A Janesville, Wis., man filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the federal government over the death of his wife last year, who died after she was hit by a Postal Service mail truck.

Genevieve A. Slayton, 77, died on May 7, 2007, about six weeks after she was hit while attempting to hand a letter to a postal carrier.
The lawsuit does not specify a dollar amount it seeks, but a claim filed with the Postal Service in October sought compensation of a little more than $1 million for medical expenses and wrongful death.

The Postal Service never responded to the claim, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states:

On March 22, 2007, Lyndahl and Genevieve Slayton were driving to the post office in Janesville to mail a letter when they saw a mail truck stopped on North Grant Avenue. Lyndahl Slayton pulled ahead of the truck and Genevieve Slayton got out to hand a letter to the carrier, Arthur Camm, when Camm drove forward and hit her.

Genevieve Slayton fell and her head hit a curb. She suffered a serious skull fracture and brain injury. After stays at Mercy Hospital in Janesville and St. Mary 's Hospital in Madison and a skilled nursing home in Brodhead, her condition deteriorated until she died.

The lawsuit alleges Camm was negligent in driving the truck by failing to maintain a proper lookout, failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian, failing to make a proper lane deviation and failing to maintain control of the truck.

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