Wrongful death lawsuit resulting from cancer?

by **alleyne** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:32 pm

I will try to keep this as short and sweet as possible, but it is a rather long and involved story, so please bare with me.

I have a very dear friend, who just lost his 16 year old son to cancer. (the type of which I am unsure of at the moment) The boys mother has not been involved in his life since he was 2 years old. She left him home alone, phoned the father and told him to go get his son and has not seen him since. She did pay court ordered child support, but only because she was forced to.
When the son died, my friend called her to let her know and her first response was "Good, now I can stop paying child support". Last night, a sheriff served him with papers in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother, saying that his neglect led to his sons death. Needless to say, he was totally shocked and devastated. For the last 3 months, he has pretty much lived in a hospital, sitting by his sons side. He got the best medical care of him, and did everything humanly possible to ensure his son was well cared for.
My question is this, how can she sue for anything? She was never a part of the boy’s life; she wanted nothing to do with him. She never paid anything more than what she forced to. How could she even get a lawyer to take on a case like this?
I was under the impression that wrongful death would be related to something like a car accident, medical malpractice or the like. Any info you can offer would be much be very helpful.

by **link** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:35 pm

Perhaps she believes there might have been a life insurance policy involved, and thinks she could collect from that? If that's the case, she's misguided, since proving negligence on the part of the father would likely excuse the insurance company from payment to anyone.

More likely, this woman is a seething, evil b*tch who wants to spread misery to all.

by **dodya** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:46 pm

She won't win the suit. You can sue for anything - but you won't necessarily win. This suit should be thrown out of court.

Perhaps he could counter sue for harrassment or stupidity or something - maybe for part of the funeral expense.

But, it would be best if he moved on and never wasted another bit of energy thinking about this .... woman.

by **fyfe** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:53 pm

She can sue for anything - doesn't mean she will win. Unfortunately your friend will have to pay a lawyer to defend hi,

by **adelphos** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:00 pm

It appears on its face to be a baseless case. The exact causes of cancer remain unknown. "Neglect" has nothing specific enough about it to warrant this case surviving a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, or for Dismissal, or for Summary Judgment. There is obviously no way for the custodial parent to have caused the death of the child. Further, the suit seems motivated by spite and hatred, so she could be countersued for malicious abuse of legal process.
Were I still practicing, I would take the case for $500, defending the father, since it should involve no more than one Appearance, Motion to Dismiss in Lieu of Answer, and a single appearance or two in court.

by **stein74** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:07 pm

A person like her, I suggest you all get together, drive to her house and beat her behind hard.

by **archy** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:20 pm

The only way she would have had a chance at winning the case would be if the father hadn't sought out medical help. But since the father had gotten good doctors to do all they could, the self-serving ***** won't see a dime.
Also, not having seen her son in years voluntarily means she isn't entitled to ANY money resulting from life insurance.

Tell your friend there are people thinking of him, wishing him good luck in court.

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