According to the Highway Patrol, the little girl died Monday from injuries sustained in the January 13 accident.

She and another child were airlifted to the hospital after an accident at Washington Davis Rd. and Bill Davis Rd. around 6:15 a.m. that morning.

Troopers said an 18-wheeler truck struck a Honda Accord at Davis Crossroads. Inside the car was an adult and 3 children. Everyone who was in the car was transported to hospital. All but the deceased 4-year-old were released.

The driver of the truck was charged with failure to yield the right of way. He was not injured.

“Tractor trailer accidents seem to be on the rise”, said Robert Rikard.  ”All too often death and serious injury are the result of this kind of truck crash.”

Rikard recently gave a presentation to South Carolina lawyers on trucking accidents and how to prove liability and damages in truck accident cases. If you have a potential case involving a tractor trailer please feel free to call Rikard at 803-978-6111.

Three years after suffering a collapsed lung following a medical procedure, Shannon Ranucci filed a Notice of Intent to File Suit (Notice) against Corey K. Crain, M.D.  Forty-five days later, Ranucci filed an affidavit of a medical expert as a supplement to her Notice of Intent to File Suit. Dr. Crain filed a motion to dismiss the Notice of Intent to File Suit alleging that Ranucci’s failure to file the expert affidavit at the same time as the filing of the Notice of Intent was a violation of S.C. Code of Laws Section 15-79-125. The Circuit Court granted Dr. Crain’s motion and dismissed Ranucci’s Notice of Intent for failing to file the expert affidavit at the same time as the Notice of Intent. The Court of Appeals affirmed the Circuit Court’s dismissal.

At issue in the case is the operation of 2 South Carolina statutes: Section 15-79-125 and Section 15-36-100. Section 15-79-125 deals with Medical Malpractice actions and requires that a Notice of Intent to File Suit be filed prior to filing a lawsuit. This section also requires that an expert affidavit be filed along with the Notice of Intent to File Suit and also provides for the statute of limitations to be tolled during the time frame outlined by the statute for presuit discovery and presuit mediation.

Section 15-36-100 outlines requirements for expert affidavits. The Court of Appeals found in this case that Section 15-36-100(A) is the only part of 15-36-100 that applies to Section 15-79-125. Specifically, the Court found that the reference in Section 15-79-125 to Section 15-36-100 applies only to what is to be contained in the expert affidavit which is found in Section 15-36-100(A). The remaining subsections of 15-36-100 apply only AFTER a lawsuit has been filed; they do not apply to expert affidavits filed with a Notice of Intent to File Suit. This means that all Notices of Intent to File Suit MUST contain an expert affidavit attached to the filing at the time the Notice of Intent to File Suit is filed.

Because Ranucci’s Notice of Intent to File Suit did not contain an expert affidavit at the time it was filed, the Circuit Court properly dismissed the Notice.

Now Ms. Ranucci is forever barred from recovering from the doctor that caused her injuries in the first place because of the failure to follow the timeline set out in the Notice of Intent statute.

The litigation combines over 37 different lawsuits currently pending in district courts throughout the country, all related to bone fractures. Fosamax is also facing a number of lawsuits regarding jaw issues. The jaw issues have led to multidistrict litigation of their own in New York.

Over 60 percent of the cases that were filed pertaining to Fosamax were filed in New Jersey–which is where the case will be centrally located. Fosamax was originally distributed to combat osteoporosis and improve bone strength. It has been discovered, in multiple cases, to actually lead to unusual thigh bone fractures with little or no trauma taking place. These fractures have occurred for the most part in a patient’s femur. Merck, the distributor of Fosamax, has been accused of failing to give proper warnings of side effects regarding the risk of fractures throughout the body, specifically in the femur.

Currently, there are nearly a thousand lawsuits involving Fosamax. The jaw lawsuits and femur litigation were not combined because it was ruled that evidence would be substantially different between the two cases.

If you or someone you know has taken the drug FOSAMAX and has experienced bone fractures of any sort, jaw issues, or any other type of painful, life altering side effect, contact the lawyers at Rikard and Protopapas at (803)978.6111 or email us at info@rplegalgroup.com.

