Posts Tagged ‘Sean P. McDonough’

Each year, a typical nursing home with 100 beds reports 100-200 falls. As many as 3 out of 4 nursing home residents fall each year. Many of these go unreported. About 5% of adults 65 and older live in nursing homes, but nursing home residents account for about 20% of deaths from falls in this age group. Patients often fall more than once. The average is 2.6 falls per person per year. About 35% of fall injuries occur among residents who cannot walk.

How serious are these falls?

• About 1,800 people living in nursing homes die each year from falls.
• About 10% to 20% of nursing home falls cause serious injuries; 2% to 6% cause fractures.
• Falls result in disability, functional decline and reduced quality of life. Fear of falling can cause further loss of function, depression, feelings of helplessness, and social isolation.

A family whose members lost everything and suffered serious burns while escaping a house fire in April 2006 has sued the apartment building’s owner, claiming the real estate company is liable because of a lack of smoke detectors and escape routes in the building and their apartment.

Angelica Gonzales Torres was home with her children, ages 3, 4 and 8, and her mother, Etelvina Gonzales, on April 8, 2006, when a fire broke out at 402-404 Broadway. The family is seeking damages, both compensatory and punitive, which includes about $219,000 in medical bills, from building owner L. Friedmann Realty Inc., of Monroe, N.Y.

Investigators say Vicky Scott, 50, and her accomplice, 22-year-old Iissha Martin, poured gasoline on the back porch and lit a match because Ms. Scott was angry with another resident in the building.

Mrs. Torres, Ms. Gonzales and the children had to run through the flames to escape the burning building, and all five were burned badly while fleeing, said their attorney, Sean P. McDonough, of Dougherty, Leventhal & Price.

The suit against L. Friedmann Realty focuses on alleged violations of state and city building codes, including not having smoke detectors, sprinklers or fire extinguishers anywhere in the building.

But perhaps the biggest failure, in Mr. McDonough’s opinion, is that the only entrance and exit to the Torres’ apartment led to the back porch. The suit claims the realty company ignored requests from Mrs. Torres and her husband, Marco, to repair the front door, which was boarded up and bolted shut.

“The fire was started in the back,” he said. “They were forced to run through the flames because there was no other way out.”

Attempts to reach L. Friedmann Realty officials were unsuccessful Friday.

Mrs. Torres suffered the most injuries, according to the suit, with burns to her arms, hands, back, thighs and feet. Her medical bills top $181,000, the suit claims. Ms. Gonzales and the children’s medical bills total at least $38,000, the suit claims.

Ms. Scott, serving a 9½- to 80-year sentence, and Ms. Martin, serving eight to 20 years, were ordered to pay restitution to the Torres family, as well as another resident who was home at the time of the fire.

However, it’s unlikely the Torres family will see any of the restitution money they deserve, Mr. McDonough said, because of the lengthy prison sentences.

PRESS RELEASE
6-10-09

SCHOTT NORTH AMERICA, INC. TO PAY $1.45 MILLION TO SETTLE EEOC SEX BIAS SUIT

Company Laid Off Class of Women Workers Based on Gender, Federal Agency Said

SCRANTON, PA. — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a major settlement of a sex discrimination lawsuit for $1,450,000 and significant equitable relief against Schott North America, a multinational developer and manufacturer of special glass and specialty materials, components and systems, based in Elmsford, N.Y.

The EEOC charged that Schott laid off women because of their sex after a company reorganization in October 2004 of its specialty glass plant in Duryea, Pa. Prior to the reorganization, glass production at the plant was generally divided into two parts, the “hot end” and the “cold end”; 95.3% of the hot-end workers were male and 76.6% of the cold-end workers were female.

As part of the reorganization, the company created a new position of “melting line operator” and used a “skills matrix” to determine who would obtain these new positions. The glass company laid off employees whom it did not select for the melting line operator position. In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that the skills matrix system benefited male employees, did not accurately measure the skills truly needed to perform the melting line operator job and had an adverse impact on female applicants – who were selected for layoff at a significantly higher rate than male employees. The EEOC contended that six plaintiff intervenors and five class members were not selected for melting line operator positions and were laid off because of their sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Acting EEOC Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru said, “This significant settlement demonstrates the EEOC’s commitment to securing meaningful relief for victims of systemic sex discrimination.”

In addition to the $1.45 million in monetary relief, the three-year consent decree provides substantial equitable relief, including: injunctive relief enjoining Schott from engaging in unlawful discrimination under Title VII or retaliation; annual anti-discrimination training of all supervisors and managers at the Duryea, Pa. facility; and the posting of a notice about the settlement.

“Companies must make hiring and layoff decisions based on the individual’s qualifications and abilities, and not because of gender,” said EEOC Philadelphia District Director Marie M. Tomasso, who oversaw the agency’s administrative investigation which preceded the litigation. “The EEOC will take action if a company reorganization has an adverse impact on women.”

The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 06-CV-1246) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement out of court. Schott did not admit liability in the consent decree, which is pending judicial approval. Sean P. McDonough, of the Dougherty, Leventhal & Price law firm, and Pete Winebrake, of The Winebrake Law Firm, LLC, represented plaintiff intervenors in their private claims against Schott.

Judith O’Boyle, the supervisory trial attorney responsible for handling the litigation, noted, “We are pleased that the parties were able to resolve this matter and that Schott agreed to a variety of remedial measures designed to prevent problems in the future.”

Karen McDonough investigated the charges of discrimination filed with the agency.

According to its web site, http://www.us.schott.com/, “SCHOTT Corporation is the North American headquarters and holding company for the SCHOTT Group. With 16 divisions and subsidiaries in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, SCHOTT Corporation employs approximately 2,500 people for the manufacture and distribution of special glass and glass-related systems. The SCHOTT Group employs 17,300 people worldwide and has sales of approximately $3 billion.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/