Wrongful Death of Disabled Man Has No Consequences | Everett Wrongful Death Lawyer

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ac·count·able· subject to giving an account: answerable <held her accountable for the damage>

I decided to become a Kent personal injury attorney and Bellevue wrongful death lawyer because of the main principle our judicial system built upon— accountability- our system is built to hold people answerable for their actions and their responsibilities. This system, however, fails in an instance of wrongful death. In Washington State when a wrongful death occurs a family member may receive money in a lawsuit so long as they were financially dependent upon the victim… when the individual had no financial dependents, however, accountability is thrown out the door and justice is not served.

In July of 2009, Washington State experienced record-breaking temperatures venturing into the low 100’s. These high temperatures gave many people heat- exhaustion and left one disabled man dead in a Tacoma group home. David Vernon was born deaf, mentally disabled and mentally ill- a direct result of his mother’s contraction of Rubella while she was pregnant. Because of his severe disabilities Vernon was placed in a group home where he required help with life’s most trivial tasks including doing laundry, preparing meals, and keeping up with his hygiene. Vernon went to sleep the night of July 29th, 2009 in his group home bedroom where he suffered hypothermia from the intense temperatures. When the medics arrived his body temperature was 107 degrees.

Not only was Vernon’s bedroom poorly ventilated with the window only opened a crack and the door closed, he was taking two medications for his mental illness which both increase the chance of hypothermia dramatically. The medical examiner’s office noticed an extremely high dose of one of these medications in Vernon’s system at the time of his autopsy.

Vernon’s brother has been left powerless for justice as a wrongful death lawsuit is impossible to file since there is no legal beneficiary in the case. The current Washington wrongful death laws are unfair and provide no justice for thousands of victims and their loved ones. For more information on Washington State Wrongful death please read the book “In Case of Death: Straight Talk on Washington Wrongful Death.” This book was written by attorney Patrick J. Kang and myself and will help you understand wrongful death laws and when you need to get an attorney.