The regulators are interested in a $50 million fee that was agreed upon, but never transpired due to the violence in Libya earlier this year. The absence of any transaction does not exempt the bank from the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans U.S. companies from offering or paying bribes to foreign government officials or employees of state owned companies.

There were several other companies listed as having significant dealings with the Libyan Investment Authority. The Wall Street Journal reported Goldman Spokesperson, Lucas van Praag as saying, “We are confident that nothing we did or proposed was or could have been a breach of any rules or regulation,” Praag was also quoted by saying, “We retained outside counsel, as our normal practice for any transaction, to ensure that we were compliant with all applicable rules.” The SEC declined to comment.

For more on this story, click here.

If your business is being investigated for a similar matter by the SEC or State regulators, feel free to contact the attorneys at Rikard and Protopapas at 803.978.6111, or email to info@rplegalgroup.com.

The information that was compromised includes names of customers, account numbers and contact information such as email addresses. However, social security numbers, dates of birth, card expiration dates and card security numbers were not viewed according to Citigroup.

A spokesperson for Citigroup Inc. says, “We are contacting customers whose information was impacted. Citi has implemented enhanced procedures to prevent a reoccurrence of this type of even.”

For more on this story, click here.

If your identity or bank information has been compromised in this or a similar situation, contact the lawyers at Rikard and Protopapas at 803.978.6111, or email to info@rplegalgroup.com.

On Monday, South Congaree Police Chief R. Jason Amodio verified that Braun has been served with warrants and charged with Felony DUI.

Investigation revealed that Braun was a hostess, serving alcoholic beverages to golfers playing in a tournament at Indian River Golf Course in West Columbia, prior to the collision.

Amodio says, “At some point during the tournament, she consumed alcoholic beverages herself.” Chief Amodio also said her blood alcohol level was .15 or greater.
Braun is detained at the Lexington County Detention Center and is currently awaiting her bond hearing which will occur today at 3:00 p.m.

Find more on this story here.

The lawyers at Rikard and Protopapas will gladly listen to your story. Call us today at 803.978.6111, or email us at info@rplegalgroup.com.

Michael James Young Jr., 25, admitted his guilt Monday, April 11, 2011 in a Lexington County courtroom and will serve the next 46 years in prison. Young already has served nearly four years in the county jail while awaiting trial, prosecutor Colleen Dixon said.

Robert Lynn Bell, 49, died on June 13, 2007, from multiple gunshot wounds. His daughter, Shaunna Bell, then 21 and Young’s estranged wife, survived the shooting. She was shot twice by Young as she sat in her father’s car.

“I think about getting married and not having anyone to walk me down the aisle,” Shaunna Bell said in a written statement she read in court. “My father/daughter dance was taken from me. When my mom’s birthday or Mother’s Day comes around, I do not have anyone to secretly call for details of what she has been wanting.”

Robert Rikard of Rikard & Protopapas LLC represents the Bell family in a pending wrongful death case against Allied Barton Security Services LLC

Her father had been driving her to and from work for several weeks in an attempt to keep Young away from his daughter, said Rikard. The Bells have sued Allied Barton, the company that provides security at the regional shopping center, arguing company officials knew of the danger and did not adequately protect her. The company had banned Young from the mall and had his photo posted in the security office, but the supervisor working that day did not know that, said Rikard, citing a deposition.

To read the full article in The State Newspaper please click here.

“This was a strong message sent by this jury that even if you are the State of South Carolina, you cannot violates the rules that are meant to protect us all,” said Robert Rikard. “This jury told the Department of Transportation that rules are important, they should be followed, and when they are not, people can be killed.”

This case involved a collision on Highway 903 in Lancaster County, where a SC DOT dump truck, with no rotating lights, strobe lights or markings of any kind other than standard brake lights, stopped in the eastbound lane of travel to pick up a dead deer that was 112 feet behind it in the westbound lane of travel.

“This is a heavily travelled road in Lancaster, and the evidence showed the DOT had a duty to warn motorists that they were stopped in the road, blocking a lane of travel, and the DOT breached that duty” said Mandy Powers-Norrell.

