Wrongful Death

In the first case of its kind to be decided in Pennsylvania, a Common Pleas Court jury yesterday awarded $674,000 to a Cherry Hill couple who had sued three obstetricians for negligence in the stillbirth eight years ago of a full-term baby. The case broke new legal ground in that $647,000 of the award came as compensation for wrongful death and for lost earnings over the child's lifetime. The verdict came in a suit brought by Joseph and Regina Amadio, whose 7- pound, 8-ounce daughter was stillborn at Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia in October 1979.

A lawyer for the mother of a 7-year-old boy who drowned in a backyard pool while enrolled in what authorities have described as a fraudulently licensed day-care center filed a wrongful-death suit Wednesday against the operation's directors and the owner of the home where the child died. Isear Jeffcoat was swimming with 20 other children from Tianna's Terrific Tots on June 30 when he drowned in the deep end of a filthy, 9-foot-deep inground pool at a home in East Oak Lane. Tianna Edwards, 31, had left the children to swim at her mother's pool under the supervision of an employee with a lengthy criminal history that should have prohibited him from working with children, according to a state review of the case.

The wrongful death suit filed against the University of Pennsylvania by the parents of Michael Tobin, a former Penn student, ended yesterday morning after both sides reached a settlement at City Hall. The lawsuit, which sought $5 million in damages, was brought in the death of Tobin, 26, who fell down an outside balcony staircase at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house, 3619 Locust Walk, at 4 a.m. on March 21, 1999. The balcony was missing a handrail, and Jon and Jean Tobin sued the university, claiming it neglected to maintain the fraternity house, which it owned.

Lawyers for Tyreke Evans say their client had no knowledge his cousin, a passenger in the car he was driving, was carrying a gun or intended to shoot it the day a Chester Township man was killed. Lawyers for the family of Marcus Reason, the man killed by Jamar Evans in November 2007, say that is not believable. Tyreke Evans, a Sacramento Kings rookie point guard, and his cousin are among four men named in a wrongful-death civil suit filed in December in Delaware County. The family of Marcus Reason is asking for a judgment in excess of $50,000.

The parents of a man killed while riding in a Porsche driven by Jackass star Ryan Dunn last year are suing Dunn's estate and a local bar that served him alcohol. Dunn, 34, and Zachary Hartwell, 30, of West Chester, died in the crash just before 3 a.m. June 20, 2011, when the Porsche 911 GT3 veered off the westbound lanes of the Route 322 bypass in West Goshen Township, Chester County. Hartwell, 30, of West Chester, was a recently married Iraq War veteran. His parents, George and Arma Hartwell of Melbourne, Fla., are suing Dunn's estate and the tavern owner, Barnaby's West Chester Inc. The wrongful-death suit, first reported by Courthouse News, was filed in Common Pleas Court.

The parents of a man killed while riding in a Porsche driven by Jackass star Ryan Dunn last year are suing Dunn's estate and a local bar that served him alcohol. Dunn, 34, and Zachary Hartwell, 30, of West Chester, died in the crash just before 3 a.m. June 20, 2011, when the Porsche 911 GT3 veered off the westbound lanes of the Route 322 bypass in West Goshen Township, Chester County. The sports car smashed through a guardrail, flipped over into a wooded ravine, crashed into a tree, and burst into flames.

For the first time, a lawsuit alleges that the derailment of a freight train and subsequent chemical leak Nov. 30 in Paulsboro claimed the life of a resident of the waterfront industrial town. The children of Wessie L. Hardy, 77, who had an underlying cardiovascular condition, charge that she died in a hospital three days after she was enveloped in a cloud of vinyl chloride gas from the derailment. Their lawsuit, filed Feb. 25 in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, names as defendants Conrail, its joint owners CSX Corp.

The New Jersey Supreme Court, relying on a long-established legal definition that a fetus is not a person, ruled yesterday that parents of a full-term stillborn infant may not sue under the state's wrongful-death law. However, the court's decision broadened the rights of parents to sue for their own emotional pain and suffering when their infant is stillborn. "In a case such as this, the injury suffered by the mother and father on the stillbirth of their eagerly expected first child is palpable and predictable," Justice Alan B. Handler wrote for the court.

The parents of a 17-year-old Edison High School student shot to death last week by a plainclothes police officer yesterday filed a $45 million wrongful death lawsuit in federal court. Michael Floyd, an attorney representing the parents of Damon Dawson, said he has talked to several witnesses who contradict the police version of how Dawson died. Police said Dawson, of 8th Street near Huntingdon, died from a bullet wound to the left side of his back in the Feb. 22 incident. Homicide Capt.

