Family Gets $125,000 Settlement For Daughter’s Death After Stay At Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex

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Posted on 28th November 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Is a life only worth $125,000? In some cases, apparently, the answer is yes.

The parents of a woman who died following a stay at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex, a case that lead led to a review of the way the mentally ill are treated in that locality, have received a $125,000 settlement, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week.

That $125,000 doesn’t sound like very much for the death of a 33-year-old woman, does it? But the case has ben credited with being the impetus for reform and change in the way the patients are treated at the Mental Health Complex.  

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/anczaks-mother-finds-no-happy-ending-in-settlement-in-mental-health-case-9e365h9-134473918.html

The story said that Myron and Jean Anczak “remain deeply dissatisfied and conflicted” about the 2006 death of their daughter Cindy. Part of the settlment will go toward paying hospital bills, while the Anczaks’ attorney will be paid $44,000 for his work on the 5-year-0ld case.

According to the Journal Sentinel, the settlement says that Cindy Anczak’s demise and the investigation that followed has made the Mental Health Complex re-examine its policies and make improvements regarding “nuitritional care.”

The settlement specifically states that the Anczaks and the county “disagree over whether the county was at fault” in Cindy’s death on Aug. 16, 2006.

Her cause of death was due to complications of blood clots along with “self-induced” starvation, dehydration, and other conditions, the coroner’s report said. Cindy, who was bipolar, refused to eat during her five-week stay at the Mental Health Complex and lost 22 pounds while there, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Cindy was eventually put on anti-psychotic drugs, but still refused to eat. She was found unconscious, and was sent to Froedtert Hospital, where she died.

The settlement states that Cindy’s death wasn’t the result of any neglect on the part of the Mental Health Complex, according to the Journal Sentinel.

It’s no wonder that the Anczaks are “conflicted” about the outcome of their daughter’s case.

    

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Recall Drive Starts Tuesday

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Posted on 13th November 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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So far two Wisconsin state senators have been recalled. The question now is whether Republican Gov. Scott Walker will get his walking papers, so to speak.

On Tuesday the drive to have Walker recalled will begin, payback for his support of successful legislation that essentially put an end to collective bargaining for most public workers, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. That controversial law filled the state Capitol in Madison with protesters.   

http://host.madison.com/news/state_and_regional/effort-to-recall-wis-governor-kicks-off-tuesday/article_07f8eea6-ab00-5afe-a1ce-915939bd657f.html

They threatened to recall legislators who supported the anti-union law, and so far have succeeded in the recall of the two senators. But seven other legislators remain in officer after recall efforts against them failed.

Wisconsin Democrats have teamed up with union members to spearhead the petition drive to recall Walker, a drive that starts Tuesday. They had to wait until the governor was in office for a year before the recall effort could kick off.

The recall organizers will have to collect more than 540,000 signatures by Jan. 17 in order for there to be a recall election.

Good luck, folks.

Wisconsin Republicans Defang Consumer Law by Capping Attorney Fees That Can Be Recovered

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Posted on 30th October 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

Leave it to Wisconsin Republicans to try to cut the teeth from the state’s consumer protection laws.  

Last week Republicans in the state Senate won approval of a bill that limits the attorney fees that plaintiffs can recover in consumer cases, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The bill passed in a 17-15 vote, with Democrats against the measure.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/senate-approves-bill-that-would-overhaul-state-tax-enforcement-132724708.html

The bill will now go to the Wisconsin Assembly, which the Republicans control. No surprise what will happen there.

According to the Journal Sentinel, Republicans claim that the bill will help ensure that legal costs don’t get too high in suits involving just a small amount of money.

“Democrats said it would gut consumer protection laws,” the newspaper wrote.

And we agree.   

In the case cited by the Journal Sentinel, judges would have to act under the presumption that the most a plaintiff could recover in legal fes would be three time the amount being disputed in the lawsuit; i.e. if someone was suing for $10,000, the most they could recoup in legals fees would be $30,000.

If there was a special case where the judge thought the award should be higher, he or she could do that. But that provision is an amendment to the original bill.

This law will discourage lawyers from taking cases that deserve to be litigated, for people who have been wronged, if only for a small sum of money. Attorneys sometimes toil months and months on a case. They need to be sure that they will be reimbursed for all the hard work they have done. That ends with this new law.

As a result, lawyers may not take the case of consumer John Doe, who may be owed what seems like a small amount to some, but is a large amount to him.

The bill was prompted by a case that is perhaps an aberration, and lawyers and those wronged in consumer cases shouldn’t be punished because of it.

A Chevrolet-Pontiac dealer, GOP donor David Lynch, was sued for doing almost $5,000 worth of work on a truck without getting the owner’s approval, according to the Journal Sentinel.  Ultimately, the case was settled, with the dealer anteing up $170,000, which included $151,250 in attorney fees, the newspaper reported.

