Wrongful Death

The estate of an elderly Lincoln County man who died last year has filed a wrongful death complaint against two Danville doctors and Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center. The lawsuit, filed last week in Boyle Circuit Court by the estate of William Douglas Smith, names Dr. Barry Spoonamore and Dr. Tariq Muhammad as defendants, along with the hospital. Neither the doctors nor the hospital has yet responded to the allegations in the complaint. According to the lawsuit, Smith was taken to Ephraim McDowell on April 9, 2010, vomiting and complaining of severe abdominal pain.

Sharon and Thomas Douglas endured a violent relationship that ended tragically last year when Thomas Douglas shot his wife to death before killing himself inside their Danville home. Now survivors from each family are on opposite sides in court as Sharon Douglas’s estate has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of her late husband. Diane Reynolds of Gravel Switch, Sharon Douglas’s sister and administratrix of her estate, filed the complaint Wednesday in Boyle Circuit Court.

LANCASTER - The ex-wife of the man who was killed a year ago in a traffic accident involving former Garrard County Emergency Management Director Dwayne Nave has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Nave and county officials. Donna Moore filed the complaint last week in Garrard Circuit Court as the administratrix of the estate of Willard Quinn and on behalf of his son, Justin Quinn, a minor. It seeks an undisclosed amount of compensatory and punitive damages. Nave, 42, was driving a county-owned Chevy Tahoe on April 29, 2007, when he crossed the center line of U.S. 27 near Bryantsville and struck Willard Quinn's pickup, killing him and injuring passenger Kevin Reed.

A Danville lawyer has been appointed public administrator for the late Jack Caldwell Sr. and will represent the interests of his estate in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against him by the widow of the man he shot to death. Attorney Chris Herron was chosen Thursday by Boyle District Judge Jeff Dotson as administrator for Caldwell's estate. Caldwell did not leave a will and his children did not petition the court to have someone of their choosing appointed administrator, said Vince Pennington, who represents Bonnie Trachsel in the wrongful death claim she filed against Caldwell in Boyle Circuit Court.

The death of Jack Caldwell Sr. not only put an end to his murder trial, but also caused a civil lawsuit against him and his children to be delayed. The wrongful death claim filed by Bonnie Trachsel was scheduled for trial in Boyle Circuit Court in March but was postponed Wednesday due to complications created by Caldwell's Dec. 31 death. Circuit Judge Darren Peckler postponed the case indefinitely to allow for an administrator for Caldwell's estate to be named, which could take as long as 60 days.

An attorney for Bonnie Trachsel asked a judge Monday to appoint an administrator for the estate of Jack Caldwell Sr. so a wrongful death lawsuit against Caldwell's heirs can continue. Caldwell died Dec. 31, during the middle of his trial for the 2004 shooting death of Jim Trachsel, and by law his surviving children had 60 days to name an administrator for the estate. That deadline passed Saturday with no administrator being selected, and attorney Ed Hays filed a motion Thursday requesting Boyle District Judge Jeff Dotson appoint a public administrator.

The following civil cases were filed in Clark Circuit Court. - Citibank South Dakota NA vs. Faye Cottle, seeking $6,222.81 plus interest for debt. - Citibank South Dakota NA vs. Holly J. Lockhart, seeking $4,161.84 plus interest for debt. - Discover Bank vs. Shonna Ann Boyd, seeking $5,114.57 plus interest for debt. - Unifund CCR Partners vs. Kim F. Jernigan, seeking $4,846.70 plus interest for debt. - Humble Plumbing Co. vs. Rednour Properties LLC, seeking $5,272.

STANFORD - A wrongful death lawsuit was filed last week in Lincoln Circuit Court against Fort Logan Hospital. Billy Goens, administrator of the estate of Margaret Goens, claims the hospital is responsible for her death. According to the lawsuit, Margaret Goens, a former Richmond resident, was a patient at Fort Logan Hospital in July 2006 and was being treated for multiple conditions related to diabetes. The lawsuit states Goens was at a high risk for falling due to her weakened state.

LANCASTER - An insurance company is asking the court system to relieve it of any liability in the wrongful death civil lawsuit filed by Bonnie Trachsel against Jack Caldwell Sr. and members of his family. Kentucky Farm Bureau, which carried an insurance policy on Caldwell and his property on Boone Trial in August 2004 when he shot and killed his neighbor Jim Trachsel, claims Caldwell's actions void the insurance coverage. Caldwell had filed a claim requesting "liability coverage for the claims asserted against him by the estate of James D. Trachsel and that it also provide a defense to the allegations set forth in the civil action," according to the lawsuit.

The widow of a Danville man who allegedly was shot to death by his neighbor in August has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Boyle County Circuit Court. Bonnie E. Trachsel of 451 Boone Trail filed the civil action against Jack Caldwell Sr. and several family members and their spouses, alleging that Caldwell "acted intentionally and willfully and with malice and oppression" in the Aug. 22 shooting death of James D. Trachsel. The lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of damages for pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of income and attorneys' fees.

