Wrongful Death

Let’s begin with a sad story… a scenario that never had to happen.  Several years ago, on a Sunday afternoon, a young man invited a neighbor over to his mother’s house to help him work on a car.  His neighbor came over and brought his 2 ½ year old child, who played in the front yard while the guys worked on the car in the front driveway.   The house had a swimming pool in the back yard that was surrounded by a fence with a gate.  Initially, the gate was secured by a chain with a lock. A few weeks before, though, the lock was lost.  Instead of replacing the lock, the owner secured the gate by wrapping the chain around the gate and the gate post. At some point as they worked on the car, the men realized that the child was no longer playing in the front yard.  After a frantic search, [...]