Alabama Injury Attorneys Blog

Twenty-five year old Felix Dominquez Ortega plead guilty today to two counts of murder for the deaths of Tad Mattle and Leigh Ann Jimmerson. Tad Mattle, 19-years-old, and his girlfriend, Leigh Ann Jimmerson, 16-year-old, were killed in a drunk driving accident when their car was hit by Felix Dominquez Ortega on April 17, 2009.

Ortega, an illegal immigrant, was drinking and driving when the accident occurred at the intersection of Whitesburg Drive and Airport Road in Huntsville, Alabama. Mattle and Jimmerson had stopped at a traffic light, where Ortega reportedly slammed into the back of their Toyota. Immediately after impact, the car burst into flames in the middle of the intersection. However, the police believe the two Alabama teenagers were killed before the fire started. Ortega then fled the scene of the accident but was later reported to police after he hit a car in his apartment building parking lot.

According to the prosecutors, Ortega's blood alcohol content was three times the legal at the time of the crash. Ortega received a 15 year-sentence as part of a plea agreement and is expected to serve 12.5 years of that sentence.

Continue reading "Drunk Driver Pleads Guilty After the Death of Two Alabama Teens" »

Two families of the 50 people killed in the Continental Airlines Connection Flight 3407 on February 29, 2009 have reached a confidential settlement agreement in their wrongful death lawsuit. The families of John G. Roberts, III and Darren Tolsma sued Continental Airlines, Pinnacle Airline Corp., Colgan Air and Bombardier, Inc. for the plane crash that occurred near Buffalo, New York.

The Connection Flight 3407, a regional carrier Pinnacle Airline Corporation, operated through Colgan Air Unit killed 49 people on board the airplane and one person on the ground. The airplane, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q4000, is known for icing conditions. And on the night of the accident, Captain Marvin Renslow and co-pilot Rebecca Shaw, radioed in at 16,000 feet of hazy weather conditions and requested to descend to 12,000 feet. The crew was later cleared to drop to 11,000 feet but noticed "significant ice buildup, on the windshield and leading edge of the wings."

According to reports the crew evidently tried to abort landing, but the plane began to experience "severe pitch and roll excursions." In other words, the wings of the plane began to wag from sided to side with the nose of the plane pointing up and down. The last recording claims the "crew attempted to raise the gear and flaps" just before landing.

The families of the victims claimed the two pilots, Renslow and Shaw, made a series of mistakes that led to the airplane crash. After the crash, The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began to investigate the actions of Renslow and Shaw and discovered Renlsow apparently failed two flight tests prior to the crash while Shaw receive a substantial raise almost two weeks prior to the accident. In February of the following year, the NTSB ended their investigation blaming Renslow for the airplane crash. According to the NTSB, Renslow incorrectly responded to a cockpit warning, and pulled back on the control column causing the stall that ultimately caused the crash.

Court filings indicate that Continental and Colgan both denied liability. However after the NTSB investigation, NTSB filings state that Colgan declared the pilots at fault.

The two families reached an agreement through mediation on August 18, 2010 and notified the Courts on August 19.

A similar wrongful death case in 2006, involving Comair Inc, a regional Delta Airlines carrier, crashed in Kentucky killing 49 people. The family of one of the passengers won a $7.1 million verdict and the 45 others settled for $264 million.

The additional plaintiffs in the Colgan suit are schedule for trial in federal court March 2012.

Mazda is recalling some 215,000 Mazda 3 and Mazda 5 vehicles built during the years 2007-2009. The recall is due to a loss of power steering while the vehicle is driven, increasing the likelihood of an automobile accident. According to a report Mazda submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (N.H.T.S.A.), Mazda has been researching the problem for the past two years.

In July 2009, Mazda discovered the problem was a result of rust forming inside a pressure pipe in the power steering system. The rust particles began to enter the motorized power steering pump causing it to shut down.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims they have received 33 complaints regarding steering problems in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 Mazda vehicles.

