Date: October 20, 2011
Personal injury lawyers Melissa A. Scartelli and Peter Paul Olszewski, Jr. of the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., regional law firm Scartelli Olszewski, P.C. have secured a $750,000 settlement for the family members of a prison inmate who died at the Federal Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pa. The wrongful death and survival action handled by Scartelli and Olszewski arose out of the April 2008 death of Louis Thomas Faison, Jr., who was then 63 years old.
Faison entered the prison in good health on Sept. 5, 2007. On April 1, 2008, he reported to the prison infirmary with complaints of a cough, aches and generalized pain. He was diagnosed with an acute upper respiratory infection and sent back to his cell with symptomatic treatment only. Approximately 24 hours later, Faison’s condition had significantly worsened. He was diagnosed with acute bronchitis, prescribed an antibiotic and returned to his cell. Less than two hours later, Faison was found unresponsive. Based upon expert opinion, his family contended that the prison healthcare provider failed to meet the standard of care regarding the treatment of acute respiratory infections. The failure to perform a comprehensive lung evaluation and to provide emergent care to Faison on April 1 and 2, 2008, directly led to his death.
“Federal inmates are entitled to appropriate medical care during incarceration. People from all walks of life who seek the assistance of a medical professional should be able to feel confident that they are receiving sound medical treatment,” stated Olszewski. “While a verdict or settlement cannot bring back a loved one, we are proud to have helped Mr. Faison’s family pursue justice in this matter. When an injury or death occurs, it is our job to make sure our clients are represented fairly and compensated fully.”
A shareholder of Scartelli Olszewski, P.C., Olszewski serves as the firm’s managing partner. He is a former Luzerne County District Attorney and Court of Common Pleas judge who possesses more than 25 years of litigation experience. As District Attorney, Olszewski tried 18 jury trials to verdict, including seven first-degree murder verdicts. During his tenure as a common pleas judge, he tried more than 180 criminal jury trials, including five capital homicide trials, and was named Criminal Court Administrator. Olszewski was previously engaged in private practice handling criminal, civil and family law trials throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. A member of the Million Dollar Advocates forum, he currently focuses his practice on medical malpractice, criminal defense and personal injury matters.
Scartelli is one of a handful of women trial lawyers in Northeast Pennsylvania who is a Board Certified Civil Trial specialist. For more than 20 years, she has handled a wide range of complex personal injury matters on behalf of seriously injured plaintiffs throughout the state and federal courts of Pennsylvania. She founded the law firm in 2001 to protect the rights of accident and malpractice victims. Her areas of practice include automobile accidents, auto defects, construction and workplace accidents, defective drugs and medical devices, insurance bad faith, liquor liability, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, premises liability, product liability, professional liability and psychiatric malpractice. She is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates forum and has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer®.
About Scartelli Olszewski, P.C.: Founded in 2001, Scartelli Olszewski handles a range of complex matters on behalf of accident victims, malpractice victims and other injured individuals and their families. The firm also represents criminal defendants. Practice areas include automobile accidents, auto defects, construction and workplace accidents, criminal defense, defective drugs and medical devices, insurance bad faith, liquor liability, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, premises liability, product liability, professional liability and psychiatric malpractice. Scartelli Olszewski is small enough to care yet large enough to win for their clients in the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., region. To learn more about the firm, visit http://www.scartelli.com.