We don’t know anything more about the particulars of this case, but it did go up on appeal. That involves a lot of legal work. The plaintiff’s lawyer likely was very much due his or her $151,250.

Lynch has been pushing for a bill to limit attorney-fee awards ever since. 

So much for consumer protection in Wisconsin.      

Wisconsin Has Concussion Bill Pending, And Local Youth Recovers After Being ‘Rocked’

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Posted on 22nd October 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Wisconsin has a bill on youth athlete concussions pending, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week did a nice job of humanizing that issue.

The paper, in a story headlined “Bill on concussions hits home with injured teen,” did a profile of Josh Inhof, a West Bend, Wis., 15-year-old. The article outlined what happened when Josh sustained a concussion, one that wasn’t immediately recognized.    

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/bill-on-concussions-hits-home-with-injured-teen-132290068.html

On Oct. 10 Josh was at junior varsity football practice, where he took a bad hit at West Bend East High School. The teen walked over to talk to his father Steven, who was coaching a team on a nearby field.    

Josh told his dad he had “got rocked” at practice. But his father didn’t think of a concussion, he just told Josh to take an aspirin for the headache he now had, according to the Journal Sentinel.

Two days later, Josh was back playing. He was hit twice at that game, and wound up unconscious on the sidelines. In that emergency situation, Josh was ultimately transported by a Flight for Life helicopter to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.  

Josh was hospitalized for two days. He was advised to recuperate and stay home from school.

The Journal Sentinel weaves John’s story in with an update of Wisconsin’s concussion pending legislation. Its bill mandates that if a student athlete is believed to have sustained a head injury, coaches have to remove he or she from the game or practice. That athlete couldn’t return to action until undergoing an evaluation by a doctor who is trained in managing concussions. And the player would need written permission to resume playing.

Wisconsin’s bill is pending a vote by the state Assembly. The state Senate is likely to consider a similar bill.

Wisconsin’s bill would be applicable to public schools, private schools, athletic clubs and other organizations, according to the Journal Sentinel, which reported that 36 states, and the District of Columbia, now have laws regarding youths and concussions.  

Wisconsin should be state No. 37.       

Seven Bicyclists Have Been Killed on Wisconsin Roads—Since July 1st

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Posted on 15th August 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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On Friday, another bicyclist has been fatally injured in the city of Fond du Lac. This crash involved a 62 year old man who was attempting to cross Johnson Street near the Forest Mall when he collided with a motor vehicle. The crash report has not yet been released.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/lifestyle/127740298.html?page=2#comments

Bicyclists are again reminded to always drive with the traffic flow, follow all rules of the road, and please, to prevent traumatic brain injuries, wear a helmet every time you ride.

Green Bay, Wisconsin Woman, 56, Killed on Tandem Bicycle

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Posted on 13th August 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110804/GPG0101/110804051/

It was late Monday morning on August 1st, daylight with cloud cover on a straight, rural county highway. A husband, 59, and his wife, 56, were out riding their tandem bicycle. They were wearing bright colors and helmets. They had over 20 years of ‘tandem’ experience. They were part of a group ride when they were struck from behind. Both riders were thrown from the bicycle and landed just five feet from each other in the ditch. The male, who was the front passenger, received serious injuries, was air-lifted to a local trauma center and survived. The female, who was the rear passenger, suffered severe traumatic injuries, did not survive. The driver of the sports car said he was traveling 55 MPH and did not see the bicycle. The officer observation of the driver found no impairment, but the driver was taken for a blood test as standard operating procedure when a fatality is involved. http://www.co.outagamie.wi.us/sheriff/Accident%20Reports/2011/August/11-016700.pdf Perhaps what saved the husband was that he was wearing a helmet. The police investigation is ongoing.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/postcrescent/obituary.aspx?n=kris-hanson&pid=152848631

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of both the widower and the driver of the car.

At least three hurt in explosion near Wisconsin Rapids

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Posted on 12th August 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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An explosion at a Biron paper plant injured two people Friday morning, according to the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune. An explosion happened about 8:13 a.m. at the Biron paper mill, just outside of Wisconsin Rapids. Reporters there are gathering more information, but say three injured people have been taken to the hospital.

NFL’s Green Bay entry: Trademarks “G”, “Titletown”, “Lambeau Field”, “Packers”

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Posted on 8th August 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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One of the most recognizable sports franchises in the world, Green Bay Packers trademark protects many of its famous and traditional symbols. The “G” that appears on the side of their gold helmet, “Titletown”- the label that tabs the city of Green Bay for winning many championship titles in the 1960’s and “Lambeau Field” where the “Packers” (another trademark) play their home games among others.

