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Full-Text Articles in Torts
Denial Of Recovery To Nonresident Beneficiaries Under Washington's Wrongful Death And Survival Statutes: Is It Really Cheaper To Kill A Man Than To Maim Him?, Jonathan James
Seattle University Law Review
Although courts have expressed repugnance for discrimination against nonresidents as far back as the early 1900s and recognized that it was out of date even in their time, it is the refusal of Washington courts to question the constitutionality of such legislative enactments which has allowed this injustice to continue unabated for almost 100 years. It is time that the courts in Washington finally realize that such discriminatory legislation must succumb to the protections provided by both the United States and Washington Constitutions and find these statutes unconstitutional. To do otherwise would allow a tortfeasor an “undeserved and morbid windfall” …
Survivability Of Noneconomic Damages For Tortious Death In Washington, Steve Andrews
Survivability Of Noneconomic Damages For Tortious Death In Washington, Steve Andrews
Seattle University Law Review
The focus of this Comment will be the 1993 amendment to Washington's general survival statute. In particular, the goal is to interpret how noneconomic damages for tortious death are to be treated under the new survival statute and to answer the question of what noneconomic damages are available to the victim's survivors. Because of Washington's complex statutory scheme, each of five potentially applicable statutes will be examined for available noneconomic damages, the survivability of these damages, the beneficiaries of the action, and possible duplication of damages. In answering these questions, this comment will also address the issue of survivability of …
Impacts Of Modern Life Support Techniques On Wrongful Death Actions Brought After Final Personal Injury Judgments, Elizabeth Clark
Impacts Of Modern Life Support Techniques On Wrongful Death Actions Brought After Final Personal Injury Judgments, Elizabeth Clark
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment examines both the history of wrongful death actions and modern applications of law. This historical overview reveals that most courts reject the doctrinal bases of wrongful death actions. Specifically, when one has recovered on behalf of a decedent for fatal injuries, these courts tend to construe wrongful death statutes in a manner that denies statutory beneficiaries of a cause of action. To the extent that problems of finality and overcompensation are real, this Comment asserts that the remedy does not lie in misconstruing wrongful death acts so as to deny beneficiaries all recovery. Rather, the answer lies in …
Public Policy Over Metaphysics: Wrongful Birth And Wrongful Life In Harbeson V. Parke-Davis, Inc., Eric B. Schmidt
Public Policy Over Metaphysics: Wrongful Birth And Wrongful Life In Harbeson V. Parke-Davis, Inc., Eric B. Schmidt
Seattle University Law Review
The recognition of the wrongful birth and wrongful life causes of action by the Washington State Supreme Court is supported by both policy rationales and legal theories. Wrongful birth and wrongful life causes of action receive support from traditional tort principles and, more important, further public policy by deterring negligent genetic counseling and negligent preconception medical treatment. This Note describes the legal history of these claims and analyzes several issues not addressed by the Washington court. In addition, this Note criticizes a more recent decision by the court, which limits wrongful conception causes of action, because that decision conflicts with …
Wrongful Death Of The Fetus: Viability Is Not A Viable Distinction, Sheryl Anne Symonds
Wrongful Death Of The Fetus: Viability Is Not A Viable Distinction, Sheryl Anne Symonds
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment reviews the history of tort law treatment of the fetus who is wrongfully injured or killed. The Comment discusses case history and wrongful death statutes, with a focus on Washington law. Finally, the Comment concludes that courts should ignore viability when deciding cases of fetal wrongful death.
Mobil Oil Corp. V. Higginbotham—Confusion Returns To Maritime Wrongful Death Actions, Howard Hall
Mobil Oil Corp. V. Higginbotham—Confusion Returns To Maritime Wrongful Death Actions, Howard Hall
Seattle University Law Review
In 1967, a helicopter carrying three passengers and a pilot returning from an offshore drilling platform crashed into the Gulf of Mexico beyond Louisiana's territorial waters, killing all aboard. The families of the decedents instituted a wrongful death suit in admiralty, seeking recovery under general maritime law, the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA), and the Jones Act. The federal district court found Mobil Oil Corporation, the owner and operator of the helicopter, negligent. In awarding damages the district court limited recovery to pecuniary losses, holding that a pecuniary loss limitation applied regardless of the theory of recovery. Specifically, …