Shortly before he committed suicide two years ago, Philadelphia court administrator Kevin Murray allegedly got a double dose of disturbing news from his boss, Municipal Court President Judge Alan K. Silberstein. While publicly standing behind Murray, who had been accused of a sexual assault - a charge Murray insisted was untrue - Silberstein allegedly told Murray that Murray was being suspended and would lose his job even if he were acquitted. And, the judge allegedly advised, Murray might have to hire lawyers to defend himself against the sex charge, since neither city nor state court officials would give any assurance of footing the bill for Murray's legal fees.

For the first time, a lawsuit alleges that the derailment of a freight train and subsequent chemical leak Nov. 30 in Paulsboro claimed the life of a resident of the waterfront industrial town. The children of Wessie L. Hardy, 77, who had an underlying cardiovascular condition, charge that she died in a hospital three days after she was enveloped in a cloud of vinyl chloride gas from the derailment. Their lawsuit, filed Feb. 25 in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, names as defendants Conrail, its joint owners CSX Corp.

A lawyer for the mother of a 7-year-old boy who drowned in a backyard pool while enrolled in what authorities have described as a fraudulently licensed day-care center filed a wrongful-death suit Wednesday against the operation's directors and the owner of the home where the child died. Isear Jeffcoat was swimming with 20 other children from Tianna's Terrific Tots on June 30 when he drowned in the deep end of a filthy, 9-foot-deep inground pool at a home in East Oak Lane. Tianna Edwards, 31, had left the children to swim at her mother's pool under the supervision of an employee with a lengthy criminal history that should have prohibited him from working with children, according to a state review of the case.

Attorneys for the parents of a 7-year-old boy who drowned in a backyard pool while enrolled in what authorities have described as a fraudulently licensed day-care center filed a wrongful-death suit Wednesday against the operation's directors and the owner of the home where the child died. Isear Jeffcoat was swimming with 20 other children from Tianna's Terrific Tots on June 30 when he drowned in the deep end of a filthy, 9-foot-deep inground pool at a home in East Oak Lane. Tianna Edwards, 31, had left the children to swim at her mother's pool under the supervision of an employee with a lengthy criminal history that should have prohibited him from working with children, according to a state review of the case.

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton returned to work Wednesday following a nearly yearlong suspension for his role in the team's bounty program. "We're at a point where it's time for closure. It's time for us as a team, it's time for us as a league, to take this next step forward," Payton said. Goodell lifted Payton's suspension Tuesday, nearly two weeks earlier than expected. Payton said he has not spoken to former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who remains suspended indefinitely, and "I have no interest in talking to Gregg.

LOS ANGELES - Toyota Motor Corp. has settled what was to be the first in a group of hundreds of pending wrongful death and injury lawsuits involving sudden, unintended acceleration by Toyota vehicles, a company spokesman said Thursday. Toyota reached the agreement in the case brought by the family of Paul Van Alfen and Charlene Jones Lloyd, spokeswoman Celeste Migliore said. They were killed when their Camry hit a wall in Utah in 2010. Migliore would not disclose the financial terms, and plaintiffs' attorney Robert Krause did not immediately reply to a phone message.

This story corrects a previous version. The Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole and its chairman have asked a federal court to dismiss a civil suit filed by the family of Philadelphia Police Officer Moses Walker Jr., who was slain in the summer by a criminal out on "special probation. " Walker's family filed the suit in November, seeking damages against the board and chairman Michael Potteiger. Walker, 40, was slain during an attempted stickup Aug. 18 as he walked to a bus stop after an overnight shift in North Philadelphia.

  A UNIVERSITY of Pennsylvania fraternity has agreed that a deficient stairway railing at its house contributed to the death of a man who fell about 30 feet over it after a New Year's Eve party in 2011. Phi Kappa Sigma International Fraternity Inc. agreed to pay more than $3 million to the plaintiffs before the start of a wrongful death negligence trial. It also agreed to pay $375,000 to Suds Beer Store in Trevose, Bucks County. Matthew Crozier, 20, a John Carrol University student and former La Salle College High basketball standout, died in a fall from the second floor during the party at the house at 3539 Locust Walk.

The family of Moses Walker Jr., the Philadelphia police officer killed in an attempted stickup in August, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, saying state officials caused Walker's death by allowing his alleged killer to roam the streets when he should have been behind bars. "Officer Walker's murder occurred as the result of a systemic breakdown," said Michael F. Barrett, one of the attorneys representing Walker's family, at a news conference at his Center City office.

The family of Moses Walker, Jr., the Philadelphia Police Officer killed in an attempted stickup last August, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, saying state officials caused Walker's death by allowing his alleged killer to roam the streets when he should have been behind bars. "Officer Walker's murder occurred as the result of a systemic breakdown," said Michael F. Barrett, one of the attorneys representing Walker's family, at a news conference at his Center City office.