Jury awards $12 million to estate of Madison man who took his life after being..

Jury awards $12 million to estate of Madison man who took his life after being released from hospital

 

According to the lawsuit, Jarecki, who was 55 at the time of his death, was admitted to Yale-New Haven Hospital for 10 days in July 2009 and the hospital decided to taper off his anxiety medication, which he had been taking for about 10 years. He was discharged to Harbor Health Services under the care of a psychiatric advanced-practice registered nurse, Catherine M. Florio, the suit claims. Harbor Health Services could not be reached for comment.

 

According to court documents, Florio saw him once and told him to come back in three months. Nine days later, Jarecki, who was still off his medication, called his mother, drove to Bauer Park in Madison and took his own life.

 

At the time of his death, Jarecki, a former house painter, recently had been diagnosed with a chronic illness, and was unemployed and coming off a 10-year dependence on the medication, Koskoff said.

 

 

http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20160426/jury-awards-12-million-to-estate-of-madison-man-who-took-his-life-after-being-released-from-hospital

 

This is shameful!!!  I am sorry poor Mr Jarecki was driven to take his own life...many of us have been close!!!  I hope being held accountable will help this sad state of affairs.

From the linked article:

 

The lawsuit against Florio, filed April 21, said the nurse “failed to adequately and properly care for, treat, diagnose, monitor and/or supervise (Jarecki) for anxiety, depression, benzodiazepine taper and/or suicidality” and failed to take a thorough history and to properly assess him for physiological signs and symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal.

 

Thanks for posting the link.  This poor guy was mishandled (and in my opinion, killed) by the system.

Yes, killed by the system is right!!

 

Something like this could have been so preventable if medical personnel only understood benzos and had monitored him. They've got to know that a person MUST BE TAPERED PROPERLY. Instead many doctors have a cavalier attitude, are flippant about benzos, and think people can withdraw easily, that .5 mg. is a "small dose" or 1 mg. They simply don't understand the potency of these drugs. This has got to change now!!! 

Do people need to die before anything is done? I wonder if this case will help to bring the issue to light. Let's hope this man's death was not in vain.

This is been going on for so long I wonder when it will change.