The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in St. Joseph Superior Court in Indiana by Randi and Kent Downhour, whose young son, Corey, was killed last December in the tragic car accident.

Sources indicate that the lawsuit was filed against John Sult, who was driving an SUV on December 10 when it veered off an Indiana road and rolled several times. The accident killed Corey Downhour, who was riding without a seatbelt in the back seat.

According to the lawsuit, Sult was driving without a license and he was driving at an unsafe speed. The lawsuit claims that Sult “lost control of the vehicles and crashed into an embankment” as a direct “result of his negligence.”

Despite the parents’ certainty about the cause of the crash, they are still not sure who owned the car, how the teenager got the keys, and how he was able to gain control of the SUV.

And, according to the Downhour’s car accident attorney, the parents filed the lawsuit to learn what happened that night because, thus far, “[n]o one really knows the truth.”

Speculation in the local community has raised questions about whether Sult’s 17-year-old friend gave him permission to drive his car, although this person’s name has not been released, and prosecutors have not pressed charges against him.

Sources suggest that the Downhours have not been able to access information gathered by police during their investigation into the crash. The police investigation is still active, so the parents may not be able to learn this information for several months as it’s reviewed by local prosecutors.

By filing the lawsuit, the Downhours will be able to subpoena witnesses and depose various parties who might be able to offer more information about the events that led to their son’s tragic lawsuit.

In the words of the family’s attorney, “sometimes a lawsuit is the only way to get over” what they perceive as an informational “brick wall.”

Of course, the Downhours are also looking for some compensation for their loss, including damages for the cost of their son’s funeral, the loss of their child’s companionship, and the cost of their own psychiatric counseling.

Sources indicate that, one year ago, Brian Greenhouse roughly 30 feet from a roller coaster at the Houston rodeo. The fall eventually killed the 47-year-old father of one, and the cause of the accident still remains in dispute, although the victim’s family claimed the ride’s restraint system was faulty.

Under the terms of the settlement, the rodeo admitted no liability, although it will provide more than $2 million in living expenses for Greenhouse’s surviving son.

The son, who is now 7 years old, will not receive the payment in one lump sum. The settlement money will be held in two annuities that reportedly guarantee $2.9 million in future benefits. If the boy lives a young life, he could collect up to $4 million.

According to sources, the personal injury award will give the boy $29,000 each year after he turns 18 for college, almost $20,000 for graduate school, and a $750 per month stipend for eight years starting in August 2022.

And the money extends beyond education. Sources say that, when the child turns 25, he will receive a guaranteed sum of $5,000 per month for 30 years. And this money is reportedly guaranteed.

He will also receive eight large lump sum payments (ranging from $50,000 to $200,000 during specific years between the ages of 25 and 60.

This is all to say that the family’s personal injury attorney did a commendable job of compensating Greenhouse’s family for the premature loss of their father. Still, though, the money is a small consolation for a 7-year-old boy who lost his father at such an early age.

The lawsuit was filed by Greenhouse’s ex-wife, Nirvana Hightower, who sued on behalf of her son. In the lawsuit, the family accused the rodeo of negligence, premises liability, and negligent hiring of a carnival ride operator.

Sources say the lawsuit asked for compensatory damages for the child for “premature termination of the parent-child relationship, including loss of the love, comfort, companionship and society that young Isaiah would, in reasonable probability, have received from his father had he lived.”

In addition to the son’s personal injury award, Greenhouse’s parents are also expected to receive more than $300,000 in damages, although the judge was quick to note that he wanted the majority of the damages to go to Greenhouse’s young son.

Sources say the class action lawsuit was filed this week by Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson, both football players from Tennessee.

The two men claim that they are filing a lawsuit against ABC, Bachelor executive producer Mike Fleiss, and the show’s three production companies on behalf of “all persons of color who have applied for the role of The Bachelor or Bachelorette but been denied the equal opportunity for selection on the basis of race.”

This lawsuit was announced this week through a press release distributed by the two men’s injury attorney. The release claimed that, “[o]ver a combined total of 23 seasons, neither show has ever had a Bachelor or Bachelorette of color.”

