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Family of Swine Flu Victim Suing NYC for $40M

Says city didn't provide a safe workplace for assistant principal

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 12, 2009 9:29 AM CDT
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(Newser) – The family of Mitchell Weiner, a Queens middle school assistant principal who died in May after contracting H1N1, is suing New York City for $40 million, arguing that it didn’t provide a safe workplace, the New York Daily News reports. They also contend that the city didn’t notify Weiner that he’d come in contact with people who had the virus soon enough.

Asked about the case, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, “You know, everybody can sue everybody. The city didn’t do anything wrong. We have to make decisions, which schools are open or closed. Our obligation is to keep schools open.”

Anita Seeratan, 13, an 8th grader at the Susan B. Anthony middle school, holds up a copy of the 2005 yearbook open to the page with the photograph of assistant Principal Mitchell Weiner, in New York.
Anita Seeratan, 13, an 8th grader at the Susan B. Anthony middle school, holds up a copy of the 2005 yearbook open to the page with the photograph of assistant Principal Mitchell Weiner, in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
I.S. 238 Principal Joseph Gates arrives at Flushing Hospital Medical Center where Mitchell Weiner is hospitalized with Swine Flu, Friday, May 15, 2009 in New York.
I.S. 238 Principal Joseph Gates arrives at Flushing Hospital Medical Center where Mitchell Weiner is hospitalized with Swine Flu, Friday, May 15, 2009 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Alexis Morales, left, 13, a 7th grader at I.S. 238 Susan B Anthony and her mother Nancy Crespo speak to reporters after trying to deliver a get-well card for Mitchell Weiner, May 15, 2009.
Alexis Morales, left, 13, a 7th grader at I.S. 238 Susan B Anthony and her mother Nancy Crespo speak to reporters after trying to deliver a get-well card for Mitchell Weiner, May 15, 2009.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 5 comments
cognitivefilter
Aug 13, 2009 3:26 AM CDT
wtf? you work with kids. you go out in public. sounds like you live at your own risk...
rocketrocketusa
Aug 12, 2009 6:57 AM CDT
If this comes to an out of court settlement, which it most likely will, that funding will be taken straight from the educational budget. Queens cannot spare a single cent. This burough is the home of so many at-risk teens, it's ridiculous. I feel for this family, I really do. Losing not only a family member but, and lets be realistic here, a main source of income can absolutely destroy a family in the city. Shit can get bad very quickly. But to demand this sort of restitution sullies the memory of this man and what people will remember him for. Maybe he was an asshole. I don't know. But it's possible he was a good man, and now when people think of him, it's possible that they will not think of him as an educator. They will think of him as a victim, and that does him a disservice. At least Bloomberg is standing up to these people. I don't agree with everything he does, but I've always liked that about him.
christa2000
Aug 12, 2009 5:45 AM CDT
Live is a risk that everyone needs to take. Quit blaming others.

 
New York City • lawsuit • public schools • Queens, New York • principal • swine flu • H1N1 virus

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