Filed Date: Aug. 26, 1980
Clearinghouse coding complete
In 1980, past and present patients at Essex County Hospital Center (the "Hospital"), filed a class action lawsuit against Essex County, Essex County Hospital Center, and Essex County Department of Health and Rehabilitation in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The plaintiffs, represented by New Jersey State public advocates, asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging that Hospital conditions violated their First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, as well as those under various laws and statutes of the United States and the State of New Jersey. Specifically, the plaintiffs contended that conditions and policies at the Hospital deprived them of their right to meaningful treatment, subjected them to inhumane and unsafe environmental factors, deprived them of effective medical care, confined them in unduly restrictive ward settings, deprived them of their fundamental personal and civil rights, and denied them access to their own funds.
On February 25, 1981, the District Court (Judge Herbert J. Stern) certified a class consisting of all past, present, and future patients at the Hospital.
The parties immediately entered settlement negotiations and, on July 20, 1981, the parties entered a stipulation of settlement, which the District Court (Judge Stern) approved. Under the settlement, the hospital agreed to submit to a court-appointed Master.
On August 2, 1982, the District Court (Judge Stern) granted the parties' joint request to publish the terms of the stipulation by issuing an opinion. Goodwin v. Shapiro, 545 F. Supp. 826 (D.N.J. 1982). The stipulation contained provisions respecting safety and maintenance, the physical and psychological environment, treatment, the token economy and behavior modification program, staffing, quality control and program evaluation, nutritional standards and diets, pharmaceutical services, medical records, patients discharged pending placement, miscellaneous provisions, and the monitoring agreement.
We have no more information on this file.
Summary Authors
Josh Altman (6/28/2006)
Nick Kabat (10/29/2014)
Stern, Herbert Jay (New Jersey)
Chaffin, Paula S. (New Jersey)
Rodriguez, Joseph H. (New Jersey)
Barone, Susan J. (New Jersey)
Ben-Asher, David H. (New Jersey)
Stern, Herbert Jay (New Jersey)
Last updated April 16, 2024, 3:01 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: New Jersey
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Aug. 26, 1980
Case Ongoing: No reason to think so
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
All past, present, and future patients at the Essex County Hospital Center
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Essex County Department of Health (Essex), County
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration: 1981 - 0
Content of Injunction:
Issues
General:
Assault/abuse by residents/inmates/students
Food service / nutrition / hydration
Sanitation / living conditions
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Disability and Disability Rights:
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: