Wrongful Death

Cargill Closes its Doors as the Avery Island Salt Mine Collapse that Left Two Dead Raises Questions about Safety

March 21, 2021 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

Following the December 14^th Salt Mine collapse, Cargill recently decided to shutter its salt production on Avery Island. Though its lease expires at the end of 2021, Cargill stated that the business decision was based on future economics and production capacity after a slow winter. All operations at the mine have been suspended since the incident due ongoing federal investigations.

Eighteen employees of Cargill, a global food corporation, reported to work inside Avery Island’s Salt Mine on December 14th. Those employees’ lives would change within hours as the salt mine’s roof collapsed, leaving two employees stranded inside.

24-hour search teams began looking for the missing employees immediately; although, the rescue was not successful until the next day. Around 3:00pm on December 15th, the search team found the first employee and identified him as 27-year-old Lance Begnaud. The second employee, 41-year-old Rene Romero, was found later that evening. Both suffered fatal injuries and were pronounced dead upon recovery.

Tragic ATV Accident in New Iberia

March 18, 2021 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

A 73-year-old man died from injuries sustained in an ATV accident. While at a gas pump one of the three passengers accidentally stepped on the accelerator causing the ATV to strike a nearby planter. The force of the collision caused the ATV to almost flip on its side and ejected the other passenger before striking a parked truck.

The driver of the ATV was cited for operating an ATV on a public roadway and, pending toxicology, there may be additional charges. Information regarding the additional passenger is unknown.

Broussard, David & Moroux offers their condolences and sympathy to the family and friends during this difficult time.

Four Boaters injured and One Deceased in Lake Pontchartrain Boating Incident

March 16, 2021 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

On March 6, around 7 p.m. The Coast Guard received word that a boat struck the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge in Lake Pontchartrain. There were five people on board at the time of the incident. Four passengers were located and transported to a New Orleans area hospital by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries as the Coast Guard searched for the fifth.

On Sunday March 7, the body of the fifth passenger on board was located in Lake Pontchartrain by St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office, Coast Guard, and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries were all involved in the search for the fifth passenger following the incident. The four other passengers that were involved in this incident sustained serious injuries but are said to be in stable condition.

Broussard, David & Moroux offer their condolences and sympathy to the family and friends during this difficult time.

Lafayette Family Begins Receiving Payments of $50 Million Settlement After Son’s Passing in 1983 Terrorist Attack

January 25, 2021 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

On the morning of October 23, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon, Iranian terrorists drove a truck loaded with explosives through steel fences and right up to a 4-story military barracks before detonating, leaving 241 United States Military personnel dead. Lance Corporal Lex Trahan, a Lafayette native and 19 years old at the time, was stationed for service in Beirut and on the 3^rd floor of the barracks, was one of the casualties in the attack. Now, 37 years later, Lance Cpl. Trahan’s family will soon begin receiving installments of a $50 million settlement for his passing.

With the help of attorney Warren Perrin of the law office of the law firm of Perrin Landry deLaunay (associates on litigation with Broussard, David & Moroux), Lance Cpl. Trahan’s family secured a $50 million award from a 2016 lawsuit filed against the Islamic Republic of Iran & Iranian Ministry of Information and Security for wrongful death, battery, assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In the 1^st U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., the plaintiffs, including both victims of the terrorist bombing and families of the deceased, were granted default judgement against the Iranian government after the foreign government did not respond following service of process.

The plaintiffs collectively received $338 million in the lawsuit. Lance Cpl. Trahan’s family and estate were awarded approximately $11 million in damages with the remaining $39 million awarded as punitive damages. The $50 million settlement is the largest award for the death of a teenager in United States history.

New York Family Fighting for Fair Compensation in the Face of Unjust Taxi Law

June 10, 2019 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

The parents of Sherena Hundalani, 26, are fighting for justice after their daughter was tragically killed by a taxi in Queens, New York. Hundalani was standing on a sidewalk in front of a Mobil Station on February 24, 2019, waiting to cross the street, when a taxi struck her from behind, dragged her underneath the car, and then fled the scene. Hundalani was taken to a hospital before she later succumbed to her injuries. The taxi’s driver, Lakhvinder Singh, was questioned by police and claimed that the vehicle malfunctioned before he was then released without having any charges pressed against him. The case is still being investigated.

