Author: Charles Syler

Plano Woman Injured In Airplane Propeller Accident

No Comments

PLANO (CBS 11 NEWS) – CBS 11 News talked with the family of a Plano woman who was seriously injured in a airplane propeller accident.
Lauren Scruggs’ life was changed in an instant on Saturday night, after she stepped off of the private plane seen in the photo above.
Until the weekend, Lauren had been enjoying a life of modeling shoots and carving a career as a magazine editor… then the 23-year-old took a private plane ride.
The trip ended with a horrible accident that left Lauren disfigured and close to death.
Lauren’s father, Jeff Scruggs, recalled seeing his daughter at the hospital.
“I asked her if she could hear me to squeeze my hand and she did,” he said.
Lauren’s parents say they are relying on their Christian faith for strength and will maintain a vigil at their daughter’s hospital bedside.
Lauren’s trip in the private plane began at Aero County Airport, just outside McKinney.
According to CBS 11 sources, the pilot had been hosting a party at his house, near the runway, and was taking guests on plane rides to look at holiday lights from the air.
FAA officials say Lauren had just gotten out of the plane when walked right into a moving propeller blade. She suffered a fractured skull, severe cuts and her left hand was amputated.
Family spokesperson Janee Harrell said Lauren might have seen the blade before it hit her.
“It appears she put up her hand to block her face, which is why it was severed.”
While the woman’s injures were very serious her condition has improved. “She’s even responding more today. She’s opening her eyes, moving around the bed… which is really moving around,” said Harrell. “She’s uncomfortable but it’s a good thing.”
The pilot who flew the 2011 Aviat Husky did not respond to interview requests.
The FAA issued a statement that said, in part, “We are still investigating and will interview the pilot and any other witnesses.”
The Scruggs family believes the investigation will confirm that the accident was just that — an accident.
Lauren’s mother, Cheryl Scruggs, said, “We know that Lauren will soar because of this. She was hit by a propeller but she will be propelled to do God’s work and claim him in all that she does.”
As a testament to Lauren’s improving condition, doctors removed her breathing tube Monday and family members say the young woman is responsive and breathing on her own.
There is a chance Lauren’s fractured skull could leave her blind in one eye, but her family expects she will recover from her other injuries.

Categories: Auto Insurance General

Tags:

Accident victim wants Government to help him claim compensation

No Comments

Prince Addo Sang-Egye, a former causal worker of STN Services limited, a contractor firm to Coca-Cola Bottling Company Limited, has appealed to Government to help him claim the remaining of compensation due him as a result of an industrial accident.
He said on June 3rd 2002, he fell from a sale truck while working for Coca-Cola Bottling Company resulting in persistent disability low back pain.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday, Prince Sang-Egye said: “I have since had multiple consultations for the injury; orthopedics surgeons, neurosurgeon and physiotherapist, but I could not recover well enough to return to work.”
He said his contract with STN Services limited was terminated immediately he was involved in the accident, and he had not received any pay after July 2002.
The victim said all attempts to persuade authorities of the two companies to pay the rest of his compensation had failed.
Prince Sang-Egye expressed worry that he could not see an end to his continual pain and health problem and that he was living on the benevolence of friends and relatives.
The victim, who said he completed Krachi Secondary School in 1994, and was peasant farmer until he came to Accra in 2002, lamented that because of ill-health, his financial situation had worsened and he could not take care of himself and the family.
A medical report signed by Dr Thomas Dakuran, Neurosurgeon, Department of Surgery Division of Neurosurgery, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) and Dr Philip K. Amoo, Head, Occupational Health Unit, (KBTH), on 7th December 2009 confirmed the victim’s health condition.
It said “he underwent medical assessment for which 30 per cent incapacity was awarded in 2004.
“The main cause of his chronic pain and disability is degenerative disease of the spine. We believe that the degenerative process of his spine may have started prior to the accident. This is because of the involvement of his cervical spine which is a non primary injury site and the fact that he had been a peasant farmer”.
The report recommended that since Prince Sang-Egye’s low back pain was ongoing with acute exacerbation, requiring hospital treatment; he should be put on the National Health Insurance Scheme by his employers to take care of his problems.**

Categories: General Law Firm

Tags:

Man’s fiery abuse of woman upsets judge

No Comments

Chippewa County Judge Steve Cray made it clear Tuesday that he would have none of it. Not the defendant’s admission that his actions were “inappropriate,” and not the victim’s claim that it was an accident and “just as much my fault as it was his.”

