Nebraska Crash Lawsuit Invokes Fetal Death Law
Lawyers say a Nebraska law extending legal protections to fetuses at any stage of development is being invoked for the first time in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by parents of a family killed in a September car wreck.
The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of Christopher and Diana Schmidt, a Maryland couple killed along with their two children and unborn son in September. The lawsuit cites a 2003 Nebraska law allowing wrongful death claims for fetuses, regardless of their gestation level.
Though still in district court, similar laws have led to appeals-court battles in Utah and Alabama and could bring the debate to Nebraska.
The suit accuses trucker Josef Slezak, his employer and two other trucking companies of negligence and wrongful death. It doesn’t seek a specific dollar amount.
- Beyond the Claim: How Social Canvassing is Transforming Insurance Fraud Detection
- Work Safety Group Releases List of ‘Dirty Dozen’ Employers
- EPA Designates PFAS Chemicals as Superfund Hazardous Substances
- California Chiropractor Sentenced to 54 Years for $150M Workers’ Comp Scheme
- Report: Vehicle Complexity, Labor ‘Reshaping’ Auto Insurance and Collision Repair
- Poll: Consumers OK with AI in P/C Insurance, but Not So Much for Claims and Underwriting
- Mother of 8-Year-Old ‘Violently Sucked’ into Houston Hotel Pool Files Wrongful Death Suit
- Millions of Recalled Hyundai and Kia Vehicles, With Dangerous Defect, Remain on Road