Las Vegas Injury & Accident Attorney Blog

It happened a year ago, but the widow of a man murdered last Christmas still cannot cope with her loss. The white Cadillac in which the man died, and had once been the entire family’s pride and joy sits, unused, unfixed rotting. Rhonda Gibson, the widow of Stanley Gibson, a post-traumatic stress disorder suffering gulf war veteran was  killed in a Las Vegas apartment complex last December 12^th by Las Vegas Metro Police when they attempted to remove Mr. Gibson from his car. If you has lost a loved one to a Las Vegas Metro Police wrongful death accidents, contact the attorneys at Benson and Bingham for a free legal consultation today.

Last December, off his medication, disoriented, lost and panicking, Mr. Gibson pulled into an apartment complex that looked very similar to the one he has just moved into. The honorably discharged veteran was sitting in his white Cadillac when residents of the apartment complex grew concerned and eventually called police. Las Vegas Metro surrounded Mr. Gibson’s car and ordered him, weapons drawn to exit the car. When Mr. Gibson refused, officers on the scene devised a plan to fire a beanbag round into his window, and pull him from the car. Instead of a beanbag round, however, the officer fired a live shotgun round. When the shotgun round went off, a startled Las Vegas police officer, Jesus Alvarado, fired seven shots from his assault rifle killing Gibson at the scene. Losing a victim to a Las Vegas wrongful death can be emotionally and financially devastating. Contact Benson and Bingham to recover costs like lost income, hospital bills and even pain and suffering.

Benson and Bingham, a leading Las Vegas personal injury law firm, has significant experience with Southern Nevada wrongful death cases. In 2010 and 2011, we secured over $24,000,000 in personal injury cases for our clients.

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Alcohol and illegal drugs are often be the key contributing factors in many Las Vegas wrongful death incidents. These substances, which lower inhibitions, can enable arguments to escalate quickly and prevent a person from actually think through the consequences of their impulses. For some under the influence, spats become fights, fights become battles, battles that can often end in a case of Southern Nevada wrongful death. If you have lost a loved one in a wrongful death case, contact Benson and Bingham today. We can help you recover financially from the incident.

Last weekend, a fight between a couple who had been drinking resulted in a potential Clark County wrongful death case with one person dead and one in jail, awaiting charges of murder using a deadly weapon. 33-year old Sounilak Ouchlaeun has been accused of running down her boyfriend with her 2010 Toyota Venza. The man, Conrado Mendoza, had been fighting with Ms. Ouchlaeun while the two had spent the day drinking. A witness to the evening, Valan Bengson told police that the couple began fighting over Ms. Ouchlaeun’s interactions with co-workers in the casino the couple worked at. At one point during the argument, Ms. Ouchlaeun became frightened and enraged after Mr. Mendoza punched and damaged a kitchen cabinet. Ms. Ouchlaeun attempted to leave, Mr. Mendoza tried to stop her by standing behind the SUV and was run over and dragged by the automobile for approximately six feet.

It is unknown whether or not Ms. Ouchlaeun has been charged with a Las Vegas DUI.

Benson and Bingham is a family owned Las Vegas personal injury firm. We represent clients in all types of personal injury law including automobile crashes, casino accidents and more. Our attorneys work closely and develop strong relationships with our clients, in order to best represent them through the successful outcome of their case.

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If 2012 has been a year of increasing Las Vegas traffic fatalities, then 2010 and 2011 were years of Las Vegas wrongful death incidents by the hands of local area police. Tomorrow, the federal Department of Justice is releasing their report on the shooting incidents. The United States DOJ reviewed the procedures and records of the Las Vegas Metro police for 8 month while compiling the report. The report will also include recommendations from DOJ’s community policing division on how to improve the relationship between the Metro Police Department and community members in Las Vegas. If you have lost a family member in a Nevada wrongful death incident with the Las Vegas Metro PD, contact Benson and Bingham today.

The shootings from 2010 and 2011 were brought significant scorn and concern for the department. In trying to address the shootings a Las Vegas Metro Police internal investigation concluded that:

• African Americans were involved in more officer shooting incidents than other races
• Even though officer involved shootings dropped to 18 from 25 in 2011, 12 of those people died that year, a record.
• The majority of people fired upon by Las Vegas Metro were carrying firearms at the time. Of those folks, the majority of those had shot at the police.

