John Thornton Jenkins ascended Mount Hood on May 7, 2017. Located approximately 50 miles east of Portland, Mount Hood rises 11,249 above sea level as one of the prominent summits of the Cascade Range in Oregon. As Jenkins, a 32-year-old experienced mountain climber approached the Pearly Gates area near the summit around 10:40 a.m. he lost his footing and fell nearly 600 feet along the snow-covered terrain. He came to a rest in an area known as Devil’s Kitchen, a high, remote, and cold area on the mountain face.

Jenkins landed in an area difficult to reach. In intense pain, he immediately needed emergency services. Another climber came to his side within eight minutes and called 911. They awaited the arrival of a rescue team. With Jenkins suffering and in terrible pain, every moment lost made the situation worse.

In a $10 million lawsuit filed by members of his family, they claim that emergency personnel mishandled the 911 call. The delay that resulted from these missteps contributed to Jenkins’s death. A 911 dispatcher routed the call to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. An employee there mistakenly told the person who made the call to contact the ski patrol teams at Timberline Ski Resort, even though Jenkins was a climber, not a skier, and on a different part of the mountain far above and away from any ski areas

Nearly 45 minutes after Jenkins first fell, a staff member at Timberline called 911 and they were directed back to the Sheriff’s Office. This series of delays kept first responders from requesting a rescue helicopter from the Oregon Army National Guard until 12:29 p.m. The helicopter did not reach the scene until 3:11 p.m. When rescuers tried to fasten Jenkins to the basket, his lungs started to fail and he perished.

The lawsuit claims that judgment errors led to a delay of more than four hours between the time of the fall and the arrival of the rescue team. The dispute involves disagreements about whether ground crews could have arrived more quickly and whether various agencies handled these calls with enough urgency. Even though the helicopter arrived very quickly after getting the call, the delays beforehand certainly complicated the situation.

In the early morning hours of Valentine’s Day 2017, 18-year-old Marist High School senior William Han Manstrom-Greening committed suicide by using his father’s unsecured service weapon. William’s father Glenn Greening, along with Greening’s employer Lane County, have both been named as defendants by William’s estate in a wrongful death lawsuit filed just last week. According to the lawsuit. “On February 13, 2017, Lane County Parole and Probation Officer Glenn Greening left his Glock 19 duty weapon and ammunition readily accessible, loaded and unattended inside his home, and went to bed. His son, William Han Manstrom-Greening,” having gained easy access to the unsecured weapon then used the gun to kill himself.

The suit goes on to say that Lane County Parole and Probation, together with William’s father Glenn Greening, not only enhanced the dangerous circumstances surrounding the young man’s passing but in the end were the cause of William Han Manstrom-Greening’s wrongful death. “Lane County failed to ensure that Glenn Greening, an armed Lane County parole officer, properly stored his handgun.” Finally, the suit uncovers the previous history that Greening was suspended from carrying a gun in 2004 for threatening and harassing William’s mother. Despite this incident, the county re-authorized Greening to once again carry a gun in 2012.”

David Park, the attorney representing William’s estate says “law enforcement officers should be held to the highest standards of firearms safety. Doing so requires careful selection of the persons authorized to carry firearms as well as careful supervision of those persons, once selected.” Without access to his father’s gun, the wrongful death suit alleges that William would still be alive today.

Adopted at the age of just eleven months, William grew up In Eugene, Oregon as a well-liked scholar-athlete who ran cross country, played soccer, flag football, basketball, and baseball all while maintaining a 3.6-grade point average. William has been described an especially kind young man who was known to enjoy volunteering, traveling, playing a variety of board games and spending time with his family and friends. William’s future plans included attending Oregon State University with his fellow Marist High classmates following graduation this past spring.

UHP Trooper Erick Ellsworth’s widow is suing Rocky Mountain Power and a teenage girl (not mentioned in the suit) for the deadly car crash that led to the death of her husband.

Erick was serving in a cleanup of a sagging cable which apparently had been sagging since 28^th November 2016. Erick succumbed to his injuries 4 days later after being struck by a car being driven by the teenager who is not mentioned in the suit because she is a minor. The cable was not fixed by the time Erick was arriving there.

The lawsuit was filed on a 3^rd district court on 2^nd February, 2018 states that “Rocky Mountain Power by acts or omission, caused serious injuries to Erick Dale Ellsworth and ultimately his death.” Rocky Mountain Power had been informed about the cable though no one came to repair before the arrival of Erick.

Erick parked his car at the edge of the street for oncoming vehicles to spot the cable by shining his car head lights on the cable. Erick stopped a semitrailer truck at around 8:37 pm that would have snagged the cable if it attempted to go under it.

After efforts on trying to reach a spokesman for Rocky Mountain Power to speak on the accusations, he declined to comment on the charges. The company made no efforts to comment on any of the accusations against them.

According to the lawsuit, the teenager’s truck struck Ellsworth suddenly and without any warning. This has brought disorientation to the home of Erick Ellsworth. The lawsuit was made accusing the first defendant, Rocky Mountain Power, of negligence. The minor was sued for reckless driving and the issue of underage driving seemed to be a possible lawsuit that will also befall the minor.

Janica Ellsworth, the widow, is inquiring for compensation for Medical expenses, funeral, and other bills. She is also seeking compensation long run wages for loss of care, comfort, guidance, love, society, affection, support, associations, and services that Erick would have provided. Janica has requested for a jury to give the verdict on the case.

Erick Ellsworth was 31 at the time of his death and had served as a trooper for seven years. He left behind his wife and three sons.

A Chicago northwest father has filed a lawsuit against childcare claiming that the program denied him his constitutional rights and freedom as a father and released his 9-month old daughter to her careless mother who later caused her death. Justin Freeman describes the program in question as an option to foster childcare and claims that the program blatantly declined to release Cherish to his care.

Negligence

Justin Freeman filed a lawsuit on February 7th, 2018 accusing the non-profit organization of negligence by declining to release his daughter to him without the mother’s consent after he was employed. He says that the organization, later on, conspired with the mother of the child and released the 9-month old toddler to her mother without him knowing.

The couple had voluntarily taken their baby to the SFC (Safe families for Children) program in early September after they were unable to provide for themselves. The organization, which is based in Chicago’ northwest side, is a non-profit organization that helps parents who are unable to provide for their toddlers.

The baby died on December 20, 2017, shortly after she had been released into her careless mother’s custody against the wish of her father. Justin Freeman believes that baby Cherish Freeman died as a result of Shanquilla Garvey’s actions inside her Joliet motel’s room.

The Lawsuit

The lawsuit further claims that Freeman believes that his child could not have died if her custody had been handed to him instead of the mother since he knew the nature of environment the mother was living in and the kind of people that hang around her although his plea was ignored despite raising these concerns. The lawsuit further states that there had been previous serious allegations leveled against Shanquilla Garvey by the father of her other kids.

Justin Freeman states how he loved his daughter so dearly that he wouldn’t allow anything wrong to happen to her if he was allowed to take her from the organization.

SFC organization declined to talk about the matter and only stated that the organization was shocked and saddened to learn about the death of baby Cherish Freeman and reiterated the fact that parents retain complete guardianship of their kids even when they are at the organization.

Shanquilla Garvey, the baby’s mother was arraigned in court and charged with provoked battery; denied cash bond and is still locked up in custody.