Personal Injury Law

Court Upholds $65 Million in Wrongful Death

By Owen, Patterson & Owen

Army Pvt. Van Ryan Marcum was accidentally electrocuted in 2004 during a basic training exercise at Fort Benning, Ga. An investigation later found the latrine, which was insufficiently grounded, had a faulty circuit breaker and a short in the wiring to a fan. When Marcum “sat down and leaned against the building, he completed the circuit and became the ground,” the 11-page U.S. appeals court ruling said. Marcum’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against The Shaw Group, a private contractor in charge of maintenance and repairs at Fort Benning. A jury later returned a verdict against Baton Rouge, La.-based Shaw and awarded Marcum’s estate $6.5 million for loss of life, conscious pain and suffering, and mental anguish.

Full post as published by Personal Injury Attorneys--Owen, Patterson & Owen on February 27, 2008 (boomark / email).