Two of the more egregious officer involved shooting cases in the past couple years were the 2011 shooting death of Gulf War Veteran Stanley Gibson and the 2010 deaths of Erik Scott and Trevon Cole.

The survivors of Clark County wrongful death incidents are not alone. The Las Vegas personal injury law firm Benson and Bingham can represent you and the rest of your family to help you recover money spent on medical bills, lost work and pain and suffering. We handle all types of Las Vegas personal injury law including automobile accidents, casino slips and falls and even dog or other animal attacks.

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Fallout from the 2007 hepatitis outbreak spurred by the Endoscopy Clinic of Southern Nevada’s reuse of needles and the prescription anesthetic Propofol continues. Clark County prosecutors are now intending to charge two nurses who worked at the clinic that diagnosed digestive system disorders through via the use of fiber optic cameras with murder. Murder charges stem from the recently announced death in the Philippines of Rodolfo Meana, one of the six people who contracted hepatitis through the reuse of needles by the clinic. If you or a loved one has been infected by unsafe medical procedures in Las Vegas or even had a family member die due in a Las Vegas wrongful death case, Benson and Bingham can help you to recover money for pain and suffering, lost income and even health care costs.

Yesterday, two nurses who assisted in anesthetizing patients rejected plea deals offered to them by the Clark County District Attorney.  The two nurses, 65-year old Ronald Lakeman and 76-year old Keith Mathahs considered the district attorney’s offers in the hopes of not facing murder trials for the death of Rodolfo Meana. The attorneys for the two nurses, Rick Santacroce and Michael Cristalli do not believe the district attorney can prove a murder charge in court, admitting that their clients are responsible for little more than medical malpractice. Regardless, this case may represent a significant Southern Nevada wrongful death case.

Benson and Bingham is one of Southern Nevada’s leading personal injury law firms that focuses on Clark County wrongful death, Las Vegas automobile accidents and other personal injury cases. Founded in 2003, we work to provide our clients with the best possible representation and legal advice. Our firm’s success relies on the strong relationships we build with our clients. While no firm can guarantee the successful outcome of your case, we do offer all of our clients our exclusive happiness guarantee. If at the completion of your case, you feel our invoice is unfair, we will work with you to develop a fee structure that meets your approval.

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Las year wasn’t the best year for the Las Vegas Metro Police Department. In 2011, twelve people were killed in shooting incidents with the department. In three of those cases, the Las Vegas District Attorney cleared officers in the deaths of Mauricio Hernandez (23), Jaime Padilla (21) and Tory Manvilla (49). The officers were cleared by the Steve Wolfson, Clark County district attorney, because in each case the officers feared for their and the public’s safety by the armed men who were killed. The police cleared worked for police departments in Henderson, Las Vegas and the Nevada Highway Patrol. If you have been victim of a Southern Nevada wrongful death incident, contact Benson and Bingham for a free legal consultation.

Another of the Las Vegas Metro Police shootings resulted in the death of Stanley Gibson, a 43-year old disabled Gulf War Veteran. Mr. Gibson, who had not taken his medications for two weeks, was wandering an apartment complex late at night, lost since he had recently moved. Residents of the apartment complex called police and when the Las Vegas Metro Police arrived, Mr. Gibson barricaded himself in his car and refused to exit it. The police then boxed Mr. Gibson’s car in and developed a plan to extract him from the vehicle. One officer planned to shoot Mr. Gibson’s car window with a non-lethal bean bag shot and then flood the car with pepper spray. Unfortunately, Mr. Gibson was killed by seven shots from an assault rifle. If you have a loved one that has died in a Las Vegas Metro Police Department wrongful death incident, contact Benson and Bingham today.

Mr. Gibson’s mother announced today that she has filed a lawsuit against the three officers in the involved in the death of her son, Jesus Arevalo, Michael Hnatuick and David Dockendorf and the Las Vegas Metro Police department. The suit alleges that officers are poorly trained and that their use of automatic rifles like the AR-15 contributed to the death. Contact Benson and Bingham today if you suspect the untimely death of a relative at the hands of a local police agency is a Las Vegas wrongful death case.

