Today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune featured a front-page article on Minnesota’s law that rewards wrongdoers when their victims died. The article, entitled “In Minnesota, abuse lawsuits die with the victims,” addresses the need to change Minnesota law to hold those whose wrongful conduct causes harm to be held accountable, even though their victims die of causes unrelated to the wrongdoing.
The Star Tribune article quotes Joel Smith: “If providers ‘can spend some money on lawyers hoping to drag the case out,’ said Joel Smith, an attorney who represented the Albert Lea families, ‘all they’ve done is paid a few thousand dollars to lawyers instead of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to resolve the case.’”
Consequently, under current law, wrongdoers enjoy an unjustified, fortuitous windfall. The wrongdoers will not be held accountable for the harm they cause. The government or health insurer probably will not recoup any of the payments made for medical care caused by the wrongful conduct. The wrong will never be made right.
In effect, Minnesota law denies its citizens a just remedy that is allowed in nearly every other jurisdiction. The article also addresses legislative efforts to change Minnesota’s law. Most states in our country allow such a claim to continue even after the victim’s death from unrelated causes.
The Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm represents clients in cases involving catastrophic injury caused by nursing homes and other care facilities that fail to provide proper care. If you believe your loved one has been harmed due neglect or abuse in a nursing home, take action and contact the Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm online or call us toll-free at (877) 552-2873 to set up a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
