Bragging Rights
08/07/08 17:11
Sometimes
the work of a personal injury attorney feels like
toiling away without any reward. Then, on occasion,
being a lawyer has its good days too. I (Pete
Summerill here) am lucky enough to have prevailed in
the cases of Dexter v. Bosko (right of inmate to
bring civil rights action under Utah Constitution)
and Bybee v. Abdulla (preventing a doctor from
forcing wrongful death heirs into private pay-to-play
arbitration for claim of medical malpractice). Now,
those two cases are getting some recognition as well:
Bybee v. Abdulla was just cited in the American
Association for Justice’s monthly magazine Trial and
Dexter v. Bosko will be featured locally in an
article appearing in the Utah Association for
Justice’s publication Utah Trial Journal. I hope that
these decisions will go a long way toward preserving
the rights of wrongful death heirs and the civil
rights of prisoners well into the future.
Utah State Supreme Court - Dexter v. Bosko et. al.
06/11/08 08:57
We
recently obtained a favorable ruling from the Utah
Supreme Court upholding the right of an inmate to sue
for damages when guards failed to seat belt him prior
to freeway travel. Kelvin Dexter was ejected from a
Ford 15 passenger van when the van rolled over.
Shackled at the wrists, waist and legs, Mr. Dexter
could not fasten his own seat belt. The guard/driver
refused to seat belt the inmates. Mr. Dexter was
ejected when the guard/driver lost control of the
vehicle while reaching for a soda or bag of chips at
freeway speed. The van rolled several times, ejecting
Mr. Dexter. The rollover severed Mr. Dexter's spinal
cord, rendering him a quadriplegic. Eventually, Mr.
Dexter developed complications as a result of his
quadriplegia and died, leaving behind a wife and
children. The Utah Supreme Court recognized that the
Utah Constitution prohibits exposing inmates to
"unreasonably harsh, strict, or severe treatment [or]
unnecessarily exposed to an increased risk of serious
harm." Because the failure to provide the fundamental
and basic safety of a seat belt exposed Mr. Dexter to
unreasonable and unnecessary risk of harm, the court
held that the guards may be held liable for the harm
caused by their refusal to seat belt Mr. Dexter. The
full opinion can be read here: Dexter v. Bosko, et.
al. (pdf).
