Friday, April 15, 2016

Parents of Diamond teen killed in accident file wrongful death lawsuit

The parents of a Diamond High School honor student who was killed in a January 4 one-car accident filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver.

The action is to finalize a settlement with the insurance company.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in Newton County Circuit Court by Gary and Christy Miksell, Diamond, parents of 15-year-old Jacee Miksell against Haylee A. Heidlage-Barnes, 16, a Diamond High School student.

The accident occurred 7:55 a.m. January 4 on Pelican Road, two miles east of Diamond. According to the Highway Patrol report, a 2000 Buick Regal driven by Barnes, ran off the right side of the roadway, struck a ditch and overturned, ejecting Jacee Miksell, who was not wearing a seat belt. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Barnes suffered minor injuries and was treated at Freeman West Hospital, Joplin.

Online court records indicate Barnes insurance company is represented by St. Louis attorney Michael D. Mayes.

The action was filed 19 days after what would have been Jacee Miksell's 16th birthday.

(Updated to note that the lawsuit, which in these types of cases lists the driver as the defendant, is actually a matter of dealing with the driver's insurance company.)

8 comments:

Mary Cummins said...

Such a sad accident. If only she wore her seat belt she would have survived like the driver.

Anonymous said...

This is so sad, it seems that the vast majority of fatalities occur because of not wearing a seat belt. I won't back out of the driveway without buckling up. I was in a bad car accident and if I had not been wearing a seat belt I would have gone through the windshield.

Not sure if a wrongful death suit would be awarded, because she violated the law by not being secured with a seat belt.

Dusty Roads said...

Show them the money

Star Chaser said...

The parents of the team that was killed in this accident did not file any kind of lawsuit at all as you have been told.


Your title is a lie and you knew it was a lie when you posted it online. You are an extraordinarily wicked individual.

You have posted a lie about the death of a child in spite of that child's parents and their grief. Wicked man.

Low life.

A paragraph in the story says that the parents of Jaycee, Gary and Christie Miksell have filed a lawsuit in Newton County court against the 16-year-old driver.

This is not the truth. It is a lie. You knew it was a lie when you put it online.

In parentheses at the end of the story added that the lawsuit was actually filed by the driver's insurance company. The driver happened to be that 16-year-old you're attacking.

The headline that accuses the parents of the deceased of filing a lawsuit against child still stands.

The paragraph you wrote that states the lie that the parents are suing the driver is still a part of this story.

So you're not only a liar, a lowlife, and a bully, but you are a coward.

You screwed up. You posted a false story full of lies with the intent of getting attention for this silly little blog.

You have been confronted with the fact that you told lies. You still refuse to not only correct the false information in this so-called news story, but you refuse to even apologize for the pain and suffering you've caused the parents of both of these girls.


You must be extraordinarily happy little man.

Star Chaser said...

You have been sent many comments from the people in diamond telling you that your stories nothing but a lie. I noticed all of those are gone. You really are a coward

Anonymous said...

https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/cases/parties.do

Anonymous said...

The miskell family never pressed charges. Jacee wouldn't have wanted that. Jacee was a forgiving person and that was her best friend. Her parents would never press charges against her best friend. You have been wrongly informed.

Fly High Jae Bae!!! We all miss you! Ily jacee rae. #1.4.16

Randy said...

It was not a matter of charges being filed since that would be done by the prosecuting attorney's office. This case was filed in Newton County Circuit Court the information is taken from court records. Not only was it filed, but a settlement was reached last June. While I understand the emotions of those who have left comments on this post, if the lawsuit had not been filed, I would never have written a word. If you will check, the lawsuit was filed by Garrick and Christy Miksell and the defendant was Haylee Heidlage-Barnes. People, I don't mind being taken to task when I am wrong, but this is getting ridiculous. Can't even one of you actually go to case.net and look up the case?