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A 3-year old girl drowned in the Virgin River, near Mesquite, NV on Tuesday. The child’s body was found in an irrigation canal owned by the Bunkerville Irrigation Company. The family of the girl was having a picnic near the river when the child’s grandmother saw the girl and two of her older cousins in danger of being swept away. The grandmother ran to the water and was able to pull out a 5-year old and a 4-year old but the young girl who died was out of her reach. The little girl’s body was likely sucked into a whirlpool created by the drainage ditch. Her death is similar to the death of 44-year old Joanna Hensley two years ago. Ms. Hensley’s survivors are now suing the Bunkerville Irrigation Company under Nevada wrongful death statutes. If you have suffered the death of a relative in an accident, and wish to discuss whether this was a Las Vegas wrongful death case, contact Benson and Bingham for a free legal consultation.

In the lawsuit, Joanna Hensley’s daughter and her attorneys allege that due to the irrigation canal dug by the Bunkerville Irrigation Company, the section of the Virgin River in Mesquite, NV is unsafe for swimming and other water sports. They also state there are no signs in the area surrounding the irrigation ditch to warn swimmers of the danger. If you have lost a family member in a Clark County wrongful death accident, contact Benson and Bingham today.

Benson and Bingham has extensive experience, representing clients since 2003 in personal injury and wrongful death cases. For nearly a decade, we have worked closely with our clients to ensure they receive everything they deserve from individuals, corporations and insurance companies financially responsible for Southern Nevada wrongful death accidents. Our success speaks for itself, in 2010 and 2011 we secured over $24,000,000 in damage awards for our clients.

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“The Facts Hurt,” a recent report by Washington, DC health-advocacy non-profit Trust for America’s Health ranked Nevada as one of the least safe states in the country. The Silver State garnered 4 points in “The Facts Hurt” study. Eight states had lower scores. New York and California lead the country with scores of 9. Nevada scored points for requiring helmets for those riding motorcycles, enabling people in relationships that are breaking up to get restraining orders, concussion regulations for school sports and monitoring of drug prescriptions in the state. Benson and Bingham are here to help Southern Nevadans who are hurt in Las Vegas dangerous libertarian environment. If your relative was killed in a Las Vegas wrongful death case, contact Benson and Bingham for a free legal consultation today.

Out of the possible ten points in The Facts Hurt study, Nevada only scored four. Nevada lost a point for not having a required seat belt law. In Nevada, if you have been convicted of drunk driving, when you get your license back, you aren’t required to get an ignition interlock device. The Silver State doesn’t require children under eight years old to ride in cars in booster seats. Children in the Silver State are also not required to wear bicycle helmets. The Trust for America’s Health also held points from Nevada due to the state’s lax teen violence laws. Finally, due to the limited amount of data provided by the state’s hospitals and the Department of Health and Human Services to researchers and other officials. If you have had a relative killed in a Clark County wrongful death incident, contact Benson and Bingham today.

The personal injury attorneys at Benson and Bingham have extensive experience trying Las Vegas wrongful death cases. We have the experience and contacts to compel insurance companies to honor their commitments. Contact Benson and Bingham today.

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After a combined effort by National Public Radio and the Center for Public Integrity, headlines this week are exploding with discussion of some 1,600 chronic polluters who have been allowed to continue operating in violation of clean air and clean water standards, even under regulatory eyes.  The damning output of this investigative report suggests not only corporate ambivalence to potential Nevada chemical poisoning but also underwhelming government oversight.

The report in question is the result of extensive analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency’s own internal data on polluters, and it finds that these hundreds and hundreds of sites were home to chronic environmental threats deserving of “urgent” action, even though some 300 of the sites had remained with this same designation for decades. Many of the standards and reporting mechanisms at play were created more than 20 years ago with the federal Clean Air Act amendments. State-level agencies are responsible for collaborating — albeit in various ways — with federal regulators to ensure ground-level compliance. But as this report finds, widespread Nevada public agency negligence may have allowed operators such as Barrick Gold to pollute with impunity.

