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A New London woman, seriously injured in an accident while a patient at Bayview Health Care Center of Waterford, Connecticut, has settled her personal injury lawsuit today for $1.3 million. Patricia Payne filed her case in the New London Superior Court two years ago against Bayview Health Care Center. On October 16, 1999, Patricia Payne, was being transferred from her wheelchair to a bed by a Hoyer lift. She had been a paraplegic for many years and was residing at Bayview as a patient. Since Ms. Payne was not ambulatory, in order to move her from her wheelchair to a bed, or vice versa, she was transferred by means of a Hoyer lift, which is a hydraulic device, unpowered and hand-operated. It lifts a person using a net or nylon sling attached to lifting arms and pulleys. Proper use of the Hoyer lift usually requires two people: one to operate the lift and another to guide the patient. On this occasion, the sling on the Hoyer tore apart, and Ms. Payne dropped suddenly to the floor, suffering a compound fracture of her left tibia. Since her fracture never healed properly, Ms. Payne suffered infections and eventually was required to undergo an above-the-knee amputation of her left leg in July, 2001. After the accident, Ms. Payne returned to Bayview as a patient where she remained until she moved in with her daughter in October, 2000.

Ms. Payne, age 52, has been represented in her lawsuit by Robert I. Reardon, Jr., of The Reardon Law Firm, P.C. of New London. Reardon retained an expert in the field of nursing care, an engineer and a hospital administrator to testify to the proper procedures for the use of Hoyer lift and the necessity of inspecting the equipment thoroughly for defects before using it. After depositions of nursing personnel involved in the incident, a mediation was conducted by former Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice John A. Speziale, and The Hartford Insurance Company, insurer for Bayview Health Care Center, agreed to pay the settlement to resolve the claim.

Reardon stated, “Ms. Payne has suffered a great deal since her accident, and will be able to purchase a handicapped accessible home, anew wheelchair, a handicapped accessible van, and will have a much better quality of life because of this settlement. She and I are so pleased that she can now live with her family in a setting that will allow her to enjoy the rest of her life.”