State high court issues two rulings
The Associated Press
Services that children performed for their dependent parents may be considered in computing damages in wrongful death cases, the same way as if the children had paid to obtain the services, the Washington state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The nine justices unanimously overturned a three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals and reinstated an award of more than $1.3 million to Josie and Warren Armantrout of Auburn.
A King County Superior Court jury awarded the Armantrouts the judgment in a medical malpractice lawsuit against Cascade Orthopaedics of Auburn.
The case stems from the death of the couple’s daughter, 18-year-old Kristen Armantrout, of a pulmonary embolism in August 2003, two weeks after undergoing surgery on her left ankle.
“This case makes the law clear that parents can be dependent on their adult children and not just for money,” said Simeon J. Osborn, the Armantrouts’ lawyer.
In another case, the court ruled that suspected drunken drivers who refuse a voluntary blood-alcohol test can still be forced to submit blood or breath samples under a judge’s warrant.
The 7-2 decision clarifies the state’s implied consent law, which says people suspected of drunken driving must give up their license for at least a year if they refuse to take a blood-alcohol test.