Because of the high occurrence rate, Mazda issued a recall in Japan almost a full year prior to the recall in the United States. But because of the low occurrence rate in the U.S., Mazda decided to issue a technical service bulletin to dealers telling them how to fix the problem instead of recalling all U.S. models. The N.H.T.S.A became involved last June after hearing numerous consumer complaints regarding the power steering and consequently opened a safety investigation.

Mazda claims the loss of power steering poses "no unreasonable safety risk."

Two Alabama teenagers were killed in a two-vehicle accident yesterday in Athens. The accident occurred when a vehicle, driven by 17-years-old Jordan Young of Alabama, collided with a logging truck. Young and his passenger, 17-year-old John Michael McCowan of Ardmore, Alabama, were both killed in the accident.

The deadly accident took place yesterday afternoon around 5:00 p.m. at the intersection of Mooresville Road and Bain Road.

According to reports, the logging truck accident occurred just north of Southern Gayles Golf Course. An eye witness reported the logging truck turned over on its side and logs strewn all over the road.

No other information regarding the accident is available at this time.

Continue reading "Logging Truck Accident Kill Two Alabama Teens" »

Diamond Harris, 18-years-old, was tragically killed Monday in a two-vehicle accident in south Alabama. The truck collided with a Safety Kleen vacuum service truck near Palmer Pillans Middle School on Dauphin Island Parkway. The Alabama accident occurred around 8:00 a.m. and resulted in a crumpled mess of steel.

Harris was a passenger in a Chevrolet truck driven by a 19-year-old. The 19-year-old driver was rushed to a nearby hospital and listed in critical condition. The driver of the Safety Kleen truck was not injured in the wreck.

According to one onlooker, "She was suspended there, just hanging there, and all I could do was prey to God to have mercy." Investigators have stated that Harris was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.

Continue reading "Alabama Auto Accident Claims the Life of an 18-Year-Old Girl" »

What was supposed to be an exciting and thrill seeking night for the annual California 200 off-road race, turned deadly in an instant as eight spectators were killed when a truck ran off course.

On Saturday night, hundreds of fans gathered around a 200-miles race course in Lucerne Valley to watch amateur off-road drivers compete. At the time of the accident, Brett M. Sloppy, 28-years-old of San Marcos, was driving around 45-50 mph. When he took a jump at a high speed, he hit his brakes upon landing his truck and rolled sideways into spectators. Sloppy was not injured in the accident, but the roll-over accident killed eight people and injured twelve.

There are no guard rails along the 50-mile track, and at any point you can almost touch the trucks as they race over the dessert sand. The night of the race tens of thousand of fans were spread out along the 50-mile track, but the sight of the crash, known as the "rockpile" is the most popular spot. At the rockpile, trucks become airborne enabling spectators to watch trucks fly over jumps at a very close proximity.

When Sloppy hit the jump near the rockpile he lost control of his vehicle. Six people died at the scene of the accident and two others died after being taken to a nearby hospital. The majority of the twelve people injured at the scene had to be airlifted to hospitals.

According to reports, it took rescue workers and paramedics nearly half an hour to reach the remote location, which is only accessible by a "rutted dirt road."

Continue reading "Deadly Off-Road Race Kills Eight" »

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating a fatal school bus accident involving two school buses and an 18-wheeler.

The school buses were reportedly headed to Six Flags on Thursday morning carrying a busload of girls in one vehicle and a busload of boys in the second. The 4 car crash killed 2 and injured 50. One of the victims killed was 15-year-old Jessica Brinker, a passenger in the school bus, while the other victim was 19-year-old Daniel Schatz. A total of eight victims were taken to the hospital by ambulance.

According to police, Schatz's pick-up truck ran into the back of a Volvo semi truck, which had slowed for road construction. The driver of the first bus was not able to stop in time and rear-end the Volvo tractor-trailer. The second school bus then crashed into the back of the first creating a domino effect.

