Georgia to Pay $1 Million to Settle Hospital Death Claim

Georgia will pay a million-dollar settlement over the death of 59-year-old Michael Ernest Webb, a Vietnam veteran from Gwinnett County who was a patient at one of the state-run psychiatric hospitals.

The Department of Human Resources operates the hospitals and agency spokeswoman Dena Smith says officials would have no comment on the settlement for Webb’s family.

The family will receive $1 million for agreeing not to pursue a lawsuit against the state, which admitted no fault. Webb died Dec. 16, 2006, after nearly three weeks without a bowel movement at Georgia Regional Hospital/Atlanta.

One of Webb’s two sisters, Janie Webb-Miller, says the family filed a claim only after failing to get state officials to accept responsibility for the death.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com