Wrongful Death Settlement of $600,000 for Mother of Man Who Committed Suicide in Trenton Hospital
The mother of a South Brunswick man who committed suicide at a Trenton hospital has been awarded a wrongful death settlement of $600,000. Michael Janicki was undergoing treatment for schizophrenia at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital when he managed to walk out of the hospital one day and slash his wrists. The verdict is interesting in the way Janicki's "services" as a son were calculated to arrive at a settlement.
Michael Janicki stabbed his father Ortwin to death in July of 2002. He claimed that he had heard voices that his parents were going to die, but he could save his mother if he killed his father. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and was sentenced to treatment at a psychiatric hospital. By 2005, he was believed to have been making progress at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. However his mother claims that his progress began to decelerate when staff at the facility delayed their plans to move him to a less restricted facility after he told one of the staff members that he wanted to kill himself because of his guilt at murdering his father. His privileges to wander about the facility campus freely were restricted, but the hospital failed to change his keycard. On August 30, of 2005, Michael walked out of the hospital and onto the grounds with his old expired card. No one saw him again until September 6 when his badly decomposed body was found in the hospital grounds.
The judge in his verdict ruled that his mother was entitled to $400,000 for the loss of companionship and her son's help, as well as $200,000 for the pain and suffering that Michael went through as he bled to death. The Deputy Attorney General had issues with the evaluation of Janicki's ability to help his mother because of his history of mental illness and drug problems. But a forensic economist, with the help of the psychiatrist who was treating Michael just before he died, were able to confirm that Michael in all likelihood, would have eventually recovered and with some monitoring, been able to lead a productive and independent life. The Department of Human Services which is responsible for the running of the hospital, may appeal the decision.
The estimate of the forensic economist in Michael's case did not take into account his projected future earning capacity for obvious reasons. Generally, a wrongful death settlement however, will involve reimbursement that includes loss of future earnings of the deceased. Compensation will also include funeral expenses, hospital or medical bills if applicable, as well as loss of companionship and help that the deceased would have provided to surviving members. By their very nature, such cases are always tragic in a bitter sweet manner for wrongful death attorneys as well as the families they represent, because the family would always prefer to have their loved one back with them instead of a compensation for his or her loss.
As a mother of a son whose wrongful death resulted from medical malpractice Am I entitled to a percentage of the settlement paid to his wife. They had no children.
Thank you.