Sister Files Wrongful Death After Brother is Allegedly Poisoned by Wife
A St. Johns County woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit after an autopsy revealed that her brother was poisoned. The brother, James Capello, was reported missing from his Alabama home in 2018. A day later, his body was found. Authorities determined that Capello had been poisoned by insulin. His former wife, Nikki Capello is facing a first-degree murder charge for his death. She has pleaded not guilty. Jamie Weast, Capello’s sister, has custody of the couple’s four-year-old daughter.
Nikki Capello is believed to have stolen the insulin from the hospital where she worked. She is named as a defendant in the lawsuit alongside the hospital where she stole the insulin.
The Lawsuit Against the Wife
Personal injury lawsuits against individuals rest entirely on whether or not they can afford to pay damages. While you’ll often hear about criminals being sued for wrongful death, not all of them are OJ Simpson. While a jury can pin a multi-million dollar verdict on the defendant, if the defendant doesn’t have millions of dollars, they can simply discharge the debt in bankruptcy. This is why you don’t hear of a lot of lawsuits against individual criminals.
In this case, the sister is taking custody of her brother’s child. She may be able to drain her brother’s estate of any money left over after the sister’s defense fees are paid. That will be one more way that she could help support her niece.
The Lawsuit Against the Hospital
The sister will allege that the hospital negligently stored dangerous drugs that were used to murder her brother. The hospital will need an alternate theory as to how the wife got ahold of the insulin other than an employee stole it after they negligently allowed her access to it. If lapses in their own internal policies led to the theft of dangerous drugs, then the hospital will be paying a lot of money into a trust fund earmarked for the care of their employee’s daughter.
Allegations against the hospital, which are not yet entirely known, could include:
- Negligent supervision – A failure to supervise their employee led to the employee gaining access to a dangerous drug used to murder her husband.
- Negligent care of dangerous chemicals – Obviously, insulin is not something you can buy over the counter. It also makes a useful murder weapon. It’s easy for an ME to overlook an insulin overdose as the cause of death.
- Negligent entrustment – If the drugs were in the wife’s care when they were stolen, the plaintiffs can raise the allegation that the hospital negligently entrusted a bad employee with a major responsibility.
In other words, it sounds, at least on the surface, like the sister has a good complaint against the hospital.
Talk to a Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney
If you’ve lost someone you love to the malice or carelessness of another individual or company, call the Jacksonville personal injury lawyers at Gillette Law today to schedule a free consultation and discuss your situation with a compassionate advocate.
Resource:
actionnewsjax.com/news/local/st-johns-county/wrongful-death-lawsuit-filed-man-allegedly-poisoned-by-his-wife/KWUFY2GN7FHYBPZYLFX2W652O4/
https://www.gillettelaw.com/wrongful-death-filed-after-woman-dies-in-police-custody/