The suit, which names City of New York, the Department of Transportation, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission, alleges that Singh was using the Mobil station as an illegal turnaround at the time of the incident, a common practice among taxi drivers in that location. Hundalani’s parents, Prakash and Bina, claim that the various city agencies were aware of the dangerous conditions that led to their daughter’s death and allowed them to continue. “We are devastated beyond words by the loss of our beautiful Sherena,” they expressed. “We are grateful to so many friends who have supported us and expressed their love for our daughter, but there must be accountability when an innocent young woman is killed by a taxi licensed by the City of New York while standing on the sidewalk of all places.”

Though the Hundalani’s are seeking $25 million in damages, an outrageous New York taxi and limousine regulation is potentially standing in their way. That is, under current New York City law, insurance payouts for those injured or killed by a standard taxi or limousine are limited to $100,000 per person, $300,000, per accident, $200,000 in personal injury protection, and $10,000 in property damage. As a result, the city’s streets and sidewalks are being opened to reckless, unlicensed, and underinsured bicyclists as well as underinsured taxis and limousines who face very little threat of legal or financial consequences following a crash.

Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Tesla Following California Crash

May 9, 2019 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

The family of a Walter Huang has filed a wrongful death suit against Tesla Motors Inc. following a crash that ended his life. On March 23, 2018, Mr. Huang was traveling southbound on Highway 101 when his vehicle, a Tesla Model X, misread the lane lines, failed to detect a concrete traffic barrier, failed to brake the car, and instead, accelerated the car until it struck the median at 71 miles per hour (according to an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board). Huang was killed on impact.

According to the suit, “Based on Tesla’s advertising and promotional material, Decedent Walter Huang believed the Tesla Model X’s technology was such that the autopilot features included designed-in programs, software, hardware, and systems that would eliminate the risk of harm or injury to the vehicle operator.” It continues to allege that Mr. Huang “reasonably believed the 2017 Tesla Model X vehicle was safer than a human-operated vehicle because of the Defendant’s claimed technical superiority regarding the vehicle’s autopilot system, including Tesla’s ‘traffic-aware cruise control’, ‘autosteer lane-keeping assistance’ and other safety components.” Huang’s family notes that, despite these advertisement claims by Tesla, Mr. Huang complained on numerous occasions about his vehicle’s autopilot problems that Tesla was never able to resolve.

Plaintiff’s attorneys hold that Tesla either knew or should have known about the vehicle software’s defects that consequently left owners and operators of the Model X in danger of crashing, and moreover, Tesla either knew or should have known that said owners and operators were wholly unaware of the Model X’s defects. Thus, these operators should have been notified of the software issues, sparing them of potential harm. Instead, Mr. Huang was unknowingly driving a computer-operated vehicle that had the potential to malfunction and crash at any moment, and this potential was tragically actualized resulting in Mr. Huang’s death.

Indiana woman fighting 1851 law after losing 9 family members in duck boat incident.

October 17, 2018 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

Tia Coleman is calling the defense of Branson Duck Vehicles and Ripley Entertainment “callous and calculated” following a duck boat accident on July 19, 2018. Nine of Coleman’s family members and eight others were killed when the amphibious boat capsized during a storm. Ten days later, Coleman and her attorneys filed a $100 million wrongful death suit against the two companies, but the defendants have cited an 1851 law known as the Shipowners’ Limitation of Liability Act.

According to the law, a shipowner may limit damage claims following an accident to the value of the vessel and any pending freight so long as he can prove that he lacked knowledge of the vessel’s problem beforehand. Because the duck boat in question was a total loss with no value following the accident and there was no pending freight, Ripley and Branson’s attorneys are claiming zero liability. Needless to say, the 167-year-old law was originally written for a different purpose. At the time, maritime insurance did not exist. Thus, in creating the law, Congress hoped to encourage vessel purchases and maritime transport by guaranteeing protection for sea-vessel owners in case of an accident.

Following a Coast Guard investigation of the accident, probable cause of negligence was found on the part of the boat’s captain, though the defense contests this finding. On the basis of the finding, Coleman and her attorneys filed an additional federal lawsuit in September against the boat’s operator and manufacturer. “This tragedy was the predictable and predicated result of decades of unacceptable, greed-driven and will ignorance of safety by the boat industry,” the suit states. If such an argument holds and the accident is proven to have been the “predictable” result of “willful ignorance”, it is possible that the Shipowners’ Limitation of Liability Act will be deemed inapplicable in this particular case.