This claim, if true, would seem to give Claybrooks and Johnson a fairly strong argument in court, but sources are quick to caution that the two men have a high burden of proof in their case.

However, one California attorney who is closely associated with the entertainment industry observes that such a legal action is unprecedented, but that a successful racial discrimination lawsuit could have a widespread impact on how reality television shows select their participants.

The attorney also suggested that the class action lawsuit is not hopeless, but one major obstacle for the plaintiffs is the fact that neither one has actually been a contestant on the show.

Since they have not actually been employees of the show or its producers, the plaintiffs will have a very difficult time proving that they faced discrimination in the workplace, and will have to take another legal route to prove their claim.

Sources suggest that the plaintiffs could interview former producers for the show and sift through internal memos and contestant applications to unearth the show’s selection practices.

One observer claimed that people in the entertainment industry routinely send candid, politically incorrect emails regarding selection practices to each other. So, if the plaintiffs could access some of these conversations, they may build a stronger case.

However, ABC must only prove that it made a good faith effort to recruit participants of color, and if it is able to do so, it will likely prevail in court.

Nevertheless, even if their lawsuit is unsuccessful, Claybrooks and Johnson will have brought attention to an issue that needs to be remedied.

According to a report from Market Watch, Gilmore McCalla claims in his lawsuit that the da Vinci surgical robot, which is manufactured by Intuitive Surgery Inc., botched a relatively simple procedure and caused his daughter’s death.

Sources say that McCalla’s daughter was having a routine hysterectomy in August 2010 in a Bronx hospital when the robot allegedly performed actions that caused burns to an artery and the woman’s intestines. She died from the injuries two weeks later.

In the personal injury claim, McCalla claims that the robot was afflicted by design flaws, including poorly structured surgical arm and the machine’s reliance on electrical current that can reach internal organs and tissues.

In addition, the lawsuit suggests that the doctors who used the da Vinci robot were not properly trained how to use the machine.
Moreover, McCalla claims that Intuitive Surgery was negligent in its failure to adequately test potential complications arising from the use of the robot.

Interestingly, the lawsuit also argues that Intuitive Surgery has hidden reports of complications arising from other surgical procedures performed by the robot, and it also claims that the company has painted an unfairly healthy picture of its machine’s safety to clinics and hospitals.

The introduction of surgical robots has dramatically changed the face of modern medicine. As the costs of these machines continue to drop, hospitals are finding that using the robots is, in the long run, potentially cheaper and safer than using surgeons for basic procedures.

Sources indicate that the Bronx hospital where McCalla’s daughter tragically died paid upwards of $2 million to purchase its da Vinci surgical robot.

Reports indicate that medical journals are full of anecdotal stories about other complications involving the da Vinci robot in surgeries ranging from hysterectomies to prostate surgery to other types of gynecologic operations.

Victims of these complications often experience injuries such as burns and tears to blood vessels, intestines, and other internal organs. When these injuries occur, though, they often take a few days to manifest themselves after the surgery.

And, while many hospitals have argued that surgical robots are completely safe, the recent spate of accidents has raised an important question: are these machines a suitable replacement for experienced, competent surgeons? Or do they pose unnecessary risks?

Sources say that, in December 2006, a car driven by 52-year-old Willie Allan Sargent was struck by a patrol car that was being driven by Gwinnett County Officer James Stoudenmire, according to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

According to reports, Sargent was attempting to turn left into a local restaurant in Snellville, Georgia, when his car was struck at a high speed by Stoudenmire’s police vehicle.

When the accident occurred, Stoudenmire was reportedly responding as a backup officer to a suspicious person complaint in Snellville, and he was traveling between 78 and 80 miles per hour. After the collision, sources say that Sargent immediately died at the scene.

However, despite his car’s high speed, Stoudenmire did not use his siren or emergency flashing lights, according to the lawsuit filed by Sargent’s family.

In response to the accident, though, a spokesman for the Gwinnett County Police Department initially denied the family’s claims.

Shortly after the accident, the spokesman claimed that Stoudenmire, who was 25 years old at the time of the accident, was driving under the speed limit, and that Sargent was at fault for failing to yield to oncoming traffic.

