Jury selection wraps up in wrongful death case, trial set to begin July 18

Trial is expected to get under way July 18 in the case of a family suing on behalf of their elderly relative whose death they attribute to poor medical care.

Jury selection was expected to wrap up July 15 in the case of Williams vs. Willow Terrace et al, according to Stanley Thompson, director of the Complex Litigation Center at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Thompson said 12 jurors were expected to be in place by Monday’s trial start. The jury trial will be heard before Common Pleas Court Judge Ricardo Jackson, Thompson said.

According to the original complaint, which was filed in late March 2009 by Philadelphia attorney Ruben J. Krisztal, of the firm Wilkes & McHugh PA, the family of Marcel Mackey, Sr. blames his poor health and subsequent death on the treatment, or lack thereof, that he received at a number of medical care facilities and nursing homes.

The defendants listed in the original complaint are Hahnemann University Hospital, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Willow Terrace, Methodist Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, St. Agnes Long Term Care, LLP and Mercy Health System.

The plaintiff in the case is Camay E. Williams, the daughter of Marcel Mackey, Sr., who is also the administrator of Mackey’s estate.

The lawsuit paints a very bleak picture of the care Mackey received while in the hands of the various defendants, a stretch that began in March 2007 and ended with his death in May 2008.

Mackey had a number of physical ailments and injuries, according to the complaint, which included malnutrition, multiple infections, poor hygiene, and sores and ulcers that required extensive wound care.

The defendants are accused in the lawsuit of negligence in allegedly providing inadequate care, something that the plaintiff claims led to Mackey’s eventual demise.

The lawsuit contains a number of counts of negligence as well as violations of neglect of care-dependent persons, and violations of Pennsylvania’s Older Adults Protective Services Act.

The lawsuit says that plaintiff Camay E. Williams brings the action on behalf of Mackey’s other surviving relatives, including his widow, Joyce Mackey, and children Deanne Dawkins, Shawn Mackey and Jeffrey Mackey.

Trial is expected to begin at about 9:30 a.m. on July 18.

The case ID is 090303774.