Jury awards family $10M after finding facility’s negligence caused man’s death
A jury in Waterbury awarded a family $10 million after determining the negligence of Oak Hill’s Watertown facility, which cares for people with disabilities, caused the death of 50-year-old Special Olympics athlete Scott Case.
The six-person jury deliberated for three days and returned with the verdict March 20, according to attorneys John Mills and Maria Cahill of New Haven-based Mills & Cahill Law Firm.
Case, who had multiple mental and physical disabilities, was a resident of Oak Hill for eight months. Due to his moderate obstructive sleep apnea, he had to wear a biPAP, a respiratory breathing machine. He also experienced seizures, which he was more prone to at night, and was supposed to be checked on every 30 minutes to ensure he was breathing and the machine was secure, according to the complaint.
Lincare, which provided and maintained the biPAP, received a message from the machine indicating it was not functioning properly. A technician said on May 19, 2016, that the machine would need to be replaced in the next week, but it was not, the complaint stated.
On the morning of May 23, 2016, an Oak Hill employee found Case unresponsive.
The complaint states that, on the night of May 22, 2016, employees did not check on Case for five hours — from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. on May 23, 2016. The complaint noted the employee working that night was not trained on the machine nor about the specific guidelines of Case’s care.
“It was clear he hadn’t been checked on,” Mills said in a phone call Friday.
Case was found unresponsive at around 4 a.m. Employees didn’t call the police until 4:21 a.m., and CPR was not administered until emergency medical personnel arrived at 4:29 a.m., according to the complaint.
First reported by the Connecticut Law Tribune, the jury also determined last month that Lincare was negligent, but that negligence was not a cause of Case’s death, according to court documents. Lincare is not liable for any of the damages awarded to Case’s family, the jury determined.
David G. Hill, who represented Oak Hill, did not immediately respond when asked for comment Friday. Eric Niederer, who represented Lincare, declined to comment.
The complaint was first filed by the family in April 2018. After the verdict, Cahill said she and Mills were thrilled for the family.
“It was a long haul, and they’re a great, great family,” she said. “The litigation went on for six years. ... At least this finally gives them some sort of closure to this.”
Mills said defense attorneys for Oak Hill and Lincare did not offer to settle during the case, despite the judge trying to have two different judicial mediations, and, as evidenced by the more than 500 entries in the case, fought the case every step of the way.
Case developed disabilities after he had to have a brain tumor removed at 4 years old, according to Cahill. At one point, Case’s doctor said swimming would be good for him. Case’s family, described by Mills and Cahill as dedicated and supportive, bought a plot of land from a neighbor to build a pool so Case could swim as much as he wanted.
As he continued to practice, Case competed in the Special Olympics. He won the gold and silver medals in swimming in the 1995 Special Olympics World Games, according to the Hartford Courant.
Case lived at home with his family into his 30s. However, when his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the family made the decision to place Case in a home, Cahill said.
Case for a time resided in a residential home where a couple cared for two to three individuals with special needs. But as he got older, he needed a higher level of care than the couple could provide, Cahill said, and he then moved to Oak Hill, where he was supposed to be provided with 24-hour care.
The $10 million was split into two different categories — $4 million in damages on the negligence claims and $6 million in punitive damages for willfull or reckless deprivation of patient rights.
The punitive damages were awarded under the patient’s bill of rights, Mills said.
“We haven’t seen it really used that often,” Mills said. “It applies for people who are in group homes. So, if you’re in a group home, you’re supposed to be guaranteed quality care under the statute. And that was submitted to the jury for consideration.”
Under this, the jury awarded punitive damages after determining the staff recklessly disregarded the needs of Case, he said.
Cahill said the $6 million “clearly sent a message” and hopefully would deter that behavior in the future.
“In our opinion, they viewed him as a person of little to no consequence, and now it was time for those consequences,” Cahill said.
Cahill noted Case wasn’t a problematic patient. He didn’t ring the buzzer every five minutes, and didn’t complain.
“He’s easy to ignore and the evidence showed, we met our burden of proof, that they ignored him,” she said. “He was put in there specifically to get that higher level of care, and it was the opposite. The opposite happened.”