held on $125,000.00 bond in the Forsyth County Jail.

If you are in need of a Myrtle Beach SC auto accident attorney, Myrtle Beach lawyer Dirk Derrick at The Derrick Law Firm has been handling car accidents, personal injury, and wrongful death claims in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Conway SC for over 23 years. Please call 843-248-7486.
SCDPS Reports 6 Killed between March 11-13 2011
Mar 21, 2011
The SCDPS announced 6 highway fatalities between 6 P.M. March 11 and 12 A.M. March 13. According to their reports, 127 people have died on South Carolina roadways as of March 13, compared to 150 deaths during the same time period in 2010.

Out of the 98 motor vehicle occupants who have died so far in 2011, 53 occupants were not wearing seatbelts.

Through midnight on March 13, 20 pedestrians, 7 motorcyclists, and 1 bicyclist have also died on state roads and highways.

If you are in need of a Myrtle Beach SC auto accident attorney, Conway lawyer Dirk Derrick at The Derrick Law Firm has been handling car accidents, personal injury, and wrongful death claims in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Conway SC for over 23 years. Please call 843-248-7486 today.
Inman Man Identified as Victim of Fatal Crash
Mar 21, 2011
A 25 year-old Inman man was killed in an alcohol related crash around 11 P.M. on March 3, 2011. Taylor Anthony Thacker was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on Peachtree Road, near Chesnee, according to the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office. He was the passenger in the front seat of a 2002 Volkswagen that was driven by Joseph Alexander Coffman.

Coffman was flown to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center after the crash and was then taken to the Spartanburg County Jail. He has been charged by the S.C. Highway Patrol with driving under the influence resulting in death. Lance Cpl. Bill Rhyne said Coffman was driving the Volkswagon when the car went off the right side of Peachtree Road, overturned, and struck some trees.

Coffman remains in jail with his bond set at $30,000.00

If you are in need of a Myrtle Beach SC auto accident attorney, Conway lawyer Dirk Derrick at The Derrick Law Firm has been handling car accidents, personal injury, and wrongful death claims in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Conway SC for over 23 years. Please call 843-248-7486 today.
Driver in Deadly Wreck in Pickens Charged with Felony DUI
Mar 21, 2011
Julie Melton Mason, 45, faces 2 counts of felony DUI resulting in death and 2 counts of felony DUI involving great bodily injury, according to Lance Cpl. Bill Rhyne of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Mason's GMC Sierra pickup truck crossed the center line of Pumpkintown Highway in Pickens on Friday, March 4, and 4:20 p.m. and struck a Chevrolet Impala driven by DSS worker Chrystal Nicole Harrison. Harrison, 36, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, as was 9-year-old Raven Alania Stancell. Stancell's two older brothers, ages 15 and 17, were also seriously injured in the accident. All four were wearing their seatbelts.

Mason was arrested after being released from the hospital. She is currently released on an $80,000.00 bond.

If you are in need of a Myrtle Beach SC auto accident attorney, Conway lawyer Dirk Derrick at The Derrick Law Firm has been handling car accidents, personal injury, and wrongful death claims in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Conway SC for over 23 years. Please call 843-248-7486 today.
Conway Woman Killed In Blaze
Sep 15, 2010
   A late-night blaze in Conway that killed a woman in her mobile home may have been prevented if a nerby fire station had been manned at the time. The fire occurred about 10:35 p.m. Tuesday at 7050 Firehouse Rd., according to Horry County Fire Rescue. Firefighters saw smoke and flames upon their arrival, they said.

   Angela Cannon, 51, was found dead of smoke inhalation, said Horry County Coroner Robert Edge. She was also undergoing treatments for cancer, he said.

   A volunteer fire station at Kates Bay Rd. about a half mile from the home was unmanned at the time of the blaze, according to Fire Rescue Chief Gary Alderman. Conway firefighters were first to the scene, he said.

   HCFR is "stretched too thin," Alderman explained, adding that "volunteerism is a dying thing all over the U.S., not just here."

   "It's unfortunate that (Kates Bay) station didn't get out," he added. "I have 32 stations and 18 are career (staffed full-time). When you have more than 1,000 square miles, unfortunately we don't have the funding to put people at every station. We'll never know if having that station manned would have helped her or not," Alderman conceded.

   The fire began in the master bedroom, and investigators are trying to determine the cause.
$43.5 Million Ordered For Wrongful Death
Sep 09, 2010
   A Georgia lawyer and nursing home operator has been ordered to pay $43.5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. The verdict against George D. Houser, 62 of Sandy Springs (a suburb of Atlanta), is thought to be among the highest in GA history against a nursing home operator.

   Houser filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week, listing total assets at between $20 million and $100 million.

   The money will go to the estate of a man, 80-year-old Morris Ellison, whose family says negligent care at the Rome, GA nursing home led to his April 2007 death. The facility has been cited for numerous state and federal violations.

   Moreover, Houser, who operated Forum Group Corp. and Forum Group at Moran Lake Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Rome, faces federal charges filed in April for bilking Medicaid and Medicare of more than $30 million. Houser's wife, Rhonda Washington Houser, 46, is also named in the indictment, which says those Medicaid and Medicare payments were supposed to go to care for residents at Houser's three nursing homes.

   Federal prosecutor's allege that the Housers instead used the money to buy luxury cars and real estate, including a $1.3 million Atlanta home for Houser's ex-wife. No trial date has been set for the federal case. Houser's attorney could not be reached for comment.

   Houser, who was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1972, is a Harvard Law School graduate, according to the Georgia State Bar.

   He represented himself in the three-day wrongful death trial at the Floyd County Superior Court in Rome. After the verdict, Houser was taken to the Floyd County Jail for two days for contempt of court.

   The suit alleges Ellison fell several times at the home, even breaking his hip. Neither Ellison's doctors nor his family were notified of his injuries. "He was severely neglected at the time of his death," said Stephen G. Lowry, an attorney for Loretta Terhune, Ellison's daughter, "malnourished and severely dehydrated."

   "Mr. Houser, through his companies, systematically drained the money and resources from his nursing homes (and) caused all sorts of shortages of food, water and medicine and basic supplies," Lowry added. One nursing home director testified that the facility lacked the money to pay it's staff or bills or to do laundry.

   Numerous inspections were done of the facility over several years by the GA Dept. of Human Resources, and they actually closed the facility in May 2007 after an inspection found "Moran Lakes deficiences constituted violations of state and federal regulations, nursing home regulations, GA state health regulations, and National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code Standards.

   The nursing home has since reopened under new management.
Man Killed In Head-On Collision
Sep 07, 2010
   A Georgetown man was killed Sunday afternoon in a three-vehicle collision on U.S. 701 near Georgetown, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

   Santos Morales, 37, died at the scene of the accident, which occurred around 4:50 p.m. about 2 miles north of Georgetown.

   Morales' car, a 2001 Mitsubishi travelling south, collided head-on with a 2004 Toyota pickup driven north by a Conway man, said the SCHP.

   A third vehicle, a moped driven by another Georgetown man, was struck as a result of the collision. The moped and pickup drivers were transported to Georgetown Memorial Hospital.

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