The initial police report stated that the 75-year-old driver of the first school bus was "inattentive" and the 38-year-old second driver was following too closely. However, Franklin County Prosecutor Bob Parks said he would not decide on the charges until he gets the final police report.

The NTSB is also examining whether seat belts on the bus would have helped.

Continue reading "School Buses and Tractor-Trailer Collide Killing Two People" »

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Heath Administration (OSHA) are investigating a fatal accident in Talladega, Alabama on Tuesday morning.

A contractor working at the Spring Street Recreation Center fell approximately 34.5 feet into an empty swimming pool. The city had just approved a major renovation of the Talladega's Recreational Center including removing an old roof over the pool and replacing it with a new roof. Reportedly, the contractor was working on parts of the metal roof around 6:30 a.m. and it gave way, causing the fall.

The Alabama contractor was air lifted to the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital and pronounced dead a t8:30 a.m.

The name of the contractor has yet to be released but has been identified as a 31-year-old Hispanic male with a Hoover, Alabama address.

Continue reading "Fatal Fall Kills One in Talladega, Alabama " »

BP announced today that have finished the second step of the static kill method which involved pumping cement into the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. The cementing operation began at 9:15 a.m. CST and was completed at 2:15 CST. The cement plug was the second phase in the static kill operation, falling just days behind the initial phase of filling the well full of heavy mud at a weight of 13lbs per gallon.

According to BP, the static kill method is supposed to "compliment" an entirely separate effort to plug the well. A relief well will be the final solution to plugging the well. In order to construct the relief well, BP will have to drill into the base of the Macondo well and then plug it with cement.

Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad W. Allen authorized the cementing operation. After 107 days of continuous oil, the well is now barely a threat to spew oil. Now federal waters are reopening to allow fishing. And the once oil slick surface is gradually fading. However, scientist estimate that the amount of oil left in the Gulf of Mexico is still four times the amount of oil spilled by Exxon Valdez.

A study released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Interior Department stated that almost three-quarters of the five million barrels of oil dumped in the Gulf of Mexico has largely dissolved, evaporate, or been skimmed by boats, dispersed through chemicals, burned, weathered or ingested by oil-eating microbial.

An 18-wheeler logging truck and CSX train collided this morning in Thorsby, Alabama. The accident occurred around 10:00 a.m. and shut down U.S. 31 for several hours.

According to Throsby Firefighter Lance Hilyer, the truck stalled in the middle of the intersection on U.S. 31 and Chilton County Road 623. The 18-wheeler driver reportedly jumped out of the logging truck when he saw the train approaching.

All local law enforcement, Thorsby fire and police, and crews from CSX Railroad responded to the accident scene. No one was injured in the train and truck accident.

The driver of the 18-wheeler logging truck was said to be a private contractor. According to an article from the Clanton Advertiser, this is the second CSX railroad and trucking accident in a five week period.

Continue reading "Alabama Train-Trucking Accident Shuts down Hwy 31" »

BP announced that they began injectivity testing at 1:05 p.m. today. The injectivity test is the last step before they can begin the "Static Kill." The test will ultimately determine if oil can be pushed back into the reservoir. The test is only scheduled to take a few hours, and if everything goes according to plan, BP should begin pumping mud into the well as early as this afternoon.

The "static kill" process is projected to last between 33 and 61 hours.

A hydraulic leak had temporarily delayed the static kill test. The leak was discovered in the capping stack hydraulic control system and started to loose pressure, but has since been fixed.

The static kill method involved pouring mud into the well, ideally pushing oil back into the reservoir. However, the real answer to sealing off the oil is the relief well.

Scientists estimate that 205.8 million gallons of oil have seeped into the Gulf of Mexico. With only a fraction of the oil (800,000 barrels) retrieved by siphoning the oil from the Gulf's surface.

The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill has been declared the worst accidental oil spill in marine history; surpassing the blowout of Bay of Campeche off the coast of Mexico that spilled about 140 million gallons of oil back in the late 1970's.

The worst oil spill in history took place during the Gulf War, when the Iraqi Army purposely spilled 240 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf.