But a few days after this claim, the spokesman changed his tune and admitted that an investigation into the crash revealed that the officer was, in fact, speeding at the time of the collision.

After the investigation revealed that the young officer was at least partially responsible for the accident, the Gwinnett County Police Department officially reprimanded Stoudenmire and temporarily suspended him from police duties.

Interestingly, Stoudenmire’s reentry into the police force was short-lived. In 2009, the officer was arrested for drunk driving while he was off-duty. Because of his actions, the police department allowed Stoudenmire to resign in lieu of termination, according to sources.

The trial to determine whether Stoudenmire caused the accident starts this week. Sources expect the trial to last three or four days.

Observers expect the police department to argue that Sargent was responsible for the accident because he had consumed alcohol before the wreck, although the family’s personal injury lawyer is likely to argue that his alcohol consumption played an insignificant role in causing the collision.

According to the family’s car accident lawsuit, which was recently filed in a Utah district court, Michael Barneck and his young daughter, Justine, were driving west on State Road 35 one evening last July when a horrible accident occurred.

Unbeknownst to the Barnecks, the road had suffered a severe collapse since they had last driven across it, which was about an hour before the accident. The road collapse created a broad chasm that was more than 20 feet deep and 30 feet wide, according to figures provided in the lawsuit.

While he was driving along the road, Barneck struck a piece of asphalt that had been raised when the road collapsed. The speed of Barneck’s Ford Excursion carried the vehicle over the hole, and it crashed on the other side, according to a police report from the Utah Highway Patrol.

In the accident, Barneck suffered serious injuries, while his daughter eventually died from injuries she suffered in the crash.

Sources say that another car had already driven into the hole from the opposite direction earlier than night. This driver also had serious injuries, but escaped with her life.

The exact cause of the chasm is a matter of some dispute in the lawsuit. Sources indicate that the road had collapsed “as a result of water that gradually backed up at the point where the creek passes under” State Road 35 near the town of Tabiona, Utah.

The lawsuit alleges that, earlier that day, workers for the Utah Department of Transportation had been working in a nearby area where a blocked culvert caused a massive pond of water that was roughly 20 feet deep on one side of the highway.

According to the lawsuit, these workers failed to “remedy the situation” and the Utah Department of Transportation negligently failed to leave an employee at the scene to monitor the situation and warn drivers of the “dangerous conditions created by the water and saturated fill.”

The lawsuit also claims that the Utah state agency acted negligently when it failed to post warnings around the area or install temporary lighting to warn drivers.

In their lawsuit, the parents of the 15-year-old girl who died in the accident are seeking more than $1 million in personal injury compensation.

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First Public Case and Response

Abuse accusations against the Catholic Church have become increasingly public over the last several decades.

1985: First Public Case of Abuse

• Rev. Gilbert Gauthe, Louisiana
• Convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for molesting 35 children
• Case spurred additional sexual abuse accusations of priests

1992: First Response by the Catholic Church

• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Policy recommendations for bishops to address sexual abuse cases

Noteworthy Cases: United States

Further accusations of sexual abuse against the church continued occurring after 1992. Below are noteworthy cases within the United States.

2002: Boston, MA

• Rev. John J. Geoghan
• Accused of abusing more than 130 boys over 3 decades
• Priest was transferred among 6 parishes

2005: Boston, MA

• Former Priest, Rev. Paul R. Shanley
• Convicted of rape and assault as a parish priest in the 1980s

2005: Philadelphia, PA

• Grand Jury found cases of abuse by 63 priests that were not addressed by the church
• No indictments because the statute of limitations ran out

2011 Philadelphia, PA

• 4 indicted on rape and assault charges:
• Father Charles Engelhardt
• Father James Brennan
• Bernard Shero (parochial school teacher)
• Edward Avery (former priest)
• Msgr. William Lynn indicted on charges of endangering children’s welfare
• First time a senior church member was charged with hiding abuse in a United States case.