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110807/GPG03/108070610/Packers-protect-their-Titletown-trademark?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

Nearly everyone knows that the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, is the smallest city in American professional sports. Green Bay has a population of just over 100,000 people. Even if the residents of this northeast Wisconsin community don’t want to hear it, it’s a small town. There, there are paper mills and a football team –period. Even the team itself is publically owned by many locals. The trademark “Titletown” that the Green Bay Packers register is actually used by as many as 17 local businesses. The Packers organization seemingly do not have a problem with it. In Green Bay, the Packers are looked upon like a trusted uncle. And as such, many in the community respect that Packers brand – and understand assimilation with the biggest brand in the area means packed bars, restaurants, and motels. So the next time you make your way to Lambeau Field, in Titletown, be sure to check into the Titletown Hotel, enjoy dinner and a beer at Titletown Brewing Co, and to insure you have get into the game, call Titletown Tickets. You get the idea.

Wisconsin’s Quixotic State Employees Score A Reprieve

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Posted on 20th March 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Ironically, it was a judge appointed by a Republican governor who on Friday gave Wisconsin’s embattled government workers a small victory.  

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/118242814.html

In Madison, Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order that put a hold on GOP Gov.  Scott Walker’s controversial new law, which takes away many collective bargaining rights from state employees.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the judge’s temporary order bars Secretary of State Doug La Follette from publishing the law, which would then become effective. Sumi wants some time to decide if she should issue a permanent injunction, and there will be hearings on the matter March 29 and April Fool’s Day, April 1.

The motion for an injunction was filed by Democrat Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne. He alleges that a state legislative committee was in violation of Wisconsin’s open meetings act when it passed the collective-bargaining law March 9. Walker signed it two days later.

Any way you slice it, this battle is going to wind up before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. How many Republicans versus Democrats are on it? 

 

It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over, Gov. Walker, Since A Backlash May Follow

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Posted on 13th March 2011 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Who would have ever thought that Wisconsin, the Midwestern bastion of liberal thought, could have become the site for a successful assault on organized labor? 

There have probably been millions of words written about the recent folly in Madison. The events of the past few weeks once again verify the old adage, that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

If you ever told me that at some point the chambers of state government would be packed with protesters, or that more than a dozen Democratic state senators would flee the state to avoid a vote on an abominable bill, or that lawmakers would have to climb through windows to get back into government buildings, I would have labeled you crazy, in the vernacular of the street.

Yet it is all true.

I’m not the first to say this and I won’t be the last: Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s emasculation of collective bargaining laws for state workers is not just a bid for fiscal soundness. It is a blow directly aimed at one of the strongest allies of the Democratic Party in this nation: organized labor.

Politics rather conveniently meshed with the supposed good of the public in the Badger State.

But as, according to legend, Yogi Berri once said, “It ain’t over til it’s over.”

Gov. Walker and his fellow Republicans may have overplayed their hand.  

The New York Times had a Page One story Friday with the headline, “Wisconsin Curbs Public Unions, But Democrats Predict Backlash.” In it Mike Tate, head of the state’s Democratic Party, postulates that politically, Walker and his GOP cronies have handed Democrats a “gift.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/us/11wisconsin.html?pagewanted=1&sq=wisconsin%20unions&st=cse&scp=1

Needless to say, Tate is hardly a neutral observer. But he is not the only one to think that the shenanigans in Madison will prompt liberals and labor to rally, leading to recalls and other actions. For example, in a 24-hour period alone the state Democratic party had received $360,000 in donations.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did a story Saturday about the 14 Democratic Wisconsin senators who just came back to the state after leaving in a bid to prevent a vote on the Gov. Walker’s collective-bargaining bill. The article, which got more than 2,600 comments online, told how the “unbowed” and “unrepentant” senators were cheered by a huge crowd in the Capitol.     

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/117862214.html

These Democrats vowed state workers will get their collective bargaining rights back. And they may be right, if Wisconsin residents are as angry about Gov. Walker as Susan Shirey of Wauwatosa, Wis.

In a letter to The Times Friday, Shirey wrote, “I have lived in Wisconsin for more than 20 years. Most people here are considerate, open-minded and civil. But today my own civility is gone. I am furious at the Republican legislators and the sneaky way they found to bypass the Democratic senators to pass legislation curtailing public employees’ collective bargaining rights.”

And she ended her letter with this warning, “My family members and I are not public employees, nor do we belong to a union. If I can be roused to such fury, imagine the reaction of those more directly affected. The Republican politicians have now almost ensured their own recall.”

Can you hear her, Gov. Walker? 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/opinion/l12wisconsin.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=%22WIsconsin%22%20and%20%22backlash%22&st=cse

 

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