Homicidal guardianship scam– those very loaded three words are the basis behind a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the late Casey Kasem’s widow against three of his children from a previous marriage. Long-time radio personality Casey Kasem died back in 2014 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease and there has been some major family feuding going on ever since. Widow Jean Kasem’s wrongful death suit is not even the first wrongful death lawsuit to come out of the death of her husband– she is also a defendant in one filed by the same kids that allege it was her that ultimately caused the death of her father.

People.com reports on the most recent lawsuit with Jean’s allegation the children as well as their attorney and the hospital where Kasem died, “forcibly took Casey to St. Anthony’s hospital in June 2014…the hospital chose to execute the defendant’s illegal and unilateral decision by starving Casey to death for financial gain.” At the time of his death, it was his children and not his wife that had the power of attorney to make medical decisions on behalf of their father. For their own wrongful death lawsuit, the Kasem children accuse Jean of neglect and elder abuse as well as restricting access to their father.

People quotes Kasem’s daughter Kerri on the lawsuit, “If you look at the court records, it counters every single thing that she is putting out there. She’s just putting out false information. He was dying because of her actions and would have still lived a year or two. We did everything we could to save him.”

While there can be multiple parties that try to bring a wrongful death lawsuit, it usually is not against each other. What these two competing wrongful death lawsuits have in common is a dispute about the actions that ultimately led to the death of Casey Kasem. The court in these cases will examine the filings separately to determine if the claims have any merit to move forward.

Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit? As his widow, Jean Kasem is certainly within the category of people that can bring about a suit and as his children, they too can file a lawsuit. Here’s a look at the category of individuals that can file a wrongful death lawsuit in California:

• The surviving spouse
• The surviving partner
• The children of the deceased
• Putative spouse, children and stepchildren

While wrongful death cases are always complicated, this is certainly a unique level of complexity with the heated accusations going around. If you are dealing with an unjustified killing and wondering where to being looking for legal help, start by giving us a call. Your initial consultation with us is always on the house and designed to answer any and all questions you may have during this difficult time. We are here to help.