NCJ Number
108453
Journal
Wisconsin Law Review Volume: 1986 Issue: 2 Dated: (1986) Pages: 339-366
Date Published
1986
Length
28 pages
Annotation
In examining the Wisconsin case of State v. Serebin, which involved charges of negligence and homicide against a nursing home administrator, this article argues that the homicide causation analysis was applied in a stricter way than in the neglect conviction or in previous Wisconsin cases.
Abstract
The neglect conviction was based on the defendant's failure to hire enough staff to provide adequate nursing care. The homicide conviction was also based on the defendant's failure to hire staff, which caused an elderly resident to wander out of the unguarded facility and freeze to death. The Wisconsin Supreme Court held there was insufficient evidence to support the reckless homicide, since the prosecution could not show that the resident's escape would have been impossible with adequate staffing present. The negligence conviction was sustained based on the inference that bedsores and weight loss in 12 residents was caused by inadequate staffing. Since the court's opinion contains no discussion of policy and the analysis presented is confusing, the case's impact on future nursing home cases may not be as great as it could have been. 158 footnotes. (Author abstract modified)