Articles by John Christoffersen

Conn. Man Wins Nearly $1M for Botched Eye Surgery

A 60-year-old Army veteran won a $925,000 settlement with the Department of Veterans Affairs after he was blinded in one eye during a routine outpatient cataract operation, his attorney said this week. Jose Goncalves of Hartford was blinded in his …

Connecticut Couple Wins $58M Malpractice Award

A jury awarded a Connecticut couple $58 million after their baby was born with severe injuries in what the couple’s attorneys called the largest medical malpractice verdict in state history. The jury in Waterbury Superior Court reached the verdict in …

Pool Company President Takes Blame for Connecticut Boy’s Drowning

A swimming pool company president charged in a Connecticut boy’s 2007 drowning pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, for not installing a state-mandated safety device. David Lionetti had been charged with manslaughter, which could have carried a 10-year …

Connecticut Jury’s $2.5 Million Award Recognizes Same-Sex Marriage

A jury awarded $2.45 million Friday in a malpractice case to the estate of a Connecticut woman who had also that claimed botched cancer treatments damaged her same-sex relationship, attorneys said. Margaret Mueller and Charlotte Stacey sued two doctors in …

Federal Judge Approves $72M Insurance Settlement with The Hartford

A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a settlement under which The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. will pay $72.5 million to more than 21,000 people nationwide who alleged the insurer engaged in fraud in settling their injury claims. …

Owner of Chimpanzee in Connecticut Mauling Dies at 72

The woman whose chimpanzee mauled and blinded her friend last year, leading to lawsuits and a national debate over the regulation of exotic pets, has died, her attorney said. Sandy Herold died Monday night of a ruptured aortic aneurysm, lawyer …

Stress Claim Denied for Connecticut Cop Who Shot Chimpanzee

A Connecticut police officer who shot and killed a 200-pound chimpanzee last year after it mauled a woman has been denied an insurance claim for post-traumatic stress disorder because state law only applies to police shootings of people. State Sen. …

Chimpanzee Attack: Clinic Can’t Do Transplants for Connecticut Victim

A hospital that performed America’s first face transplant has told the family of a woman mauled and blinded by a chimpanzee a year ago that she is not a candidate for a face and hand transplant. Charla Nash’s family is …

White Connecticut Firefighters Seek Back Pay, Damages

A group of white New Haven firefighters who won a discrimination case before the U.S. Supreme Court are seeking back pay, damages and legal fees. The high court ruled in June that New Haven officials violated white firefighters’ civil rights …

Documents Show How Ex-Cardinal Handled Conn. Sex Abuse Claims

Recently retired New York Cardinal Edward Egan expressed skepticism over sexual abuse allegations against priests when he was a Connecticut bishop a decade ago, saying he found it “marvelous” that so few priests had been accused over the years, according …