Jury Awards $157 Million in Tree Stand Death

[nastygunz]

Jury Awards $157 Million in Tree Stand Death
2/20/2009


Jurors went beyond what was requested by attorneys and have awarded a Lafayette, Ind., woman $157 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against the makers of a tree stand that malfunctioned and caused her husband's death.

Jurors only deliberated for around an hour before reaching the verdict Tuesday.

Carol Simonton filed the lawsuit in February 2006 after an incident where her husband, Timothy, 42, was found hanging from a tree. He had used the stand to climb the tree while scouting for deer season.

Simonton's attorney, Mike Phelps, had sought a $100 million award, and was surprised when he learned of the higher amount awarded by jurors. The complaint had sought $6,000 for funeral expenses and $1.5 million for lost wages based on what Timothy Simonton would have earned over 30 years.

Named in the suit were L & L Enterprises of Hattiesburg, Miss., Ol' Man Tree Stands of Jay, Fla., and TSR Inc. of Pace, Fla. No one representing any of the companies was present for the trial.

The Associated Press left a phone message seeking comment from Ol' Man Tree Stands and TSR Inc. Wednesday night and spoke to a person named in the suit for L & L, who said he was no longer with the company.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, TSR recalled about 9,000 Ol' Man tree stands and about 500 replacement pin sets in 2007.