Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog

Arizona sex abuse attorneys recently learned that a Missouri grand jury has indicted Robert Finn, the Catholic Bishop of Kansas City. Also indicted was the Catholic diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, this according to USA Today. The charges stem from church officials failing to notify proper authorities about sexual images of children found on a priest's computer. Finn has pleaded not guilty to the allegation of failing to report suspected child abuse, a misdemeanor.

These allegations make the Kansas City Bishop the highest ranked Catholic church official in United States to be charged with a crime related to attempting to cover up alleged sexual abuse of a minor by a priest. Church officials have a duty under Missouri state law to report suspected abuse. The October 6 indictment alleges the Bishop and the diocese had reasonable cause to believe that priest had committed a form of sexual abuse against a child.

A U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops spokesperson has said that they believe this is the first time a Bishop has been charged with this type of crime. The charge is a significant setback for the Catholic Church in its efforts to move past the sex abuse scandals of recent years, the Washington Post reported.

A Jackson County grand jury issued indictments after the US Department of Justice brought charges this year against Rev. Sean Ratigan for his alleged possession of child pornography. The prosecutor for the government's case has said that the significance of the case against the Bishop should not be diminished because it's a misdemeanor charge. Finn could possibly face up to one year in prison and a $1000 fine. $5000 is the maximum fine for a corporation.

The Washington Post went on to report that in December, 2010 school officials had notified diocese officials about concerns over Ratigan's behavior with children, and that hundreds of images of children, some sexual, were found on his computer.

The Bishop has allegedly admitted that he was informed of the photos last year. The church failed to notify police of the alleged abuse and took no action until May, 2011, the same month the priest was criminally charged.

Whether the priest had ongoing contact with children during the time diocese officials took no action has not been reported.

It is also being reported by CBS News that a May 2010 memo was written stating that there were several complaints about the priest taking inappropriate photos of children. The memo was allegedly tendered to a Monsignor who was the vicar general. The Monsignor then allegedly spoke to the priest about his behavior and then reported to the Bishop about the memo and the meeting.

Months later, according to CBS, a computer tech discovered the child images on the priest's computer. Most of the children were fully clothed, but many photos focused on the crotch area. There was allegedly also photos of a female toddler showing her genitals.

The computer was turned over to church officials, who in turn failed to report the extent of the photo collection to the authorities, and the computer was then returned to the priest's relative.

Continue reading " Sex abuse case leads to indictment against Kansas City Bishop " »

Phoenix accident attorneys at Abels & Annes have signed on to represent a Scottsdale resident who was recently injured in a Scottsdale car crash. The collision occurred earlier this month at the intersection of 92nd and Thunderbird.

There is a four-way stop sign at the intersection. Our client stopped at the stop sign and proceeded through when it was her turn. At that moment, the defendant approached the intersection going approximately 40 to 50 mph and did not notice the stop sign. He failed to slow his vehicle and slammed into the plaintiff's car.

The Scottsdale Police Department responded to the scene of the accident. After investigating, police placed the defendant at fault and issued him a citation for failing to obey the stop sign.

Our client sustained neck and back injuries and a concussion in the crash, with symptoms of dizziness and nausea. Shortly after the accident she was seen at Scottsdale Healthcare on Shea.

At the ER she was examined by physicians and x-rays were taken. Doctors diagnosed her with a concussion and cervical strain (whiplash). She was prescribed several types of pain medication and instructed to follow-up with a physician.

Over the days following the accident, unfortunately her pain did not resolve. She is now treating with an orthopaedic group in Scottsdale.

The plaintiff has hired our office to pursue a negligence claim against the defendant auto insurance carrier, American Family.

According to the United States government, there are nearly 700,000 auto accidents reported to police annually that occur at stop signs. Around one third of these collisions cause injuries.

A study done in 2003 found stop sign violations caused about 70% of the above-mentioned accidents. This compared to about 12% caused by rear end collisions. The study also found that drivers 65 and older as well as drivers under the age of 18 were much more likely to be at fault in stop sign accidents.

The government study was performed by looking at police reports from accidents at stop sign intersections from 4 different cities in the United States during 1996-2000.

Continue reading " Arizona injury lawyer takes on new auto accident case " »

An Arizona school bus vs. dump truck accident last week has resulted in injuries to four kids and a bus driver, according to ABC news. The collision occurred at approximately 6:50 AM on Monday as the school bus was stopped to load children in the area of 56th and Missouri avenues in Glendale.

At the time of impact, two girls were getting on the bus and two children and the bus driver were already on board, according to Glendale police. The two kids boarding the bus were seriously injured. All five were taken by ambulance to an area hospital. None of the injuries are reportedly life-threatening.

The bus was stopped in the roadway in the right lane of Missouri Avenue. Witnesses to the incident say that the school bus had its stop sign raised. Police did not know why the dump truck failed to stop.

A spokesperson from the Glendale Police Department used the accident as an opportunity to remind the public to use extra caution in the area of school buses, further stating that it is against the law to pass a school bus when it's octagon stop sign is out, and that under Arizona law motorists on both sides of the street must come to a stop and can only resume driving when the bus starts to move.

According to safemotorist.com, more than 23 million students travel to school on school buses. The website gives many safety tips to avoid collisions with students and school buses, such as:

When exiting your driveway be on the lookout for kids walking or bicycling to school;

Use extra caution when traveling through school zone areas;

Be on the lookout for kids walking in the street, especially when there are no sidewalks; and

Slow down when in the area of children waiting and playing at bus stops.

Phoenix injury lawyers at our office are currently working on two separate school bus accident cases. Children involved in this type of collision are very susceptible to injury, as they are typically not seat belted and can be thrown around during impact.

Continue reading " Students injured in Phoenix area school bus crash " »