2011: Kansas City, MO

• Bishop Robert Finn indicted for failure to report child abuse
• First time the leader of an American diocese was criminally liable for priests’ behaviors
• Bishop Finn settled lawsuit with 47 plaintiffs for $10 million
• Public reaction: outrage

Noteworthy Cases: Europe

The United States was not the only place the Catholic Church came under attack. In 2010, charges of abuse surfaced throughout Europe in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Ireland. [1]

Germany

• Rev. Peter Hullermann
• 1970s: Sexual abuse accusations
• Within his parish near Essen
• 1986: Convicted of molestation
• 18-month suspended sentence
• 5 years probation
• Fined 4,000 marks
• Continued to work with children
• 1998: Sexual abuse accusations
• In his parish in Garching
• 2010: Suspended form his duties
• German Church: “Mistakes were made in his case”

The Netherlands

• 2010:
• Close to 2,000 people alleged sexual and physical abuse against the church
• Catholics living in the Netherlands accounted for 1/4th of the population
• Cardinal Adrianus Simonis’ response: “We knew noting”

Belgium

• 2010:
• Roman Catholic Bishop resigned after admitting to sexually abusing children
• 13 victims reportedly committed suicide as a result of abuse by clerics
• Belgian Church’s Response: Agreed to compensate alleged victims of clerics

Ireland

• 2009 Report from Irish Government
• Church and police covered up sexual abuse by priests in Dublin
• Report chronicled sexual, emotional, and physical abuse of orphans and foster kids within church-run residential schools
• 2010 Disclosure
• Cardinal Sean Brady coerced 2 boys 35 years ago into covering up their abuse allegations by an Irish priest
• 2010 Reaction by the Pope: “Shame and remorse for sinful and criminal acts” committed by clergy

Where the Church Currently Stands

With continued controversy and allegations of sexual abuse, the Catholic Church has taken steps to right the wrongs of the past and make amends with the Catholic community.

Vatican’s Response

• Vatican directed bishops to prioritize, address, and prevent the sexual abuse by its clerics (2011)
• Directives not binding in church law
• No enforcement procedures or punishments

United States Bishops

• In 2011, bishops voted to keep the 2002 “zero tolerance” guidelines in place with minor changes
• Victims’ advocates called for bigger changes

“Toward Healing and Renewal”

• 4-day symposium in February 2012
• Attended by more than 100 bishops, 30 religious superiors, Catholic university rectors, and abuse victims
• Areas of discussion:
• How the church can better serve victims
• Create a consistent response to abuse
• Stop future cases of abuse

Conclusion

The Catholic Church has undergone a shaking in the last several decades with sexual abuse charges and accusations in the United States and Europe. Progress has been made in addressing the crimes, and the entire church community is working together to improve the church’s reputation and the future of Catholicism.

Ramsay filed the lawsuit last week against Danny Lavy, who was formerly a business partner with Ramsay and helped the chef open Montreal’s Laurier BBQ restaurant, according to a report from the Washington Post.

The lawsuit also includes allegations that Lavy wrongfully kept licensing fees from Ramsay after the two split from their business partnership. In the suit, Ramsay is asking for $2.25 million in lost licensing fees, as well as $500,000 in compensation for the alleged defamation.

The lawsuit stems from events that occurred this February, when Lavy abruptly canceled his contract with Ramsay and changed the name of their restaurant from Laurier Gordon Ramsay to The Laurier 1936.

Ramsay, however, objected to this decision, claiming that the pair had agreed that Ramsay’s name would remain affixed to the marquee for ten years, unless the restaurant declared bankruptcy or failed to make at least $4 million in net sales during the first five years it was open.

In his defense, Ramsay claims that the restaurant met the sales goals, and it did not file bankruptcy, and that he is entitled to recover the lost licensing fees because he met all the obligations listed under the original licensing agreement.

Despite these claims, Lavy remains defiant, and his comments made to the Montreal Gazette when announcing the changes at the restaurant paint Ramsay in a very negative light. It is for these comments that Ramsay has leveled the defamation charges.

Specifically, the lawsuit claims that Lavy told the Montreal Gazette that Ramsay was “too busy to come to the restaurant,” and that he did not offer any expertise that the restaurant’s staff couldn’t have provided on its own.

In addition to these remarks, Lavy also apparently told the newspaper that Ramsay refused to do promotion efforts for the restaurant, did not have a substantial impact on the menu, and did not understand the other owners’ vision for the eatery.

