JURIST - Paper Chase: More negligence charges likely in Katrina's wake

[JURIST] Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti [official profile] has said he will investigate hospitals and nursing homes throughout the state for evidence of negligence during the evacuation prior to Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive], making it seem likely that additional charges will be filed in the coming weeks. Charges were filed earlier this week against a couple [JURIST report] who ran a nursing home and who failed to evacuate the 34 elderly residents. All 34 were killed by the rising floodwaters. The couple turned themselves in [LA AG news release] to investigators on Wednesday. Some experts said it was unlikely that many criminal negligence charges would be filed due to the difficulty in successfully prosecuting such cases. However, experts were also warning of a glut of civil cases that will likely be filed in the coming years over a variety of issues, including the break in the levees and chemical spills that followed. AP has more.

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