Roxanne Randall, an Oklahoma City mother whose 19-month-old son Lincoln was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, is suing her boyfriend for the wrongful death of her son. Ms. Randall alleged that Bert Franklin, who is her former boyfriend, “violently attacked, assaulted, abused and battered” 19-month old Lewis, causing his death.” according to court documents quoted in a news story on News Channel 4.
Ms. Randall is also suing Victory Christian Center in Oklahoma City, where Franklin was a donor and a member of the board on behalf of her late son for negligence. According to Courthouse News Service, in early 2016, another one of Franklin’s minor children told her teachers at Victory Christian Center that her father had physically abused her, but the school allegedly chose to conduct an internal investigation rather than reporting the incident. Teachers and school officials are mandatory reporters of child-abuse allegations. They can suffer legal penalties for failing to report abuse or allegations of abuse. Randall’s legal counsel said that if she had known about the abuse allegations against Franklin, she would have ended the relationship with him.
In the wrongful death lawsuit, Ms. Randall is seeking damages of an unspecified amount of more than $75,000, attorney fees and court costs.
Filing a wrongful death lawsuit
The Oklahoma statute defines wrongful death as a circumstance “when the death of one is caused by the wrongful act of another.” That wrongful act might have been negligent or intentional. If the deceased had survived the act that caused their death and they had been able to file a personal injury lawsuit, then their loved ones may file a lawsuit for wrongful death.
A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil action that seeks monetary damages. Some examples of the categories of damages that a surviving family member might recover in a wrongful death action include:
- Lost wages that the deceased could have earned had they lived
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of consortium (spouse)
- Punitive damages (in cases where the behavior was especially egregious)
Generally, the statute of limitations in Oklahoma for wrongful death actions is two years form the date of death. This is the time limit within which you can file a wrongful death lawsuit for the loss of a loved one.
If you have lost a loved one because of a preventable accident, the compassionate Oklahoma wrongful death lawyers at Stipe Law firm are here to represent your interests. We invite you to call (918) 505-7741 or fill out our contact form for a free case review in our McAlester office.