Anne Thompson as Personal Representative of the Estate of John Thompson brought the case on behalf of herself, her children, and her deceased husband. John Thompson was a retired welder on disability and was 60 years old at time of death. He was survived by Anne, his wife of 40 years and his two sons, Jeff and John.

This section of 903 was two lanes with a posted 55 mph speed limit and the DOT truck parked in the road at the top of a hill. Mr. Thompson was driving a pick-up truck, on his way to visit his son, John. The evidence showed, through a witness that was travelling behind him, that he hit his brakes and swerved, but he struck the tailgate of the DOT truck. The tailgate of the truck was down and extended, despite the truck being empty, and the tailgate came through Mr. Thompson’s windshield and struck him in the head and killed him.

Plaintiffs alleged that the DOT employee, Hazel Stevens, was improperly and illegally parked in the middle of the westbound lane of Highway 903 and that DOT, and its operator, did not use a rotating or flashing light, cones, signs triangles or flags, or any other signal to warn other motorists that it was stopped in the middle of the sole westbound lane of travel of the highway.

Plaintiffs also alleged there was no obstruction making it necessary for the DOT’s truck to stop in the sole westbound lane of the highway and the truck’s driver did not pull over to the shoulder of the road or otherwise leave room in the lane of traffic for vehicles to safely drive around it. Next to the accident scene was a drive way and across the street from the scene was a large church with a large parking lot. Also, next to the dead deer was the shoulder of the road that would fit three automobiles side by side.

The investigating state trooper in the case, Sergeant Harrison, testified that the DOT truck was parked in the middle of the lane and there was nothing that prevented the DOT truck from parking in the parking lot, wide shoulder or drive way. Sgt. Harrison testified there was no evidence that Mr. Thompson was distracted and the only evidence that he received indicated Mr. Thompson was following all state laws at the time of the crash and that Mr. Thompson attempted to swerve and brake but was unable to avoid the DOT truck. He also told the jury this DOT truck had no warnings of any kind either on the truck, in the road, or even available to them because they were not on the truck. He also testified there were shadows cast across the truck and road at the time of the collision and that the truck was filthy.

Plaintiffs also called the Driver of the DOT truck in their case. Hazel Stevens testified that he had no warning devices on the truck, knew he need to but didn’t use them, and did not park the truck in all these other places because he just didn’t think about it. He testified that although though he knew he was supposed to use warning devices when he parked in the road, he did not use them that day.

Mike Morris, the Lancaster county coroner, testified as to cause of death and that he has strobe lights in his car to warn others when he is working in the roadway.

Paul McGriff, the passenger in the SC DOT truck, testified the deer was off the road in the shoulder, that the tailgate was down and when down, you could not see the tail lights or hazard lights. He also testified that the hazard and tail lights were so dirty Mr. Thompson couldn’t see them, and that he never saw any cars behind the DOT truck until impact and that the sun was in his eyes as they were driving and you couldn’t look straight ahead.

The sons testified that they lost their best friend, fishing and hunting buddy, and Ms. Thompson testified that after being married 40 years, there is an emptiness that cannot be replaced. Her husband was her confidant and her friend and he could never be replaced.

SC DOT called one witness who was traveling right behind Mr. Thompson. She admitted to observing Mr. Thompson hit his brakes and swerving prior to the collision. She testified that Mr. Thompson did the best he could with what he was faced with.

The jury deliberated for close to two hours before handing down their verdict.

Contact info:

Robert G. Rikard
Post Office Box 5640
Columbia, South Carolina 29250
Telephone: 803.978.6111
Facsimile: 803.978.6112
Email: rgr@rplegalgroup.com

It references some of the mortgage foreclosure fraud cases that Robert Rikard is pursing. This article and the cases that we are pursuing paint a very disturbing picture regarding how banks and other lends failed to follow the rules in the mortgage industry. Now the explosion of mortgage foreclosures around the country is shining a spotlight on the fraudulent practices of some of the nations largest banks.

If you have a case involving mortgage foreclosure fraud or violation of REMIC trust rules, please contact us.

Further,  a plaintiff in a legal malpractice action in South Carolina must establish this standard of care by expert testimony.

If you believe that you have been injured or suffered damages as a result of legal malpractice, feel free to contact Robert G. Rikard or Peter Protopapas