Wrongful Death

A 71-year-old man died yesterday from injuries suffered after he was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle.

Terry Hofslund was riding his Suzuki when he was struck by a car turning across his lane of traffic. Hofslund was thrown from the motorcycle and struck a third vehicle, suffering multiple fractures. He succumbed to his injuries Sunday.

Hofslund was wearing a helmet. According to police, the driver of the car was issued a ticket for failure to yield.

Pitman, Kyle, Sicula & Dentice is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling motorcycle accident cases through out the state. Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

Officials unable to prove who acknowledged injured woman’s alarm

By Tom Tolan of the Journal Sentinel

Sept. 1, 2010

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No charges were filed in a death last February in a Clement Manor independent living apartment because it couldn’t be proved who had acknowledged an alarm from the apartment, an assistant district attorney says.

Assistant District Attorney Denis Stingl provided information Wednesday that shed new light on the Feb. 15 death of Sylvia Ploszay.

A lawsuit was filed Monday in the death of Ploszay, 87, who experienced a cut on a varicose vein near her ankle, pulled an emergency cord requesting help, and then bled to death over the four hours it took staff members to respond to the call.

According to the lawsuit and an extensive Greenfield police report on the death, Ploszay pulled an alarm cord in her room at 12:25 a.m. on the 15th, and a nurse didn’t respond to the alarm until 4:20 a.m. or after. The alarm was acknowledged at a nursing station within a minute, the documents say, but not acted upon until later.

None of the Clement Manor staff members who were interviewed by police remembered acknowledging the alarm, according to the district attorney’s office, although one nurse, Suzette Gorski, told police she acknowledged an alarm from the complex’s loading dock between 1 and 2 a.m.

Records from the alarm system showed no such alarm, and Stingl speculates it might have been the call from Ploszay that Gorski acknowledged then. But investigators couldn’t determine what was displayed on the alarm screen at that time, Stingl said.

In addition, Stingl clarified the responsibilities of a nursing assistant who was watching television when she received a call from a hallway neighbor of Ploszay’s reporting her alarm. Her job was to field emergency calls from the assisted living facility at Clement Manor, not the independent living building, according to Stingl, and it was her practice to watch TV while waiting for those calls. Stingl and the police report said she’d told the caller to contact the complex’s health office, given him a number to call and returned to watching TV. Neither she nor the caller apparently followed up.

The lawsuit complaint incorrectly identified the woman as a nurse; she’s a certified nursing assistant.

Richard Rau, chief executive officer of the Clement Manor complex, wouldn’t say Wednesday whether any staff member had been fired as a result of what happened, but did say, “Appropriate counseling or disciplinary action was taken.” Greenfield police Detective David Leon, whose investigation at the complex lasted until May, said that “to the best of my knowledge,” no one had been fired.

Finally, as was reported Wednesday, alarms from independent living units like Ploszay’s now go to a private alarm company, which informs Greenfield emergency dispatchers. In addition, though, the internal alarms at Clement Manor have been reorganized so that an alarm from a room goes off every five minutes until it’s reset in the resident’s room, according to Stingl.

Also, Stingl said, work rules have been changed so that any staff member who acknowledges an alarm or receives a call about an alarm has to immediately contact the shift supervisor.

Alert answered four hours after cord pulled

By Tom Tolan of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 31, 2010

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Workers at the Clement Manor complex in Greenfield “inexcusably and unconscionably” ignored for four hours an emergency alarm set off in an apartment at the complex as the resident bled to death, according to a lawsuit filed this week.

One nurse’s aide received a call about the alarm while she was watching TV and instead of following up, went back to watching TV, according to the complaint filed Monday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court and a Greenfield police report.

The lawsuit names Clement Manor Inc., two Franciscan sisters’ communities and Cincinnati-based insurance companies in the death of 87-year-old Sylvia Ploszay on Feb. 15.

Ploszay was a resident of a 101-unit independent living building at 9405 W. Howard Ave. that is part of Clement Manor, which also has assisted-living units and a nursing home.

The independent apartments have cords to pull to summon help in emergencies, and Ploszay pulled hers at 12:25 a.m. on Feb. 15. A nursing supervisor and a nursing assistant finally arrived at the apartment at 4:34 a.m., according to the lawsuit, and found her dead in her bathroom.

The Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office found that she’d experienced a cut in a varicose vein and had died of loss of blood. The Greenfield police report indicates she’d had more than one case in which she’d experienced bleeding in the past.

The lawsuit and police report say that a sound alarm and visual alarm went off at a nursing station in the complex and were acknowledged within a minute by someone at the station. The acknowledgment turned off the sound alarm at the station, but not a light alarm.

The suit also said a resident later heard a sound alarm in a hallway of the independent living unit and made a phone call that was answered by a nurse’s aide who said she was watching television. The resident, Richard Stobbe, said the woman told him she’d take care of it, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit calls the woman a nurse, but she’s a nurse’s aide, according to the police report.

