Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What if a loved one dies from the injuries sustained in a serious accident while the case is pending?”
A court battle over legal fees stemming from a deadly 2009 car accident ended last week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Daniel Lopez Ortiz was killed when his car was struck by a box truck in April 2009. Mr. Ortiz’s widow, Maria Fonseca, filed two separate law suits relating to Mr. Ortiz’s death. Ms. Fonseca engaged at least four different law firms to litigate her deceased husband’s claims—one a negligence claim against the driver of the box truck and the second a so-called “crashworthiness” claim against the automaker.
Ms. Fonseca’s counsel obtained significant awards on behalf of the Estate of Mr. Lopez, short of trial. Before the settlements cleared, however, the lawyers and law firms that represented Ms. Fonseca and Mr. Lopez’s estate brought a series of legal actions against each other seeking a cut of the contingency fees earned in the cases. The law firms ended their actions against each other before jury selection began on Aug. 13.
While negligence lawsuits stemming from automobile accidents are common, so-called “crashworthiness” lawsuits may be less familiar to plaintiffs in North Carolina. The “crashworthiness” doctrine was first recognized some 40 years ago.