Missouri Injury Attorneys Blog

Parents of Belleville girl file a wrongful death suit against haunted house after their daughter died of complications due to an asthma attack suffered while in the house.

Britteny Holmes, 15, visited The Darkness, a haunted house in Soulard, on Halloween 2009. Brittney died on November 12, 2010 after spending a year in a vegetative state. Artificial fog and sickley scents pumped into the haunted house lead to the death of the asthmatic teenager according to claims in a wrongful death suit filed last week. Britteny had suffered from asthma since age 4 and was allergic to tree nuts, grass, dust, mildew and peanuts.

Britteny's father, Durand Tyler of Anchorage, Alaska, filed suit in St. Louis Circuit Court against Halloween Productions, Inc., who was operating the attraction. Britteny's mother, Vanessa Neal of Belleville, had already filed a personal injury lawsuit in St. Louis prior to Britteny's death. Durand Tyler had no knowledge of this suit when his was filed and the two cases will most likely be consolidated.

Father, Durand Tyler, said that his daughter suffered from breathing difficulties on the way home from the visit to the haunted house. Tyler immediately transported her to the hospital, but by the time they reached the hospital, Britteny's brain had been deprived of oxygen for at least seven minutes, leaving her in a vegetative state. Britteny's medical bills total at least $1 million.

Larry Kirchner, president of defendant Halloween Productions, is also president of Haunted House Association, a trade organization. Their website states, "Haunted houses and attractions are EXTREMELY safe due to tough safety and fire codes they must all now live by." It continues, "The industry as a whole takes safety seriously and works together to solve common problems."

Larry Kirchner, nor his attorney could be reached for comment.

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The family of a Florissant woman files a wronful death suit against "The Pillars" nursing home after she died due to head injury caused by the home's staff.

Fannie Bell Brown, of Florissant, Missouri, was a resident at the Spanish Lake Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, also known as The Pillars. She has five children who proceed her, and all are Plaintiffs in a wrongful death suit against The Pillars filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court.

Horace Brown, Jr., Jacqueline Brown, Marilyn Brown, Shirley Brown and Ivy Ware, all children of Fannie Brown, filed a wrongful death suit against The Pillars after their mother's death on August 14th of this year. The suit claims that Fannie Bell Brown was living at the home, at 13700 Old Halls Ferry Road, when on July 1 an employee was moving her using a lift. While trying to move Fannie, she was dropped, causing her to hit her head. Fannie died on August 14 as a result of the devestating head injury. The suit claims that the home failed to properly supervise and train its employees, leading to Fannie Brown's death.
Plaintiff's are seeking unspecified damages. A spokesman for the defendant could not be reached for comment.

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