Widow of Swine Flu Victim Sues City of New York

August 12, 2009

After being admitted to a hospital with the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, Mitchell Wiener, 55, was the first person to die from the infection in New York City.  Since his death, 47 other people have died.

Now, his widow is suing the city for failing to control the outbreak adequately. Weiner was the assistant principal of Intermediate School 236 in Queens. The school was one of several to be closed after the illness broke out. Many of the students and staff members were infected.

Mrs. Wiener has said that the city should have informed her late husband that he was coming in contact with individuals who were testing positive for the virus. She has made a wrongful death claimed valued at $40 million for her suffering. The mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, said that the city did nothing wrong and should not be held accountable for the man’s unfortunate death.