Wrongful death suit filed in 2007 crash

The widower of a Jupiter woman killed in a 2007 motorcycle crash in Indiantown on Monday sued the bike’s owner for wrongful death, claiming he knew the Harley Davidson the couple was riding was defective and not maintained properly.

Daniel Casey, on behalf of his wife Sandra Casey, sued Palm Beach County resident Keith A. Deyo under the state’s wrongful death act, seeking at least $15,000 in damages, papers filed in Martin County circuit court show.

Sandra Casey, 59, died Dec. 30, 2007 after a pick-up truck hit the motorcycle she was riding as a passenger on the State Road 710 bridge in Indiantown, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Casey was ejected from the motorcycle in the hit-and-run accident.

In his lawsuit, Daniel Casey claimed Deyo, who owned the 2001 Harley and allowed Casey to operate it, failed to properly maintain the bike’s brake and rear turning lights. The defective lights, the suit alleged, prevented the truck’s driver from detecting the couple was preparing to make a right turn just before impact.

The Harley was struck from behind and the couple were dragged under the truck before the driver fled the scene, leaving the Caseys on the side of the road.

Fan manufacturer to pay $13.5 million dollar verdict after boy’s death

The Philadelphia Daily News (10/15) reported, Jurors brought justice to a little boy and his wife when they rendered their verdict. The Jury entered a verdict against the Defendant, West Chester-based fan manufacturer Lasko Products, Inc., for $13.5 million after a faulty fan motor ignited a 2005 blaze that killed a 7-year-old Germantown [PA] boy. Lasko, the largest fan manufacturer in the United States, discovered a defect in the China-made motors in their portable fans in 1999 and developed corrective technology in 2004, said the boy’s attorney. But the company did not alert consumers who already had the defective fans nor report the problem to the Consumer Product Safety Commission until after the boy’s death.

If lawyers did not pursue these type of lawsuits for their clients, manufacturers would have no incentive to correct the known dangers. Hopefully this verdict will send a message to this manufacturer and others across the country and the world that human life is important and if you know of something that can cause harm, do something to correct it.