new jersey wrongful death lawyer - New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog

NJ Transit Settles with Family of Victim who was Dragged to Death

Scott Grossman — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:52:25 -0500

The family of a New Jersey man who was killed when he became trapped in the door of an NJ transit train and dragged to his death, has settled with the agency.

The family of John D’Agostino has settled its claim for $2.5 million. On November 21^st 2006, D’Agostino was getting off a train at a Bradley Beach station, when the train door closed shut on his shoulder and arm. The train began to pull out of the station. D’Agostino began to scream for help, but to no avail. The train gathered speed, dragging the 49-year-old man with it. D’Agostino was eventually dragged under the train, and killed.

]]>In December 2007, a Federal Railroad Administration released its investigation report into the accident. The report said that a bypass switch had been engaged in the locomotive at the time. If it has been off, it would have likely prevented the train from moving with an open door.

The FRA also had severe criticism for the train’s conductor and assistant conductor. The two were not in their places at the time of the terrible accident, and failed to see D’Agostino trapped in the door and being dragged along. There have been other questions raised by the United Transportation Union Local 60 which represents conductors and assistant conductors, about whether the car doors were functioning properly at the time of accident. Investigations found no defects in the doors, edges, steps, or handholds.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey personal injury lawyer representing injured victims of auto and truck accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

Driver Sentenced to Three Years in New Jersey Hit and Run Accident, Two Years after Crash

Scott Grossman — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:43:24 -0500

For more than two years, Joseph Bozzelli managed to avoid justice after he struck a pedestrian, left his body on the roadside, and sped off. If it hadn’t been for the untiring efforts of the victim’s mother, Bozzelli would still have been hiding from the law. However, last week he was sentenced to three years in state prison for his involvement in Brain Lilley’s death.

Bozzelli had been charged with causing a death while driving with a suspended license, and leaving the scene of an accident. Bozzelli has also had his license suspended. In October, 2006, Lilley was walking on the road at 2 in the morning, when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Bozzelli. His neck was broken, and he died instantly.

]]>Bozzelli never stopped; not even to check if Lilley was alive. It was left to a passing driver who saw Lilley’s lifeless body lying by the roadside. Bozzelli was able to spend the next two years undetected by police, but he had not contended with the tenacity of Bozzelli’s mother Elizabeth, who never stopped looking for the man who was responsible for her son’s death. She distributed fliers asking for information about the accident. She even rented a billboard offering a reward for any information that could lead to her son’s killer. Finally in 2008, after an anonymous tip, Bozzelli was arrested.

However, prosecutors believe Bozzelli destroyed the vehicle he was driving, after the hit and run. Police could never find the vehicle, and there was no way of confirming if he was driving drunk that night. That’s why there were no charges of vehicular homicide against him.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey wrongful death lawyer representing injured victims of auto accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties, and across the state of New Jersey.

Wrongful Death Settlement of $600,000 for Mother of Man Who Committed Suicide in Trenton Hospital

Scott Grossman — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:03:11 -0500

The mother of a South Brunswick man who committed suicide at a Trenton hospital has been awarded a wrongful death settlement of $600,000. Michael Janicki was undergoing treatment for schizophrenia at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital when he managed to walk out of the hospital one day and slash his wrists. The verdict is interesting in the way Janicki's "services" as a son were calculated to arrive at a settlement.

Michael Janicki stabbed his father Ortwin to death in July of 2002. He claimed that he had heard voices that his parents were going to die, but he could save his mother if he killed his father. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and was sentenced to treatment at a psychiatric hospital. By 2005, he was believed to have been making progress at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. However his mother claims that his progress began to decelerate when staff at the facility delayed their plans to move him to a less restricted facility after he told one of the staff members that he wanted to kill himself because of his guilt at murdering his father. His privileges to wander about the facility campus freely were restricted, but the hospital failed to change his keycard. On August 30, of 2005, Michael walked out of the hospital and onto the grounds with his old expired card. No one saw him again until September 6 when his badly decomposed body was found in the hospital grounds.

]]>The judge in his verdict ruled that his mother was entitled to $400,000 for the loss of companionship and her son's help, as well as $200,000 for the pain and suffering that Michael went through as he bled to death. The Deputy Attorney General had issues with the evaluation of Janicki's ability to help his mother because of his history of mental illness and drug problems. But a forensic economist, with the help of the psychiatrist who was treating Michael just before he died, were able to confirm that Michael in all likelihood, would have eventually recovered and with some monitoring, been able to lead a productive and independent life. The Department of Human Services which is responsible for the running of the hospital, may appeal the decision.

The estimate of the forensic economist in Michael's case did not take into account his projected future earning capacity for obvious reasons. Generally, a wrongful death settlement however, will involve reimbursement that includes loss of future earnings of the deceased. Compensation will also include funeral expenses, hospital or medical bills if applicable, as well as loss of companionship and help that the deceased would have provided to surviving members. By their very nature, such cases are always tragic in a bitter sweet manner for wrongful death attorneys as well as the families they represent, because the family would always prefer to have their loved one back with them instead of a compensation for his or her loss.