When 18 year old Nikki Catsouras died in a horrific car accident on a Lake Forest toll road, her family undoubtedly suffered. Unfortunately, because a few highway patrolmen who were on the scene decided to take gorey photos of the young woman’s death and send them to friends, the photos soon made their way onto the internet. Soon Nikki’s family was being forced to relive the tragedy after they started recieving mysterious text messages and emails with photos of the young girl’s accident.
When her family sued the highway patrol for invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence, the first court to hear the case dismissed it despite the fact that the judge called the officer’s behavior “utterly reprehensible.”
Fortunately, upon appeal, the family has been given their chance to hold the officers accountable for their unnecessary suffering following the accident. Many Orange County personal injury attorneys are praising the decision, as it will allow the family to help ensure that this type of tragedy never happens to anyone else.
To read more about the story, see the article in the L.A. Times. Image via moriza [Flickr].
The final lawsuit relating to a 2006 car accident involving pop star Brandy has finally been settled in a Los Angeles court this week. The singer/actress caused the four car pile up on Sepulveda Boulevard when she rear-ended Awatef Aboudihaj while going 65 miles per hour. The crashed caused a domino effect, which resulted in three wrongful death lawsuits and one personal injury case.
Two drivers in California have filed a class action suit against Toyota for a known defect in both Toyota and Lexus vehicles that has resulted in the loss of control of over 2,000 vehicles. So far, at least 16 people have died and over 240 people have been injured as a result of the vehicle acceleration issues. Both parties behind the suit are past Toyota or Lexus owners who have been victimized by the car’s acceleration problems.