PRESTONSBURG, Ky. – A state judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging an eastern Kentucky lawyer contributed to a man's suicide after he lost his federal disability benefits.
WYMT-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1EbXgRT ) that Floyd County Circuit Judge Thomas Smith dismissed the case Friday. Emma Burchett sued attorney Eric Conn because her husband, Leroy, killed himself after receiving a letter that his federal disability benefits had been suspended. The letter was sent to more than 1,000 of Conn's clients.
The Social Security Administration later temporarily reinstated those benefits. Smith ruled that because Emma Burchett testified she could not have foreseen her husband's suicide that Conn could not have foreseen it either.
Burchett's attorney, Ned Pillersdorf, disagreed with the ruling and said he plans to appeal.
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Information from: WYMT-TV, http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews
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