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Family of Student File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against College
March 06, 2008

The family of a student, who went missing at the College of New Jersey, and whose remains were later found at a landfill, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school, the state and the companies that operated and manufactured the school's trash compactor.

According to the Philadelphia Enquirer, 19-year-old John Fiocco was majoring in graphic design after having graduated with honors from Clearview Regional High School. He was last seen alive on March 3, 2006, sleeping in his dorm room in the Ewing campus. He had just returned from a party.

In the days following his disappearance, investigators found his blood stains near a garbage bin outside his dorm room. Almost a month later his mangled remains were found at the Tullytown Landfill. He is believed to have been killed by the trash compactor systems of the college.

His parents, John Fiocco Sr., and Susan Fiocco, allege that the school failed to protect their son. They also claim in the lawsuit that college authorities delayed proper investigation into his disappearance, and refused assistance from state authorities. The suit lists at least 25 instances where the college's security was found to be lax, including the security at John's dorm room and the trash compactor rooms.

John's disappearance baffled investigators for days, who struggled to piece together how a young man's body ended up at a landfill. They initially surmised that he must have fallen down a trash chute, but that theory was later debunked when no signs of blood were found in the chute. They also looked into the possibility of whether he could have entered the trash compactor room from the bin or from outside, but their investigation proved inconclusive again.

It's easy to understand the Fiocco's frustration and anger at his tragedy. They have no way of knowing how their boy died, or what he did in his final moments. When he first disappeared his friends reported his absence to the college authorities, but were told no action could be taken until at least 24 hours later. Then, 24 hours later, when John's father was contacted by his friends, he got in touch with authorities who told him that they could look in to the matter only if he signed some papers. It was the weekend.

On Monday, the state police offered to help with the investigations, but were turned down by the college. When the state police finally came in, they found John's bloodstains around the bin - the first sign of what might have happened to the young man. But by then it was too late, John's body had been transferred to another station, and further compacted before being sent it to the landfill.

There was clearly a lax attitude on the part of the college here. We don't expect schools to be hovering over our kids every second of the day when we send them away from home, but we do expect them to take it seriously when our children go missing from campus. The delays that the college made cost John not only his life, but also cost his family the knowledge of what happened to him.

At the very least, his family deserved to know how he died so they can have some kind of closure. Sadly, thanks to the college's tardiness, closure is something they'll probably never have.

If you have lost a family member due to a horrible yet preventable event, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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Doctors Sued over Failure to Report Abuse
March 04, 2008

According to The Indianapolis Star, two Indianapolis physicians are being sued because of the failure to observe and report signs of abuse on an 11-month-old boy.

The two doctors are Dr. Gary Thompson, a physician, and Dr. Michael Turner, a neurosurgeon at the Methodist Hospital, and the young boy they are accused of failing to protect was 11-month-old Chance Chilton.

The basis of the suit is the treatment Chance Chilton received for a skull fracture in 1999. His mother apparently took the boy to their family physician, Dr. Thompson, and claimed that the child had fallen out of the crib. Dr. Thompson, it appears, made notes that he suspected the possibility of abuse, but strangely he failed to report it to Child Protective Services or the police. According to Indiana law, anyone who suspects that a child may be the victim of abuse has to report the matter to Child Protective Services or the police. Dr. Thompson did neither. Instead he sent the boy for treatment to Methodist Hospital.

At the hospital, Chance was referred to Dr. Turner. The neurosurgeon ordered a long-bone scan that is frequently done to rule out the possibility of abuse. Chance's father and grandmother at that time told Dr. Turner that they suspected that the little boy was being abused. The lawsuit filed now contends that Dr. Turner turned a deaf ear to Chance's father, Riley Leon Chilton's concerns. It also alleges that the doctor missed other telltale, signs like bruises on the boy's thigh. In fact, Dr. Turner is reported to have told Riley Chilton that the bruises looked to be consistent with the mother's story of the fall from the crib. Worse still, the doctor did not even review the long-bone scan film. He handed Chance back to his mother and her boyfriend.

Less than a month after Chance was discharged from hospital, he suffered neck and head injuries. This time he wasn't as lucky. The little boy died. Coroners concluded this time, that the injuries had been caused by abuse.

The boyfriend of the little boy's mother pleaded guilty to battery causing death in 2003 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Chance's father, Riley, died battling cancer in October, and the lawsuit has been filed on behalf of his estate.

Regardless of how much the mother herself was to blame for the boy's abuse, the fact is that doctors had a legal duty to make their doubts known. Chance's fate was in jeopardy when his family physician, Dr. Thompson tuned a blind-eye to his abuse, even though his case notes clearly show he strongly suspected there was abuse going on. Then, Chance's fate was sealed after another doctor, this time Dr. Turner, failed to take his injuries as seriously. Why order a long-bone scan unless you had at least a suspicion that there was abuse involved? And once the scan was done, why did Dr. Turner not bother to review the film?

We need to stop paying lip service to the rights of our children and begin practicing giving them these rights. The laws in Indiana that make it obligatory to report abuse are there precisely to protect kids when their parents fail them.

Little Chance seems to have been failed by everyone involved - his mother, and his doctors.

If you have lost a loved-one in a wrongful death accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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