One function — arguably the chief one — of the civil justice system is to provide families that have suffered harm with a mechanism by which they may demand accountability and redress for their Nevada personal injuries. Whether it is a child disfigured by a Nevada unsafe child toy injury or a father killed while out for a Sunday bicycle ride, families rely on civil procedures such as Las Vegas wrongful death lawsuits to demand the compensation they need to move forward and to send a strong message to the responsible parties. Wherever negligence, defective products, or corporate malfeasance comes into play, you can be sure our Las Vegas personal injury attorneys will be at the front lines fighting for justice for Nevada families. Contact us today for a free consultation.

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A major metropolitan police force is attempting to defend itself against allegations that it failed to prevent the death of a woman who had been a regular complainant in domestic violence cases. If those bringing the wrongful death lawsuit prevail in court, the decision could reshape the way law enforcement handles situations in which one party claims that his or her life is in jeopardy.

The case in question is a tragedy, regardless of where the blame ultimately lies. The beaten body of a 52-year-old woman was discovered stuffed into a suitcase that was found floating in the San Francisco Bay. The woman was ultimately identified as the mother of an area music artist who he described as “was black, homeless, disabled, chemically addicted and a senior citizen.” Because of her social status, her son claims, her cries for help were ignored by the police.

Family members have brought a civil suit against the San Francisco Police Department, alleging that the police force failed to act upon its duties to protect her from an obvious threat. Generally, Nevada wrongful death lawsuits seek to impose civil penalties on persons or companies that acted — or failed to act — in a way that caused or failed to prevent the untimely demise of another person. These civil actions are common in Las Vegas motor vehicle accidents.

The core of Nevada wrongful death lawsuits is twofold: (1) establishing negligence or wrongdoing and (2) attaining a Nevada jury verdict that rights the wrongs. These judgments frequently include damages for pain and suffering, emotional loss, and lost wages. These two parts often require different strategies, and that is why choosing experienced legal counsel is so important. Contact us today for a free consultation so we can answer your legal questions about pursuing a Las Vegas wrongful death lawsuit.

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This April will mark the first anniversary of the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, a tragedy that took 29 miners’ lives and forced the nation to take a hard look at the resource that provides approximately 40 percent of its electricity. As we have reported previously, in the months since the accident the families of those lost in the explosion have not only been wrestling with their own emotional and psychological disruptions and pain but also with the legal questions that arise after such an accident. These issues include estate and inheritance decisions and life insurance policies, and in an accident like this they also include questions about the mining company’s actions and liability for the deaths.

Massey Energy, the company that owns the mine and several others across the United States, had quietly been urging families to accept a settlement. The settlement, offered late last year, was more generous than most settlements in wrongful death lawsuits but was also substantially less money than juries typically award when a case goes to trial and an employer or company is found liable. As of December, most families still hadn’t made a decision yet on whether to accept the money or continue fighting. In Nevada wrongful death lawsuits, the plaintiff seeks to be made as whole as possible after an irreplaceable loss of life. Often this includes not only pain and suffering, outstanding medical bills if medical care was used before the person died, and punitive damages where there was wrongdoing by the responsible party but also a large sum of money that can provide a stream of future payments to make up for the deceased’s lost earnings. An appropriate wrongful death award can go a long way toward restoring a family and helping it move on, although it can never replace what has been lost.

Federal investigators seeking the truth behind the coal mine accident have released a preliminary report of their findings. The report suggests that the explosion was ultimately a tragedy at the confluence of bad luck and poor maintenance. Bad luck alone would not make for a strong wrongful death case, but the mine operator’s record of safety violations and evidence of poorly maintained equipment seems like powerful evidence against it and is likely to change the dynamic of wrongful death settlements versus lawsuits at trial. Investigators found that neglected drilling tips were worn down to their steel edges, resulting in more sparks than otherwise occur when the drill tips collide with underground rock. Water sprayers are also supposed to extinguish sparks and keep coal dust settled on the ground, but these had been allowed to decay into little more than leaky faucets. If any of the wrongful death lawsuits goes to trial, attorneys for the plaintiff(s) will surely muster even more evidence of the company’s civil negligence.

Winning the compensation your family needs and deserves requires a special recipe of strong facts, cogent presentation, and robust familiarity with the law. At Benson & Bingham, we are proud to acknowledge the millions of dollars we have won for Nevada personal injury and Las Vegas wrongful death clients. We offer free consultations for your convenience, and we invite your call today to begin a conversation.

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