Elmont Online

ALBANY -- The parents of Jonathan Carey, a 13-year-old boy with autism who died in February 2007 at the hands of a state health aide, have settled their wrongful death lawsuit for $5 million. But that doesn't mean the Careys' battle is over.

"I'm going to continue to fight for the disabled," Jonathan's father Michael Carey said Thursday, a day after a judge signed the settlement agreement. "There is a lot of work to be done."

The Careys began pushing for stronger laws to protect disabled children and adults who are in state care shortly after Jonathan's death. At the same time they were suing the state's O.D. Heck Developmental Center in Niskayuna and the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities,

Their efforts before the Legislature resulted in a new law requiring greater access to records of complaints about potential abuse cases. They are continuing to push for measures such as placing surveillance cameras in residential centers.

"There is movement in the state in the right direction, but there are many vital changes that have to take place," said Carey, a Bethlehem resident.

Another upcoming priority will be a push for more safety measures in the scores of privately run centers for the disabled that are overseen by the state.

Jonathan Carey's death also led to a criminal trial. Edwin Tirado, an aide at O.D. Heck, was found guilty of manslaughter in October 2007 after a jury found he recklessly took the boy's life while restraining him during an ill-fated field trip to Crossgates Mall. He was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in state prison.

Nadeem Mall, an aide who had driven the van in which Jonathan died, was sentenced to six months in county jail and probation.

Following the death, there were revelations that Tirado had worked excessive amounts of overtime at O.D. Heck. It's another issue that Michael Carey has continued to pursue, pushing for legislation that would limit to 60 hours the amount of time that aides can work in a seven-day week.

While there was no direct link, the lawsuit settlement came some six months after OPWDD (formerly known as the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities) came under the leadership of a new commissioner, Courtney Burke.

"The death of Jonathan Carey was a horrific tragedy," OPWDD spokesman Travis Proulx said, stressing that the state is overhauling the vast agency, which employs about 23,000 people and runs more than 1,000 residences for disabled people statewide.

Burke wants to fire, rather than simply transfer, workers who abuse or neglect patients. She has recently set up a system under which police will be notified if problems are reported in the various facilities.

That's not to say controversy at OPWDD has vanished. Just this week, officials at the agency confirmed it is investigating a report, as yet unproven, that an aide used a cattle prod on a resident at the Arlington House near Cambridge in Washington County.

The New York City-based firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, which represented the Carey family, will receive $1.8 million in fees and other payments in the settlement, according to a stipulation signed by their lawyer and Assistant Attorney General Belinda Wagner, who represented the state. The agreement was made in the state Court of Claims; the settlement also ended a parallel federal action.

In June 2010, the Careys reached a six-figure settlement with the Anderson Center for Autism, a private facility based in Dutchess County where their son was a resident before moving to O.D. Heck. The Careys said their son was subject to abuse and negligence at Anderson, including the withholding of food.

The Careys, who have set up a foundation in Jonathan's name, will on Saturday be holding their Fifth Annual Jonathan Carey Foundation Walk, with registration at 9 a.m. in Bethlehem's Elm Avenue Town Park .

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