THE VIRGINIA STATE BAR RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT REQUIRE ALL ATTORNEYS TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT AND DISCLAIMER TO THEIR CASE RESULTS. SETTLEMENT AND VERDICT IN ALL CASES DEPEND ON VARIOUS FACTORS AND CIRCUMSTANCES, WHICH ARE UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. THEREFORE, PAST RESULTS IN CASES ARE NOT A GUARANTEE OR PREDICTION OF SIMILAR RESULTS IN FUTURE CASES WHICH THE KOONZ MCKENNEY JOHNSON DEPAOLIS & LIGHTFOOT AND ITS LAWYERS MAY UNDERTAKE.
Jury Verdict: Court Finds DC Caused the Death of a Mentally Ill Man
In April 2004, Alan Martin, an older man, found himself in need of inpatient psychiatric care. He was committed to St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C. and placed on a ward with a number of other patients. He was taken to St. Elizabeths to receive care and treatment; he was taken to St. Elizabeths so that he could get better. Little did he know, he was put on a ward with an extremely dangerous patient.
This patient had a long history of violence: beating strangers on the street, fighting other patients at the hospital, sleeping with knives under his bed, and threatening to kill his mother. When he was admitted to St. Elizabeths, he was noted to be homicidal. St. Elizabeths, however, never completed the initial psychiatric evaluation for the man. Alarmingly, he was too uncooperative.
Over the next couple of days, the patient remained off of his medication, he was not observed on a regular basis, and records regarding his lost history of violence and his present homicidal nature were ignored. One staff member said the patient made her nervous. St. Elizabeths did not take one step to protect other patients. Rather, the hospital decided to wait and see if he would act violently.
Tragically, a few days after his admission, Alan Martin was attacked by the dangerous patient, beaten so severely that he was in a coma for two weeks. He remained in the hospital for just over a month before being transferred to a nursing home. Unable to speak properly, unable to feed himself, unable to go the bathroom without assistance, he eventually succumbed to his injuries in March of 2005. He left behind a loving mother and several siblings.
Union officials reported that hospital workers had a number of complaints regarding the facility, including staff shortages, people working overtime, increasing frequency of violent acts, cite crowding, and more frequent Code 13—that is increasing numbers of agitated patients. Linda Grant, spokeswoman (for the hospital) Martha B. Knisley, director of the Mental Health Department, said that Code 13 incidents were not recorded by the hospital. Last year the Department of Mental Health faced criticism from the D.C. inspector general for failing to report and investigate hundreds of unusual incidents at various facilities.
Through investigation by the University Legal services, at the time of Mr. Martin’s attack, 30 patients were placed in a ward licensed for 23. Only 3 employees were on duty in the ward which is well below the standard ratio of one worker per five patients.
Known for its attempts to downplay the seriousness in the frequencies of these dangerous occurrences, D.C. Superior Court Judge Geoffrey M. Alprin has said that investigative reports on deaths in city-contacted group homes for the mentally ill must now be made public without extensive redactions.
In January 2009, William Lightfoot, Paulette Chapman, and Kelly Fisher, went to trial in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. After a four day trial, the jury awarded the estate of Alan Martin $1,000,000 to compensate Mr. Martin for his injuries and for the suffering he was forced to endure. For a family frustrated by a hospital that refused to accept responsibility, the verdict was welcome news.
Death of a Patient due to Civil Rights Violation
The attorneys of Koonz McKenney Johnson DePaolis & Lightfoot have won a significant verdict for the mother of a man who died in a DC Government mental institution. Using trial advocacy principles taught by William Lightfoot, Paulette Chapman, and Kelly Fisher, the trial team won a significant verdict, which will provide financial security to the mother of a man killed. The man was murdered by a mentally ill patient who was known to have thoughts of killing someone and who had a long history of violence.
The inadequate treatment of the man who was murdered led to an investigation by two federal government agencies that found the DC government violated the civil rights of mentally ill people. As result, improvements have been made to medical care of the mentally ill in the District of Columbia.
Schoenborn and Pifer v. WMATA
WMATA has agreed to pay $2.3 million to the daughter and widower of an injured government worker. A Metro bus struck a female pedestrian when she was in the cross walk. Attorneys Julie Heiden, Kelly Fisher, and William Lightfoot represented the daughter for her claims of wrongful death.
Construction Site Injury
When a ladder failed at a US Government building, a construction worker injured his low back. A subcontractor controlled the ladder. The injured worker is now limited to part time work. OSHA did not investigate the job injury. Attorneys William P. Lightfoot and Paulette E. Chapman filled the void left by government inaction. They successfully argued that the subcontractor pay $825,000 plus waive repayment of all workers' compensation benefits.
Jury Verdict Increasing Permanent Disability Award in Workers’ Compensation Appeal
Joshua Davenport won a jury verdict awarding a laborer, who broke his wrist and injured his shoulder while attempting to move a large appliance onto a forklift, increased permanent partial disability benefits. After undergoing four surgeries to repair his wrist and shoulder, the laborer filed for permanent partial disability benefits with the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission. The Commission ruled that the laborer sustained a permanent partial disability of 50%. The laborer’s employer appealed the Commission’s decision to the Circuit Court of Prince George’s County, Maryland.
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Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, DePaolis & Lightfoot, L.L.P. Wins Significant Appellate Victory
Marc Fiedler, the appellate specialist at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, DePaolis & Lightfoot, L.L.P., recently won an important victory in a medical-malpractice case. On February 15, 2008, the D.C. Court of Appeals upheld the wrongful-death jury verdict of over $750,000 in favor of the wife and son of a forty-six-year-old Metrobus operator who had died as a result of a blood clot in his heart, which probably would have been prevented if his doctor had prescribed blood-thinning drugs.
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WWII Marine Veteran Settles Case for $1.2M
Peter C. DePaolis, Julie H. Heiden and M. Thomas McWeeny of the Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, DePaolis & Lightfoot, L.L.P.'s Virginia office, settled the John Doe vs. Jane Doe case in December 2007 for 1.2 million dollars after a nine hour mediation.
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David Schloss Recovers Nearly $1,000,000.00 for Worker Injured in Slip and Fall
David Schloss, one of our partners who specializes in the handling of claims for injured workers, recently successfully litigated a case involving a legal secretary who had slipped and fallen on a recently mopped floor while at work. The secretary sustained a knee injury and was later diagnosed with “reflex sympathetic dystrophy,” a relatively rare neurological condition also known as “complex regional pain syndrome.” Mr. Schloss pursued both a workers’ compensation claim against the law firm that employed his client as well as a negligence claim against the janitorial services company that had recently mopped the floor but had allegedly failed to post any wet floor warning signs. After significant litigation, Mr. Schloss was able to secure nearly $1,000,000.00 in total benefits for his client.
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Please note that each personal injury lawsuit is different. The verdicts and settlements described on this web site do not represent what we may obtain for you in your case. No law firm wins all of its cases, and we are no exception. However, our clients tell us that knowing we have obtained positive results for others, by settlement and by jury verdict, is an important consideration in deciding whether to retain our firm. We would be happy to discuss these cases and many more with you.
We are currently updating our success stories. For more information about the firm's successes, please read the individual attorney biographies. If you would like to set up a free consultation with a Washington DC, Virginia or Maryland personal injury attorney at our law firm, please contact us now. |
