- Wrongful DeathWrongful death of minor, apartment fire, failure to install and properly maintain smoke detectors; Plaintiff is the mother of decedent Nathan Irvin, who was about 3 years old at the time of his death. Plaintiff had rented a two-story townhouse at 2637 Vanity Fair Drive in St. Louis with her four children. Plaintiff claimed that on Sunday, May 5, 2002 she and three of her children, her baby Natalee and her sons Markus, age 8, and Nathan, age 3, were on the second story and her daughter Morgan, age 6, was on the first floor watching television in the living room. Plaintiff claimed that Morgan left the living room briefly and when she returned about five minutes later, she discovered a fire in the loveseat. She ran upstairs to tell her mother, Angela Brannon, grabbed the baby and ran back downstairs with Morgan and Markus. She attempted to put out the fire, but it quickly escalated out of control and she told Morgan to run to a neighbor for help. When Morgan opened the door, oxygen fueled the fire and all of them were forced to flee out the front door. When they were outside, they realized that Nathan was still upstairs and screaming for help. Plaintiff tried to go back into the townhouse, but the fire was too intense and blocked the stairwell to the second floor. The Moline Fire Protection District arrived at the scene within three minutes and rescued Nathan from the second floor, but he died at Christian Hospital about an hour later due to smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Plaintiff claimed the townhouse had only one smoke detector, which was located on the second floor at the top of the stairs. This was in violation of the applicable BOCA code and St. Louis County Building Maintenance code that required landlords to install an operable smoke detector on every floor of a multi-story townhouse. Further, plaintiff alleged that when she replaced the battery in that smoke detector at the end of October 2001, it did not function properly and she reported that to the maintenance department for the apartments. Maintenance records showed that the smoke detector was inspected and the battery was replaced again, but the smoke detector was not replaced. Plaintiff asserted that at no time during the fire incident did the smoke detector sound. The firemen found only one smoke detector at the scene, located at the top of the stairs on the second floor and testified that it was not activated at the time of the fire. Plaintiff claimed that if there had been a properly working smoke detector on the first floor where the fire started, as required by law, she would have had enough time to safely evacuate all of her children.Defendant Carmel Group, LLC owned the building and defendant Woodknoll General Partnership, LLC was the management company. Defendants denied negligence and contended that an insurance investigator hired by defendants' insurance company inspected the property several days after the fire and located and retrieved the smoke detector o
- RobberyWrongful death, negligent security, employees murdered during robbery; plaintiff Louise Bass is the wife of decedent Kenneth Bass who was about 27 years old at the time. Plaintiffs Christopher and Maurice Bass are the minor children of Louise Bass, ages 7 and 5 years respectively. Plaintiffs contended Kenneth Bass was employed as a night janitor for Building Butlers, Inc. of St. Louis; he was cleaning and polishing the floor of the supermarket located at 4331 Natural Bridge Ave. when the robbery occurred on Sept. 4, 1987. Plaintiffs alleged National Supermarket failed to provide adequate security for the employees; store supervisors allowed one of the guards to go home before all employees had left the premises. Ten other employees were in the store when at least two men entered the store, ordered seven of the the employees to lay face down on the floor; three employees were not detected by the intruders. The assailants robbed the safe and then shot all seven people as they laid on the floor. Five people, including Bass died from their wounds. Subsequently, two men were arrested and convicted.Defendant denied negligence and contended that Bass was a statutory employee, therefore the court was without jurisdiction.
- BurglaryMany clients wonder if they need an attorney to file a claim with their insurance company after an accident or incident has occurred. People file claims with their insurance companies every day and have no problems. However, if you have suffered damage or injury that was due to a major disaster such as, a flood, fire, serious accident, or burglary, the language in your policy may be unclear as to what is covered, and you may find it difficult to deal with your insurer on a level playing field. The language in insurance policies is also often confusing and difficult for a layperson to decipher. The experienced insurance claims attorneys at Cervantes & Associates can evaluate your damage, analyze your policy and calculate what should be covered, and represent you in front of your insurer to protect your rights under the policy.
- ArsonPlaintiff's attorney noted that an investigator for the St. Louis County Bomb and Arson Squad testified that the fire was of unknown origin caused by open flame ignition as opposed to a smoldering fire. A Bic lighter was located in the living room. Plaintiff claimed that she had problems with an electrical outlet behind the love seat where the fire started and acknowledged having decorative candles in the living room. However, the exact cause of the fire was never determined. Plaintiff's and defendants' experts agreed that the smoke detector found on the second floor did not show physical evidence of having activated at the time of the fire, using a process called acoustic soot agglomeration i.e. the pattern of soot on the smoke detector cover. The experts disagreed as to whether the smoke detector found on the first floor showed physical evidence of having been activated at the time of the fire.
- Workers CompensationAt Cervantes & Associates, our experienced attorneys obtain maximum recovery for our clients' injuries. Both Illinois and Missouri's workers' compensation laws require employers provide workers' compensation benefits and prohibit an employee from suing the employer if the employer provides such benefits. However, employees may still sue under certain circumstances. For example, employees can still file third party claims and claims against employers that lack workers' compensation insurance.
- Premises LiabilityMany premises liability accidents are the result of temporary and easily fixable conditions. Accordingly, it is important to hire an experienced premises liability attorney as soon as possible to help you gather and preserve evidence and investigate the matter. It also makes it easier to locate any witnesses who might have seen the incident. A negligent property owner is likely to fix the dangerous condition after you suffer your injury; therefore, it is important to obtain any photographs or evidence of the dangerous condition you can so that we examine the condition that caused your injury as accurately as possible.
- Personal InjuryPersonal injury accidents sometimes result in very serious injuries that can cause severe and permanent disability. In these cases, recovery can be greater due to the permanent loss of function or ability, and in some cases, wrongful or accidental death.
- Medical MalpracticeMedical malpractice occurs when a physician or other medical professional fails to act with care or skill when treating a patient. Common types of medical malpractice include...
- Auto Accidents
- Social Security DisabilityCervantes & Associates has extensive experience in assisting individuals with obtaining social security disability benefits. Our lawyers prepare the necessary documentation, gather supporting materials, and ensure that applications for social security disability benefits are approved.