Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 7, 1994 TAG: 9410070031
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Melody Caldwell, who was left paralyzed and brain-damaged after an automobile accident in 1987, was killed in a fire at her Chapman Avenue Southwest home last October. The 20-year-old woman died of smoke inhalation after her grandfather, who stayed at her bedside every day, was unable to carry her to safety.
The Roanoke fire marshal decided that the charred mattress remains indicated that the fire started underneath the bed.
The lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court in Roanoke this week against the Simmons Co. and Maxwell Products Inc., which made the bed. Simmons manufactures Beautyrest beds like the one Caldwell had, and Maxwell makes hospital bed rails to be used with the beds.
One of the $10 million suits was filed by Caldwell's mother, Cheryl Y. Smith, on behalf of Caldwell's estate. The second $10 million suit was filed by her grandfather, Thomas Leffel Jr.
Leffel, whom family members used to call "Doc" because of the long hours he spent caring for Caldwell, was critically burned in the blaze .
Attempts to reach members of Caldwell's family Thursday were unsuccessful.
The suits allege that Simmons and Maxwell were negligent because they sold a defective bed. The suits seek damages for sorrow, mental anguish and funeral expenses.
Caldwell defied medical odds by surviving the automobile crash in which a metal gear shift pierced her brain. Doctors wanted to shut off her life support systems, but her mother said no.
Smith and Leffel stayed by her bedside day and night, and she slowly made progress.
Caldwell graduated from Roanoke County Occupational School just four months before the fire.
by CNB