ESTATE OF STEPHEN J. KOMNINOS, THOMAS J. KOMNINOS, WINIFRED KOMNINOS, Individually as Administrators, and as Administrators ad prosequendum of the ESTATE OF STEPHEN J. KOMNINOS v. BANCROFT NEUROHEALTH, INC., et al.
A-4041-09T2 12-13-10
The Charitable Immunity Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-7, bars a plaintiff from bringing negligence claims against a nonprofit provider of services for the developmentally disabled and persons affiliated with that nonprofit provider. The present lawsuit was brought by the parents of a developmentally disabled young adult who died after choking on a bagel while in the company of defendant's staff member.
As reflected in the decedent's individual habilitation plan ("IHP") and the provider's charter, the provider supplies its disabled clientele with vocational and life skills training encompassed within the meaning of "educational" and "charitable" purposes immunized under the Act. In addition, we conclude that the decedent was a "beneficiary" of the provider's services at the time of his fatal incident, despite plaintiffs' contentions that the incident was outside of the scope of his beneficiary status.