In a sometimes loud voice with a tinge of anger, Cray was vehement that what Jacob Peterson did — setting his live-in girlfriend and mother of his two children on fire — was only part of Peterson’s history of violence against women.

“This was no accident. This was an act of violence by a selfish person,” Cray said, reviewing Peterson’s past record, which included violence against other women.

“You are only 22 years old and you already have accumulated this, and it’s all because you think it’s OK to beat up women. It’s not OK,” Cray said, his voice elevating.

Cray ultimately sentenced Peterson, formerly of 4062 136th St., Chippewa Falls, to five years of probation and 11 months in jail on top of the 278 days he’s already served. It was an unusual circumstance in that the penalty Cray chose was in many ways more strict than the prison options available to him.

Categories: General

Mother files $1.6m death crash claim

No Comments

CRASH COMPENSATION: Charlotte Dillon, 6, and her brother Alexander, 5, died when a Holden Commodore being driven by their 45-year-old father Glen Richard Dillon slammed into a tree near Jarrahdale. Picture: File
Source: PerthNow

THE mother of two young children killed by their father in a suspected double murder suicide has filed a $1.6 million claim for third party insurance.

Charlotte Dillon, 6, and her brother Alexander, 5, died when a Holden Commodore being driven by their 45-year-old father Glen Richard Dillon slammed into a tree on the Albany Highway near Jarrahdale in 2009. The vehicle burst into flames and the father and children were killed instantly. Their mother Susanne Cowin, 43, previously said she warned authorities of the dangers her husband posed before the accident. She has since remarried and had another daughter, 10-month-old Grace, who was born on July 1 last year. Her lawyers Bradley Bayly Legal this week lodged a writ in Perth District Court against the Insurance Commission of WA. It claims the collision and the death of the children were caused by want of care on the part of Mr Dillon’s driving for which the defendant (ICWA) is liable.

The former human resources advisor and legal practitioner said the deaths of her daughter and son had caused her post traumatic stress disorder, depression, prolonged and complicated grief and nervous shock. Ms Dillon (now Cowin) attempted to work part-time but she ceased work in July 2010 because “of her accident caused disabilities”. She is claiming about $1.6 million for *Loss of past and future earnings *Domestic help and counselling *Loss of quality of life *Future medical and pharmaceutical expenses Her lawyers said medical, hospital treatment and travel expenses will be provided separately prior to trial. Ms Cowin is also seeking damages and costs with six per cent interest backdated August 30, 2009. The writ states that Ms Cowin will require anti-depressant medications in the future as well as help with domestic chores, driving to treatment appointments, assistance with day-to-day living and financial management and companionship for five hours each week. It claims she has suffered from a string or permanent and continuing disabilities including, sleep disturbance, social isolation with avoidance behaviour, persisting anxiety, loss of energy and motivation, reduction in care for her daughter Grace and a greatly diminished capacity to participate in and enjoy sport and recreational activities. Ms Cowin previously claimed she had deep concerns about her ex-husband’s mental state. After the tragedy she described her “precious children” as her “whole world” and revealed her inner heartache at not being able to protect them despite “every effort and every Family Court order”. In a statement read at the time by Ms Dillon’s brother-in-law Dr Lachlan Henderson, she claimed her former husband had been mentally unstable and had a history of psychiatric illness. “I am devastated by the loss of my precious children, Charlotte and Alexander,” Dr Henderson read on behalf of Ms Dillon this afternoon.

Categories: General Law Firm