While these remarks seem relatively innocuous, Ramsay calls them “false and defamatory” and believes that Lavy’s words have significantly harmed the value of Ramsay’s own brand.

In the words of Ramsay’s personal injury attorney, “[n]egative and critical public comments regarding the plaintiff could have the effect of decreasing the commercial value of his name and any commercial ventures associated with it.”

The couple alleged that doctors failed to evaluate whether their baby had Down syndrome. The parents claim that they would have terminated the pregnancy if they know about their baby’s chromosomal problems, according to a report from the New York Daily News.

In a jury trial, an Oregon jury found five separate instances of negligence on the part of Legacy Health System. The most important instance of negligence, according to the jury, was doctors’ claim to Ariel and Deborah Levy that their unborn child did not have any chromosomal problems.

The chromosome test for the baby, according to sources, was performed incorrectly, which led parents to continue with the birth of their child.

And, despite later tests that suggested that baby may have some chromosomal abnormalities, the doctors with Legacy Health System continued to insist that the baby was perfectly normal.

Despite these assurances, the Levys discovered their baby had Down syndrome about a week after the baby was born. Sources indicate that doctors had taken samples of the wrong kind of tissue when performing the Down syndrome test before the baby was born.

The Levys, somewhat predictably, have faced intense media scrutiny of their court battle and, while they say they would not have had the baby had they known of its syndrome, their personal injury attorney notes that they “love this little girl very, very much.”

In addition, their attorney notes that the couple’s goal in going to court was simply to gather enough funds to care for their four-year-old child with Down syndrome. In the words of their attorney, “[t]heir mission since the beginning was to provide for her and that’s what this is all about.

While they originally filed a lawsuit for $7 million in order to cover her medical costs for the duration of her life, jurors only awarded $2.9 million, although this sum will go a long way towards covering the costs of their special needs child.

Not surprisingly, Legacy Health System was not pleased with the verdict. After the results of the case were announced, the health care provider said that, “[w]hile Legacy Health has great respect for the judicial process, we are disappointed in today’s verdict.”

According to a report from Patch.com, 23-year-old Chelsea Garrett was pulled over for reckless driving last November by Office Jesse Reedy, a police officer in Stow, Ohio.

Sources indicate that Garrett was disoriented while she was driving and allegedly caused an accident, fled from the scene, and almost ran into a police cruiser. After the accident, Garrett, a diabetic, admits that her disorientation was heightened by some cold medicine she had taken that day.

Nevertheless, her driving exploits were not what really got her into trouble. When she was pulled over, Garrett left her car and started approaching Reedy.

When she was within an arm’s length of Reedy, the officer reportedly knocked Garrett to the ground and then Tasered her at least twice. According to Garrett, a college student in Akron, the officer “punched her in the chest” with the Taser.

The officer disputes the claim that he punched Garrett in the chest, but sources say that footage taken from a camera in the police cruiser show Reedy knocking Garrett down, although the image is a bit out of frame.

After an investigation, the Stow Police Department cleared Reedy, who has served with that department for almost five years, of any wrongdoing in the incident.

But, after pleading guilty to her reckless driving charges, Garrett is looking for personal injury relief in the form of a police brutality lawsuit.

Her lawsuit may question the testimony of Reedy, who claims that he was concerned that, despite her small stature, Garrett could still “scratch” or “bite” him.

Key to his claim, though, is his report that Garrett refused to obey his orders when he told her to stop approaching him. Garrett’s alleged refusal to obey Reedy’s orders gave the Stow Police Department reason to forgive Reedy for his use of his Taser.

According to the committee that handled the investigation, “[i]f an officer perceives a threat through the totality of circumstances, he/she does not have to wait until they are harmed to deploy the Taser,” the committee said in its ruling.

Despite this belief, sources suggest that Garrett was clearly “hesitant and confused” when she left her car. Sources also say that her struggle with Reedy looked “pretty feeble.”

In her lawsuit, Garrett will try to prove to the court that the police could have easily handcuffed her instead of using a drastic, dangerous tool like a Taser.