JANNA LEE MIXEN, Administrator of the Estate of Terry Mixen, deceased, Claimant, v . THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Respondent.
Case summary
Claimant, a pregnant employee at Dixon Developmental Center, was kicked in the abdomen by a resident while restraining him, leading to premature birth and death of her infant. The court found the respondent negligent due to inadequate staffing and awarded $11,500 for the infant's wrongful death.
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Headnotes
- NEIL F. HARTIGAN, Attorney General (J OHN R. BUCKLEY, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel), for Respondent.
- NEGLlCENCE-pregnant e m p l o y e e struck by aggressive patient- infant died- working conditions unsafe- State liabk. Where the Claimant, a pregnant employee of a State facility for disabled persons, was struck in the abdominal area by an aggressive patient and her infant died following his premature delivery, the State was liable for the Claimant’s loss due to its failure to provide safe working conditions for pregnant employees, since the State admitted that the staff-to-patient ratio wds below normal at the time the patient struck the Claimant.
- DAMAGES-pregflUnt employee struck b y patient-premature delivery-infant died-award granted. An award was granted for the Claimant’s (loss of her infant following a premature delivery caused by an incident in which the ,pregnant Claimant was working in a facility for disabled persons and was struck in the abdominal area by an aggressive patient, since the %evidenceshowed that the State was negligent in failing to provide safe working conditions, that the infant was viable when born, and even though the child was afflicted with hyaline membrane disease, that disease was solely due to the premature birth, and there was no indication of congenital abnormalities.
This cause is before the Court following oral argument on the above captioned claim, due notice having been given and the Court being fully advised in the premises, finds as follows:
Claimant, Janna Lee Mixen, was employed at the Dixon Developmental Center, Respondent's institutional facility for the disabled and handicapped at Dixon, Illinois. In the course of her employment as a Mental Health Technician I, Claimant was assigned to work in a cottage known as Acapulco cottage where certain aggressive male residents were housed. When assigned to work in the Acapulco cottage .on December 1, 1982, Claimant was approximately five months pregnant. On said date, at or about 9:45 a.m., a resident, J.M., attacked another resident of the Acapulco cottage .and Claimant, assisted by another employee, restrained J.M. The Claimant was finally able to get the resident to the floor and she restrained him while on her knees. While the aesident was lying on his back on the floor, he struck out with his foot at the Claimant, and struck her in the abdominal area.
Claimant asserts that as a direct and proximate result of .the resident striking her, the fetus was severely injured, and the result of which striking was the [*116] premature Caesarean delivery of Terry Mixen on January 29, 1983, and his subsequent death on January 31, 1983. Claimant alleges the Respondent was negligent in not having adequate personnel to handle such aggressive patients and in failing to provide safe working conditions for female employees who were working while pregnant.
The Respondent has admitted that the staff-topatient ratio was below normal on the date its resident struck the Claimant in her abdominal area. After an extensive review of the record and oral argument before this Court, we find that the Respondent was negligent with respect to the instant situation. Furthermore, the death of Claimant’s infant was the direct and proximate cause of the Respondent’s resident striking Claimant.
Since the infant, Terry Mixen, was viable when he was born, Claimant is entitled to bring an action for his death and for damages. After reviewing extensive case law similar to the present claim from Illinois and other jurisdictions and a review of the facts, it is clear that Claimant may recover monetary damages due to Respondent’s negligence in this matter.
While there is evidence that Claimant’s infant was afflicted with hyaline membrane disease, he was afflicted with this disease solely because of his premature birth. Medical records in the Court’s record indicated that no congenital abnormalities were identified in this infant. Considering the entire record in this case and a substantial review of similar cases, Claimant is entitled to an award of $11,500.
It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that Claimant is awarded eleven thousand five hundred dollars ($11,500.00) in full and complete satisfaction of this claim.