HARRODSBURG - The mother of a Mercer County teenager who was killed last year as she drove across a railroad crossing has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the tracks. Phillita Jill Ammons, mother of 19-year-old Sophia Ammons, filed the complaint Tuesday in Mercer Circuit Court naming Norfolk Southern and an unnamed person or company possibly contracted to perform maintenance along the tracks as defendants.  The wrongful death action seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

The following civil cases were filed recently in Clark Circuit Court. - C&F Finance Company vs. Allen Christopher, seeing $4,034 plus interest for debt. - Marathon Pipeline vs. Donald Pasley, Donna Turner, Terry Lynn Pasley, Bellsouth Telecommunications, Kentucky Utilities and East Clark County Water District, condemnation action. - Marathon Pipeline vs. J.C. Pasley, Delores Pasley, Bellsouth Telecommunication, Kentucky Utilities and East Clark County Water District, condemnation action.

The estate of an elderly Lincoln County man who died last year has filed a wrongful death complaint against two Danville doctors and Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center. The lawsuit, filed last week in Boyle Circuit Court by the estate of William Douglas Smith, names Dr. Barry Spoonamore and Dr. Tariq Muhammad as defendants, along with the hospital. Neither the doctors nor the hospital has yet responded to the allegations in the complaint. According to the lawsuit, Smith was taken to Ephraim McDowell on April 9, 2010, vomiting and complaining of severe abdominal pain.

Sharon and Thomas Douglas endured a violent relationship that ended tragically last year when Thomas Douglas shot his wife to death before killing himself inside their Danville home. Now survivors from each family are on opposite sides in court as Sharon Douglas’s estate has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of her late husband. Diane Reynolds of Gravel Switch, Sharon Douglas’s sister and administratrix of her estate, filed the complaint Wednesday in Boyle Circuit Court.

The following civil cases were filed in Clark Circuit Court. - Citibank South Dakota NA vs. Faye Cottle, seeking $6,222.81 plus interest for debt. - Citibank South Dakota NA vs. Holly J. Lockhart, seeking $4,161.84 plus interest for debt. - Discover Bank vs. Shonna Ann Boyd, seeking $5,114.57 plus interest for debt. - Unifund CCR Partners vs. Kim F. Jernigan, seeking $4,846.70 plus interest for debt. - Humble Plumbing Co. vs. Rednour Properties LLC, seeking $5,272.

Six families are suing the owners of a shuttered wood processing plant in Winchester, saying the chemicals used there caused cancer in nine neighbors, killing seven of them. The estates of Alvin Taylor Crowe, Verland Crowe, Mason David Crowe, Millard Wiseman, Clifford Wiseman, Herman Cooke and Onnia Lee Cooke are seven of the plaintiffs. All died of cancer and lived near the Winchester facility on Magnolia Street, according to the suit. The suit filed a week ago against Kentucky Wood Preserving Inc., Osmose Inc. and Kentucky Wood Preserving of Winchester Inc., seeks unspecified damages for the seven deaths and for the survivors, as well as a jury trial.

LANCASTER - The ex-wife of the man who was killed a year ago in a traffic accident involving former Garrard County Emergency Management Director Dwayne Nave has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Nave and county officials. Donna Moore filed the complaint last week in Garrard Circuit Court as the administratrix of the estate of Willard Quinn and on behalf of his son, Justin Quinn, a minor. It seeks an undisclosed amount of compensatory and punitive damages. Nave, 42, was driving a county-owned Chevy Tahoe on April 29, 2007, when he crossed the center line of U.S. 27 near Bryantsville and struck Willard Quinn's pickup, killing him and injuring passenger Kevin Reed.

A Danville lawyer has been appointed public administrator for the late Jack Caldwell Sr. and will represent the interests of his estate in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against him by the widow of the man he shot to death. Attorney Chris Herron was chosen Thursday by Boyle District Judge Jeff Dotson as administrator for Caldwell's estate. Caldwell did not leave a will and his children did not petition the court to have someone of their choosing appointed administrator, said Vince Pennington, who represents Bonnie Trachsel in the wrongful death claim she filed against Caldwell in Boyle Circuit Court.

An attorney for Bonnie Trachsel asked a judge Monday to appoint an administrator for the estate of Jack Caldwell Sr. so a wrongful death lawsuit against Caldwell's heirs can continue. Caldwell died Dec. 31, during the middle of his trial for the 2004 shooting death of Jim Trachsel, and by law his surviving children had 60 days to name an administrator for the estate. That deadline passed Saturday with no administrator being selected, and attorney Ed Hays filed a motion Thursday requesting Boyle District Judge Jeff Dotson appoint a public administrator.