The nurse’s aide — whose job was to monitor calls in the complex’s assisted living center — told police she had directed the caller to contact the complex’s health center and speak to a supervisor. In any case, no one followed up on the call and the aide went back to watching TV, the lawsuit says.

The suit also said the facility was short-staffed that night.

Greenfield police conducted an extensive investigation of the death and presented it to the Milwaukee County district attorney’s office, which decided not to issue charges.

Stephanie Smiley, spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Health Services, said the department’s Division of Quality Assurance, which regulates nursing homes and assisted living facilities, did not get involved in this case because it doesn’t oversee independent living apartments.

But she said the division has investigated only three complaints against the nursing home and assisted living facility since 2005, and no citations were issued as a result.

“It appears to be a facility where they follow state codes and regulations,” she said.

Dennis Ferger, administrator of Clement Manor, said he couldn’t comment on the lawsuit, but he said the complex in March changed the procedure for independent living residents to report emergencies.

Now, according to Ferger and the Greenfield police report, when residents pull the alarm cord, it goes straight to a private alarm company, which notifies the Greenfield emergency dispatchers, who dispatch firefighters to the complex.

Ferger referred questions about the lawsuit to the local representative of the Cincinnati Insurance Co., who did not return a phone call.

Jeff Pitman, the attorney who filed the suit on behalf of Ploszay’s estate, said he handled “a ton of nursing home stuff,” but had never sued Clement Manor before.

But he wasn’t handing out praise in this case.

“This was a callous disregard for this woman’s safety and her life,” he said. “Their choice not to respond to this alarm led to her death.”

Ferger said Clement Manor is an independent, religious-affiliated corporation, with sponsorship from the School Sisters of St. Francis, one of the groups named in the lawsuit.

Another named group, the Franciscan Sisters of St. Clare, is not involved in running Clement Manor, he said.

One teenager was killed and another was injured when the vehicle they were driving in was hit by a pickup truck yesterday morning in Barton.

The crash occurred when 17-year-old Danielle Held tried to make a sudden U-turn at Beaver Dam Road. A pickup truck behind Held collided with the driver’s side of Held’s vehicle as she turned in the intersection.

The driver, 17-year-old Danielle Held, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her passenger, Nolan Sheppard, 18, was flown to Froedtert Hospital.

The crash remains under investigation.

Taylor Becker, 4, was killed Wednesday after a dog got free and attacked her in the backyard of a family friend’s home.

According to authorities, the dog, a boxer, was tied to a pole on a leash and chain. The dog somehow managed to free itself from its collar and attack the little girl while she was playing in the backyard.

Taylor Becker was taken to a local hospital where she died early Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities say they have no information indicating the animal had a history of violence. Authorities also say it’s too early to determine if any charges would be filed.

The Wisconsin State Patrol announced yesterday that more motorists than ever before are wearing seat belts.

According to the State Patrol, seat belt use increased by 6 percent to 79% in the latest survey.

That means four out of five drivers and passengers are taking the simple step of strapping on a seat belt. The higher compliance will save lives, misery and health care costs.

Despite the increase of seat belt use, Wisconsin is still below the national average for buckling up.

Neighboring states have much higher usage rates. Michigan has the highest seat-belt compliance rate in the nation at 98 percent. Iowa is at 93 percent, Illinois at 91 percent, and Minnesota at 90 percent.

The following is from the website of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Baby Matters LLC, of Berwyn, Pa., is announcing the voluntary recall of 30,000 Nap Nanny® portable baby recliners. CPSC is investigating a report of a 4-month-old girl from Royal Oak, Mich. who died in a Nap Nanny® that was being used in a crib. According to preliminary reports, the infant was in her harness and found hanging over the side of the product, caught between the Nap Nanny® and the crib bumper.

CPSC and Baby Matters are aware of one other incident in which an infant became entrapped when the Nap Nanny was used in a crib, contrary to the product instructions. In that incident, the infant fell over the side of the Nap Nanny®, despite being harnessed in, and was caught between the baby recliner and the side of the crib. The infant sustained a cut to the forehead.

CPSC and the firm have received 22 reports of infants, primarily younger than 5-months-old, hanging or falling out over the side of the Nap Nanny® despite most of the infants being placed in the harness. One infant received a bruise as a result of hanging over the side of the product.

Infants can partially fall or hang over the side of the Nap Nanny® even while the harness is in use. This situation can be worse if the Velcro™ straps, located inside the Nap Nanny® cover are not properly attached to the “D”-rings located on the foam, or if consumers are using the first generation model Nap Nanny® that was sold without “D”-rings.

In addition, if the Nap Nanny® is placed inside a crib, play yard or other confined area, which is not a recommended use, the infant can fall or hang over of the side of the Nap Nanny® and become entrapped between the crib side and the Nap Nanny® and suffocate.

