A day after the criminal charging of 13 students involved in the hazing death of Florida A&M University (FAMU) drum major Robert Champion, his family has called for the famous band to be disbanded while they “clear house” to ensure the safety of the students in the band. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the family and their attorney are also accusing FAMU of possibly trying to cover up details about the incident that left the...
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A Gwinnett County jury awarded $9.85 million to the parents of a toddler who drowned at an unlicensed daycare facility in Buford, according to CBS Atlanta.  The child’s parents, Kemi Green and Gbolohan Bankolemoh, brought a wrongful death suit against a home daycare run by Tanya and Shawn Moon and the property owner/father of Shawn Moon, Terry Moon.  The defendants were alleged to have left the plaintiffs’ daughter Abiola, 2, unsupervised near a pool on...
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A Georgia homeowners association is taking their case to the Georgia Supreme Court next year, appealing a ruling by the state Court of Appeals that it is liable for the death of one of its residents. The Landings, a posh Georgia residential neighborhood near Savannah, was the scene of a particularly grisly set of events when an 83-year old woman was eaten by an alligator. The woman’s family contends that the homeowners association is liable for the woman’s pain and suffering and her wrongful death under the assumption that they should have done a better job protecting residents...
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 The premature death of football player Ja’Quayvin Smalls has reportedly led to a wrongful death lawsuit against the athletic personnel at Western Carolina University, where he was a player and a student. A junior college transfer from Georgia Military College in Millidgeville, Georgia, Smalls passed away due to complications from an enlarged heart after participating in the first WCU voluntary workout in the summer of 2009. According to the Post and Courier,...
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A Pooler, Georgia McDonalds has reopened one day after ten people were overcome with toxic fumes emanating from the facility’s bathroom. According to CBS News, one of these victims has died as a result. Anne Felton, 80, of Ponte Verda, Fla. reportedly passed away early on Thursday after being found unconscious in the bathroom of the fast food chain restaurant. In addition to Felton, one other customer was found unconscious in the bathroom and eight more experienced trouble breathing,...
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After a two-year-old died of heatstroke under the care of Marlo’s Magnificent Early Learning Center, the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) made the decision to revoke the center’s license. In June, after a field trip to Chuck E. Cheese’s, two-year-old Jazmin Green was left in a van outside the center for two to three hours, which reportedly led to her death. The outside temperature was estimated at around 90 degrees that day.  Through an investigation following the...
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The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Jessup motel was not responsible for the death of one of their guests in a case where motel staff reportedly refused numerous phone requests from the guest’s wife, who was said to have pleaded with the establishment to check on the health of her husband.  

The following day, the 77-year-old motel guest was found unresponsive on the floor of his room by a housekeeper. The man was taken to a hospital but died of heart problems shortly after being admitted.  Even though a cardiologist testified that his life could have been...
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When a wrongful death claim is filed, it is an allegation that the death of an individual occurred as a result of the negligence, carelessness, or recklessness of another. When the deceased person is an adult, their spouse and children have the right to pursue compensation. The proceeds are shared between the surviving spouse and children, but the spouse is guaranteed at least one-third of the recovery. When the life of a child is lost due to the actions of another, the child’s parents have the legal right to seek compensation. If the deceased does not have a spouse, children, or...
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The Wall Street Journal reported on May 9 that a woman was found dead among the wreckage of an abandoned Atlanta house. Allegedly, the women was killed by falling debris when the building was being knocked down; an autopsy revealed that she died as a result of blunt force trauma. At this point, the woman had not been identified and fingerprints were being taken in an attempt to establish her identity. 

Contractors told police that they checked the house before beginning the demolition, but neighbors have contradicted these statements. One neighbor reported that she saw the...
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