Continue reading "BP's Begins Final Stages of Testing Before Static Kill " »

A North Alabama couple was killed Saturday after their car collided with an unmarked police car. Gary Wayne Cox, 62-years-old and his wife, Sandra Standridge Cox, 53-years old, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident by Coroner Mica Coffey.

Also injured in the two car accident was North Courtland police officer, Shane Mundy. Mundy was reportedly on his way to help with a funeral procession at the time of the accident when his car collided with the couple at the intersection of Lawrence County 217 and Lawrence County 460. According to a release from the Decatur State Trooper post, Mundy failed to stop at a stop sign; although no other mention of this has been made.

Alabama State troopers said Mundy hit the couple on the driver's side. According to a relative of the family, "The hit was so bad that it almost knocked the cab off the bed of the truck."

The State Troopers are conducting a full-scale traffic homicide evaluation from the crash scene.

Mundy is currently on administrative leave with pay.

The two car wreck occurred Saturday morning about four miles east of Moulton.

Continue reading "Alabama Couple Killed in Accident With An Unmarked Police Car" »

A Cobb County sports bar has agreed to pay $1 million to the widow of a man killed in a wrongful death accident.

Cuneyt Erturk, a night manger at a local Domino's Pizza, was driving home from work when he was hit and killed in a car accident by 28-years-old, William Paul Davis, IV.
Davis reportedly left The Sports Grill intoxicated when he struck Erturk in October of 2008.

Cuneyt Erturk's widow, Truvilla Erturk, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on his behalf claiming Davis was over-served and the bar should not have allowed him to drive home.
The parties reached a settlement agreement on July 15, 2010.

The Sport Grill was sanctioned in May by State Court Judge Toby Prodgers for destroying over four hours of videotape from the night of the accident. Prodgers claimed the videotape might have proved the plaintiff's case. The judge also found evidence where the Sports Grill destroyed bar tabs for the two customers who where with Davis on the night of the accident.

Judge Prodgers restricted the lawyers for The Sports Grill from introducing any evidence into court that would contradict the claim that the bartenders served alcohol to Davis after he was already drunk. Had the case not settled out of court, this ruling would have severely handicapped the defense attorneys during trial.

Davis is currently awaiting trial for vehicular homicide, driving without headlights and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Continue reading "Wrongful Death Suit Reaches $1 Million Settlement" »

A Trafford, Alabama man was pronounced dead at the scene after his truck collided with a forklift. James Whitehead, 66-years-old of Trafford, was driving a 1995 Chevrolet C 1500 when his truck struck, Vaughn Williams, of Blountsville, Alabama. The 65-year-old Mr. Williams was driving a forklift on County Line Road about nine miles north of Trafford. The accident occurred around 3:00 p.m. yesterday.

Mr. William was not injured in the Alabama accident. Authorities have not released any details of the wreck.

Continue reading "Alabama Forklift Collision Kills One " »

Joseph Goolsby, 19, of Pinson, Alabama is being held the Jefferson County Jail on a $60,000 bond for vehicular manslaughter. Goolsby was speeding early Saturday morning around the 1300 block of Center Point Parkway when he rear-ended 34-year-old Edgar Perez and his 28-year-old, pregnant wife, Yasmine Aguilar.

Perez was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, while his 8-months-pregnant wife, Aguilar, was airlifted to UAB hospital where she underwent emergency surgery to deliver the unborn baby. The baby is listed in stable condition; however, Aguilar died at the hospital.

In the car with Perez and Aguilar were two other children, an 8-year-old and 11-year-old. Both children were taken by ambulance to UAB hospital, but their names and condition have not been released.

Goolsby and an unnamed passenger sustained minor injuries in the Birmingham car wreck. At the time of the accident, Goolsby's blood alcohol level tested above the legal limit. According to Jefferson county Chief Deputy, Randy Christian, Goolsby has been formally charged with "murder, extreme indifference/vehicle."

Continue reading "Fatal Center Point Accident Kills 2 People" »