A year after Carlos Sousa, Jr., a 17-year-old was mauled by a Siberian tiger at the San Francisco Zoo, his family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. On Christmas Day 2007, a 243-pound tiger, Tatiana, mauled the youth and injured his two friends, Paul and Kulbir Dhaliwal.

Police investigators at first said that taunting may have been involved in the case, but have brought no charges against the youths. The family of the Dhaliwals have claimed their was a smear campaign by police and have filed claims for personal injury and character defamation.

There is a wrongful death lawsuit against ex-Bolivian president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada that has been consolidated this week in Maryland. Also implicated in the case brought forth by 10 Bolivians living in the U. S. is ex-defense minister Jose Carlos Sanchez Berzain.

Both ex-President and ex-defense minister fled to the United States seeking asylum. The plaintiffs’ lawyers are claiming that in 2003, the defendants took inappropriate governmental action that resulted in the killing of 67 Bolivians and that the defendants put themselves under the jurisdiction of U. S. law by fleeing to this country.

The daughter of deceased door-to-door surveyor, Summer Shipp has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company her mother worked for. Brandy Shipp has stated that marketing research firm GfK NOP, Roper ASW did not do enough to protect her mother from the perils of door-to-door marketing.

The lawsuit says the marketing firm was negligent in several areas including not checking assigned areas for sexual predators and not giving employees equipment to protect themselves. After missing for three years, the remains of Summer Shipp were found in Jackson County, Missouri in October this year.

In Atlanta, the niece of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston has filed a lawsuit for wrongful death. Last November, police conducted a drug raid based on a faulty tip from an informant.

Narcotics officers burst into Johnson’s home on a no-knock warrant, inspiring her to fire at the unknown intruders in self-protection. Police fired back, killing the woman. Two officers have already plead guilty to manslaughter while a third is awaiting other charges.

The wrongful death lawsuit is expected to be filed within the next two weeks. A claim has already been made by the niece, which usually precedes litigation.

In Pasco County, Florida a woman choked to death on a piece of steak after her boyfriend called 911 for help. Chris Cooper of Land O’ Lakes, Florida called 911 after getting out of the shower and realizing that his girlfriend, Nancy McGhee was gasping for air and pointing to her neck.

According to reports, the 911 operator tried wholeheartedly to assist, but since she was not yet trained in emergency medical dispatch (EMD), she repeated asked her supervisor, who did have training, for help. The supervisor refused several times before acquiescing and trying to help tell Mr. Cooper how to do the Heimlich Maneuver. A second supervisor, a female, refused to get on the phone altogether.

There has been no word yet on whether or not the family of Ms. McGhee intends to bring forth a wrongful death lawsuit against the 911 supervisors.