Essex County Wrongful Death Chokehold Lawsuit Settles For $2.5 Million

Essex County Wrongful Death Chokehold Lawsuit Settles For $2.5 Million
New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyers

The estate of an emergency room patient who died after being placed in a chokehold recently settled their wrongful death lawsuit in Superior Court in Newark, NJ for $2.5 million. The decedent was being treated for a lacerated lip in the ER of Community Medical Center in Toms River, NJ following a domestic dispute. At the hospital, an altercation between the patient and staff took took place, at which time certain hospital staff restrained the decedent and placed him in a chokehold. As a result, the decedent lost consciousness and died five days later. The decedent’s estate sued the hospital and individual staff members in a wrongful death action. The case settled before trial and distribution of the settlement proceeds to the estate and surviving child was subsequently approved by the trial judge.