The sexual and physical assaults of 15 residents in an Albert Lea nursing home in 2008 outraged Minnesotans, led to the criminal convictions of two nurse aides and prompted a change in state law.
Victims and their family members sought justice by filing lawsuits against the nursing assistants, the home and its owner, the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society. Yet by October 2011, all of the civil cases in Minnesota had been dismissed. The reason? The victims had died.
State lawmakers soon may consider changing what’s known as Minnesota’s Survival Law, which requires that a personal injury case be dropped if the victim dies of unrelated causes. Advocates for the change say Minnesota is one of only four states with such a requirement, and they point to the Albert Lea case as the prime example of what’s wrong with the law.
“There was nowhere we could go for justice,” said Jan Reshetar, whose mother-in-law, Grace Reshetar, was spat on and groped by aides. She died in February 2009. “The laws need to be changed. Accountability needs to be put in place.”
A bill to eliminate the Survival Law was defeated last year during the last day of session in a tie vote in the Senate, after the Minnesota Insurance Federation and Minnesota Hospital Association lobbied against it.
Defending the law
Defending the law
Those groups argue that Minnesota law is designed to compensate the victim of an injury, not family members.
“If somebody suffers pain and suffering, and would normally be eligible for pain and suffering awards, those are for that person and not their heirs,” said Mark Kulda, vice president of public affairs with the Insurance Federation of Minnesota. “The damage was not to the families of the people. The damage was to the people themselves.”
The Insurance Federation and Hospital Association vow to continue opposing the bill, while it is supported by the Minnesota Association for Justice, a trial lawyers’ group.
Full Article and Source:
In Minnesota, Abuse Lawsuits Die With the Victims
Full Article and Source:
In Minnesota, Abuse Lawsuits Die With the Victims
3 comments:
Trial lawyers are out of control, just as are the elder practitioners.
Something must be done about nursing home abuse by the government.
I think this can be said about almost all abuse cases. But, if the person abused has dementia, then does it matter if he/she is alive or not?
Any excuse in a storm.
I guess if they can't file state claims, they need to look long and hard to determine if there's a claim they can file within the statute of limitations in federal court.
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