Likewise, if the Nap Nanny® is placed on a table, countertop, or other elevated surface and a child falls over the side, it poses a risk of serious head injury. Consumers should always use the Nap Nanny® on the floor away from any other products.

The Nap Nanny® is a portable recliner designed for sleeping, resting and playing. The recliner includes a foam base with an inclined indentation for the infant to sit in and a fitted fabric cover and a three point harness. The first generation model of the Nap Nanny® can be identified by the absence of “D”-rings in the foam base. In second generation models, the harness system has “D”-rings in the foam base and Velcro™ straps inside the fitted fabric cover.

The recalled Nap Nannys® were sold at toy and children’s retail stores nationwide and online, including at www.napnanny.com, from January 2009 through July 2010 for about $130.

The recalled product was manufactured in the United States and China.

Wisconsin will join six other states in a weekend crackdown on impaired driving on Interstate 94.

The I-94 Corridor Traffic Enforcement Project will begin on Friday evening and end early Saturday morning. The project involves local, county and state police from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 491 people died in traffic-related deaths over the 4th of July weekend in 2008. Forty-three percent of those deaths involved a driver or motorcyclist with a blood alcohol percentage of at least 0.08%.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is reporting a single-car accident Sunday morning in the town of Richwood killed three women and injured another.

Driver Jessica N. Dull, 19, of Richland Center, and passengers Jessica L. Hartung, 20, of Elmwood and Amanda M. Newman, 19, of Elk Mound died at the scene. Samantha Turnipseed, 19, of Richland Center, was severely injured. Turnipseed was taken to Boscobel Hospital and later transferred to a hospital in La Crosse.

Dull was southbound on Highway X in a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse when the car became airborne, left the road on the right side and struck the trees before rolling on its top. The accident is still under investigation.

More than 2 million cribs from seven companies were recalled Thursday amid concerns that babies can suffocate, become trapped or fall from the cribs.

Most of the cribs were drop-sides, which have a side rail that moves up and down so parents can lift children from them more easily. That movable side, however, can malfunction or detach from the crib, creating a dangerous gap where babies’ heads can become trapped, leading to suffocation or strangulation.

The companies involved in the recall were Evenflo, Delta Enterprises Corp., Child Craft, Jardine Enterprises, LaJobi, Million Dollar Baby and Simmons Juvenile Products Inc.

No deaths were associated with the cribs, but there were reports of at least 16 entrapments of infants. In one case, a child was found unconscious and later hospitalized.

In the announcement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, all seven companies recalled drop-side cribs. Delta and Child Craft also acknowledged problems with fixed-side cribs.

Drop-sides have increasingly come under scrutiny, with several warnings from the CPSC in the last year that the cribs can be deadly. CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has pledged to ban their manufacture and sale by year’s end.

“This new recall announcement is part of a larger effort by CPSC to clean up the marketplace from many of these unsafe cribs,” said Tenenbaum. “Most of these recalled cribs have dangerous drop-sides, while the Delta crib can pose a danger to babies if the mattress support is installed incorrectly.”

CPSC urged parents to stop using the cribs and contact the manufacturers for repair kits to immobilize the drop-side or information to make the cribs more secure.

The recalls involved about:

• 750,000 Jenny Lind drop-side cribs distributed by Evenflo Inc.
• 747,000 Delta drop-side cribs. Delta is also urging parents to check all fixed and drop-side cribs that use wooden stabilizer bars to support the mattress. The company says the bars can be installed upside down, causing the mattress platform to collapse. CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said Delta “was not cooperative with providing the full number of units involved in the mattress support assembly problem.”
• 306,000 Bonavita, Babi Italia and ISSI drop-side cribs manufactured by LaJobi Inc.
• 130,000 Jardine drop-side cribs imported by Toys R Us.
• 156,000 Million Dollar Baby drop-side cribs.
• 50,000 Simmons drop-side cribs.
• 40,000 to 50,000

Child Craft brand stationary-side cribs and an unknown number of Child Craft brand drop-sides. Child Craft ceased operations last summer and sold its name to Foundations Worldwide Inc., which did not manufacture or sell any of the recalled cribs but will offer rebates for some of them.

With Thursday’s recall, 9 million drop-side cribs have been recalled in the past five years. Drop-sides have been blamed in the deaths of at least 32 infants and toddlers since 2000. The cribs are suspected in another 14 infant fatalities during that time.

Congress is also concerned about the cribs. Legislation has been introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to outlaw the sale and manufacture of drop-sides. A similar bill has been introduced in the House by Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley, also of New York.

Drop-side cribs have been around for decades, but consumer advocates say they are not as sturdy as those of the past. Older cribs had metal rods that guided the drop-side up and down. Many newer cribs have plastic tracking guides for the drop-side that critics say are more prone to breaking.

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which represents over 90 percent of the crib industry, urges parents not to use cribs with loose or missing parts. It also says consumers should not use a crib that is older than 10 years because it may not comply with current standards.