A North Carolina woman has been awarded $358,986 for emotional distress and economic damages she claimed she suffered after a medical examiner classified her husband's death as a suicide.
Facts & Allegations
Shannon Santimore's husband died after discharging what he believed to be an unloaded firearm into his mouth while drinking at a friend's home in Asheville, North Carolina.
Although an investigation conducted by local police and the local medical examiner determined the death had been accidental, it was classified as a suicide by the chief medical examiner.
Ms. Santimore sued the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, alleging general negligence under North Carolina's Tort Claims Act. She argued that the chief medical examiner's determination of suicide ignored the findings of local police and the local medical examiner and was based on an invalid definition of suicide.
Result
Commissioner James Gillen found that the Department of Health and Human Services had been negligent and that this negligence had caused economic damages and emotional distress to Ms. Santimore. He awarded her a total of $358,986 in damages.
The case is Santimore v. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services/Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, No. TA-24826 (N.C. Ind. Comm'n Sep. 1, 2017). Attorneys involved include: Hayley Wells; Ward and Smith, P.A.; Asheville, NC, for Shannon Santimore; Charles Ellis; Ward and Smith, P.A.; Asheville, NC, for Shannon Santimore; Donna Wojcik; Attorney General's Office – Western Office; Asheville, NC, for North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
FC&S Legal Comment
This report is based on information that was provided by plaintiff's counsel. Additional information was provided by a spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Justice.
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Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].