A Tulsa, Oklahoma woman charged with pushing her husband to his death from their 25th floor apartment window sues the building’s owner.
The petition, filed by the victim’s 20-year-old wife, alleges that the victim’s wrongful death was a result of negligence on the part of the apartment and its’ owners and asks for damages “for pain and suffering, grief, loss of earnings and household contributions, loss of consortium and punitive damages” in excess of $10,000.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday, claims that on June 7, 2011, the victim “tripped and stumbled into a wall in the living room of the apartment and made contact with a large window.” The window measured approximately 45.5 inches by 51.1 inches and was an eighth of an inch thick, as stated in the petition. The lawsuit also alleges that the window was not made of the type of glass required by the city of Tulsa building code. “Because of the dangerous thinness of the window glass and its size and location, the glass could be broken by a minimal amount of pressure” the petition states.
The suit alleges that the 23-year-old victim died after accidentally falling through the window, since it was not up to code, did not have any safety features and was too thin.
Prosecutors allege that the victim’s pregnant wife shoved her husband through the window during an argument.
At the time of the victim’s death, Tulsa police sergeant, Dave Walker said, “it wouldn’t seem like you could trip and fall into the window and create that much damage.”
The owner of the apartment building knew or should have known that “the windows were deficient and unsafe,” as stated in the lawsuit.
The victim’s wife is charged with second-degree murder in her husband’s death. Her jury trial is scheduled for March 11, 2013. She is currently being held in the county jail without bond. She had been out on bond but that was revoked after she tested positive for marijuana twice.
For more information, contact a Gacovino & Lake attorney at 1-800-246-HURT (4878).
