Burne vs. The Meadows*

My family, the Burne family, settled our wrongful death/medical malpractice lawsuit  against THE MEADOWS  on February 23, 2007 in Phoenix, AZ.  During Mediation, my family's only requests were that THE MEADOWS:

1.  Publicly take responsibility for what happened to their patient, Matt Burne, while in their care.

2 .  Publicly apologize to Matt, his family, friends and the community he left behind.

3. Work with me and my family to improve inpatient safety for those in crisis or at risk for self-harm and suicide, not only in their own facility (THE MEADOWS), but serve as a positive example to the mental health community on how to effectively address these issues and improve inpatient safety.

-Denise Burne Fein
 May 2007

However, THE MEADOWS DECLINED THIS OFFER .  Instead, they opted to settle out-of-court for an undisclosed and confidential dollar amount - making no admission of liability - and agreed to no Confidentiality Agreement, Clause or Non-Disclosure regarding the facts of the case.  During litigation, no Protective Order was ever executed in this case, as well.  My family and I fought hard for the ability and freedom to speak openly about THE MEADOWS, patient care, inpatient safety, what happened to Matt and what unnecessarily claims 1600 lives annually in the U.S. alone.  With THE MEADOWS acquiescing to our Mediation demand for no confidentiality agreement  with regard to the facts of this case, my organization  came into existence.  Now we are free and able to reach out, be heard and affect the change so desperately needed.   

                                                                                          - Denise Burne Fein
                                                                                            President/Founder (BTS)

OTHER LAWSUITS RECENTLY FILED AGAINST THE MEADOWS BY PATIENTS AND/OR THEIR SURVIVORS INCLUDE:

MEHDI MAGHSOUDLOU and FARAHNAZ AMANI
vs.
THE MEADOWS OF WICKENBURG, INC., a Delaware corporation dba THE MEADOWS
COMPLAINT:  WRONGFUL DEATH; MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Case # CV2006-017880
Filed November 22, 2006

BRUCE J. ALPERT
vs.
THE MEADOWS OF WICKENBURG (Delaware), Inc. (FN), a Foreign Corporation
COMPLAINT:  NEGLIGENCE, INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS: PUNITIVE DAMAGES: BREACH OF CONTRACT
Superior Court of the State of Arizona, in and for the County of Maricopa
Case # CV2007-014683
Filed August 15, 2007

JANIS MORTLOCK and LEONARD MORTLOCK
vs.
THE MEADOWS OF WICKENBURG, L.P. 
COMPLAINT:  MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE
US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
Case # CS-02-0362-WFN
Filed October 25, 2002

*The Burne Family was represented by the Law Firm of Skip Simpson of Frisco, TX and included Attorneys Skip Simpson, Michael Stacy and Michael McNamara of McNamara, Goldsmith, Jackson and Macdonald, Tucson, AZ. The Meadows was represented by the Phoenix law firm  Renaud, Cook, Drury Mesaros P.A. and included Attorneys Margaret McCarthy, Jack Klecan, Heather Neal and Bill "Bulldog"  Drury.