Fort Polk Soldier Charged with Vehicular Homicide after Fatal Wreck in Vernon Parish

February 5, 2018 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

In November of 2017, Galvan Alejandro Jr. and William Rhodes were traveling in Vernon Parish, Louisiana when Alejandro, the driver, lost control of the vehicle, went off the road, struck a culvert, and hit several trees. Despite wearing a seatbelt, Rhodes, the passenger, was ejected from the vehicle and killed. The driver sustained only moderate injuries. Suspecting alcohol and excessive speeding as causes for the crash, in January, Louisiana authorities arrested the driver for vehicular homicide and reckless operation.

Louisiana law defines “vehicular homicide” as “the killing of a human being caused . . . by an offender engaged in the operation of . . . any motor vehicle” when the driver is under the influence of alcoholic beverages or other intoxicants. If convicted of vehicular homicide, the driver can be fined and imprisoned for no less than five years and no more than thirty years. In addition to facing possible jail time, under Louisiana law, a drunk driver can face liability for punitive damages, which can be awarded in addition to compensatory damages in some cases. Louisiana Civil Code article 2315.4 states, “exemplary damages may be awarded upon proof that the injuries on which the action is based were caused by . . . a defendant whose intoxication while operating a motor vehicle was a cause in fact of the resulting injuries.”

Punitive damage awards can vary depending upon the facts of each case and even the location of the trial. For example, Broussard, David & Moroux partner Blake R. David was lead counsel in Thibodeaux v. AFTCO, where a Lafayette Parish jury awarded punitive damages of nearly $15,000,000.00 against an intoxicated driver. In Calcasieu Parish, Broussard, David & Moroux partner Blake R. David was also lead counsel in Tingle v. American Home Assurance Co., where the jury returned a verdict which included $5,000,000.00 in punitive damages where an intoxicated driver caused the death of a family’s two-year-old daughter. In Thistlethwaite v. Gonzalez, another case in which Blake David was lead counsel, a St. Charles Parish trial court awarded over $25,000,000.00 total in punitive damages against an intoxicated defendant driver.

Ferry Boat Owner Unable to Limit Liability in Wreck with Speedboat

May 30, 2017 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

An interesting case recently arose out of the Northern District of California. A ferry boat captain was found partially responsible for a collision in which he was using his cell phone in the minutes before his boat wrecked into a speedboat on the San Francisco Bay.

In February of 2013, Harry Holzhauer and David Rhoades were traveling by speedboat in the San Francisco Bay when a ferry crashed into their boat. The driver, Holzhauer, was killed in the collision and Rhoades, who owned the boat, was seriously injured. The widows of Holzhauer and Rhoades both filed claims against the ferry captain and the ferry owner, alleging the captain negligently used his cell phone immediately before the accident occurred. At the trial, Plaintiffs presented evidence that showed that the ferry made a course and speed change about two minutes before the collision and that the captain of the ferry made a two-minute cell phone call at 4:07 pm, just before the 4:09 pm collision.

After hearing the evidence, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $5,276,306, broken down as $3,729,559 to Rhoades and $1,546,747 to Holzhauer. Further, the jury found the ferry Captain to be 30% at fault and Holtzhauer 70% at fault, reducing Holtzhauer’s award to $464,024.00.

Plaintiff Seeks Over $1.4 Million in Wrongful Death Suit

August 30, 2016 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

In November of 2012, Carrie Marchiafava, 85, parked her car in the parking lot of Casey Jones Supermarket and went inside. When Mrs. Marchiafava returned to her vehicle, she found someone had parked too close to her passenger side door, making it difficult for her to back out.

Store employee William Sarradet attempted to assist Mrs. Marchiafava by backing her car out for her, but left the driver-side door open as he reversed the vehicle out of its parking spot. The open door knocked Marchiafava down and the car rolled over her. According to court records, Mrs. Marchiafava was dragged under the car for a distance. Sarradet then put the car back into drive and accelerated into the parking spot, rolling over Marchiafava again.

Mrs. Marchiafava was taken to a New Orleans hospital where doctors attempted to save her life. She suffered numerous broken bones and her skin was torn away from the tissue in several places. Mrs. Marchiafava underwent multiple surgeries and survived for over a month before succumbing to her injuries.