Parents of Portland Man Who Died in Apt. Fire File Suit Wrongful Death

The parents of an Oregon man who died of burn injury after a fire in his apartment in Northeast Portland have taken legal action against the building owner Firestarter and the accused assailant Ryan Thomas Monaco. Batool Alhaji and Ali Alhaji, the parents of the victim Taher Ali Alhaji, have filed a $6 million wrongful death lawsuit against Firestarter and Ryan Thomas Monaco, according to a report.  

The Charges

Police reports suggest that Monaco went to the apartment where his ex-girlfriend resided with Jason Miller and Alhaji. He allegedly set a couch on fire in the apartment, which resulted in the dead of Miller and Alhaji. Monaco’s ex-girlfriend, Ashley Mercier, had left the apartment before the fire. The entire incident started after a heated discussion at the apartment and was described by Mercier as ‘a nightmare.’

Police recovered text messages sent from Monaco to Mercier that contained multiple threats, including a threat to set her apartment couch on fire. They even recovered surveillance camera footage of Monaco going to the apartment and then fleeing the fire scene shortly after. 

When the first responders and authorities arrived at the scene, the victims had already died. They recovered two bodies from the apartment, along with the corpses of a dog and several reptiles. 

Monaco was charged with three counts of arson, four counts of aggravated murder, strangulation, and four animal abuse counts. Other charges lifted the total indictments to 17. 

Batool Alhaji and Ali Alhaji sued Monaco as the main culprit, as well as the apartment owner, Farhoud Mohommad, and the apartment manager, Moe Farhoud, for failure to keep a functional fire detection and escape system in the building. 

The Legal Aspect

A wrongful death claim involves a lawsuit filed by the victim’s next of kin. They can press charges to get economic and non-economic compensation for their loved one's loss of life.

The economic compensations include the loss of inheritance, loss of benefits, loss of contributing salary from the deceased, and the medical and funeral costs. 

The non-economic compensations have more value than the economic ones since they are less tangible. Tahir Ali Alhaji’s parents sued over non-economic damages in this case.

Cases of wrongful or accidental death can be of many sorts: personal injury, medical malpractice, car accidents, weak working conditions, etc. 

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer NYC

If you live in NYC and think a loved one had wrongful death or suffered a personal injury, you can file a lawsuit. However, it is imperative to discuss the case with a competent personal injury lawyer in New York before taking legal action. 

A good personal injury attorney will discuss the relevant laws with you, assess the evidence, and determine the strength of the case. If it makes sense to press charges, the lawyer will say so and provide you with the legal roadmap to file and pursue the lawsuit. 

Different lawyers specialize in different sorts of cases. Specializations for wrongful death cases could include a burn injury lawyer, road accident lawyers, pedestrian injury lawyer, personal injury lawyer, etc.

Contact us on 212-344-1000 today to discuss your case with our legal experts. During the free and confidential consultation, our personal injury and wrongful death attorney will tell whether it is suitable to go ahead with a lawsuit and if there’re any chances of success.