STATE OF NEW YORK COURT OF CLAIMS Claim No: (2G YIF Inthe Mi of the Claim of In the Matter of the Claim of lds sotfans- ERIKA MENENDEZ, individually and by her mother MARICELA MERA, her agent, stiomey-in-fact and natural guardian; and MARICELA MERA, individually, VERIFIED CLAIM Claimants, ~against- ‘THE STATE OF NBW YORK; STATE OF NEW YORK OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH; ELMHURST HOSPITAL CENTER; CREEDMORE PSYCHIATRIC CENTER; ASSERTIVE COMMUNITY TREATMENT PROGRAM; FEDERATION OF ORGANIZATIONS; DR. ADAM KARPATI, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY. AND MENTAL HYGIENE FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK; DR. CHARLES BARRON, DIRECTOR OF PSYCHIATRY AT ELMHURST HOSPITAL CENTER, AN AOT, AN ASSISTED OUTPATIENT TREATMENT FACILITY; AND THE CITY OF NEW YORK, Defendants Claimants, as and for their verified claim against the defendants, by their attorneys, The Law Offices of Thomas F. Liotti, LLC, allege as follows: ARTIES 1, At all material times hereinafter set forth, at the time of the incident claimed herein, the Claimants were residents of the County of Queens, State of New York, with an address and Post office address at 98-01 67 Avenue, Apt. 9-V, Rego Park, New York 11374, Subsequent to the incident claimed herein, the Claimants current addresses are as follows: Erika Menendez, c/oMaticela Mera, 37 Nautilus Drive, Barnegat, New Jersey 08005; and Maricela’ ‘Mera, 37 Nautilus Drive, Bamegat, New Jersey 08005. 2. The attomeys for the claimants are the Law Offices of Thomas F. Liotti, LILC, with offices located at 600 Old Country Road, Suite 530, Garden City, New York 11530; Telephone number: ($16) 794-4700; Facsimile number: (516) 794-2816. 3. Defendant, The State of New ‘York, is a sovereign state of the United States of America, 4. The defendants, State of New York Office of Mental Health, Elmhurst Hospital Conier;Creedmore Psychiatric Center; Assertive Community Treatment Program; Federation of Organizations; Dr. Adam Karpati, Director of Community Services of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Hygiene for The City of New York; Dr. Charles Barron, Director of Psychiatry at Elmhurst Hospital Center, an AOT, an Assisted Outpatient Treatment Facility, are psychiatric and medical organizations, agencies or departments of The State of New York, with their principal addresses as follows: State of New York Office of Mental Health 44 Holland Avenue Albany, New York 12229 Eknhurst Hospital Center 79-01 Broadway Elmhurst, New York 11373 Creedmore Psychiatric Center ‘79-25 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, New York 11427 Assertive Community Treatment Center at Creedmore Psychiatric Center 79-25 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, New York 11427Kederation of Organizations 105-01 101" Avenue Ozone Park, New York 11416 Dr. Adam Karpati, Director of Community Services Department of Psychiatry and Mental Hygicne of The City of New York c/o Elmhurst Hospital Center 79.01 Brondway Elmhurst, New York 11373 Dr. Charles Barron, Director of Psychiatry Ehnburst Hospital Ceater 79.01 Broadway Elmhurst, New York 11373 5. The defendant, The City of New York, was and still is a municipality organized and existing pursuant to the laws and/or ordinances of the State of New York and/or The City of New York, HISTORY AND BASIS OF CLAIM 6. The claimant, Evika Menendez, suffers from, among other things, depression, a manic disorder, patanoid schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder bipolar, which may be controlled through medication and treatment, ‘The said claimant was a patient at defendant, imburst Hospital, when she was wrongfully and inappropriately discharged from defendant, Elmhurst Hospital. The said claimant waited for approximately nine (9) months for admission to defendant, Creedmore Psychiatrie Center Assertive Community Treatment Center (hereinafter “Creedmore”) and was under the care and treatment of defendant, Assertive Community Treatment Center, a mental health clinical service provided for through the dofendant, Federation of Organizations, and a specialty outpatient service provided for by defendant, Creedmoor Psychiatrie Center, when she pushed @ person into a subway tcain,thoreby killing the person and thereafter being charged with murder, Erika Menendez’ criminal case was pending in the Supreme Court of The State of New York, Queens County, where a psychiatric defense was being considered. 7. The time when, the place where and the manner in which the claim arose: The claim arose on May 22, 2015 when Erika Menendez was compelled to pled guilty to manslaughter in the first degree and was sentenced to a prison term of 24 years on that date. The prior events which were the proximate cause of Erika Menendez, sentencing on May 22, 2015, are as follows: the claimant, Erika Menendez, was wrongfully discharged from Elmhurst Hospital Center on September 22, 2011. In July, 2012 a final Judgment and Order was executed by Hon, ‘Martin J. Shulman, a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Queens, under Index No.: 500840/2012, placing Erika Menendez. into an Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program (AOT), This Order was ignored and not complied with by both the respondents, The City of New York, The State of New York and the AOT programs responsible for the treatment and monitoring of Kirika Menendez, The claimant, Erika Menendez, waited for approximately nine (9) months for admission to Creedmore Psychiatric Center and was under the care and treatment of respondent, Assertive Community Treatment Plan, a mental health clinical service provided for through the respondent, Federation of Organizations, and a specialty outpatient service provided for by respondent, Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, when she pushed a person into a subway train at 40" Street - Lowety Street Station in Sunnyside, County of Queens, State of New York, on December 27, 2012 thereby killing the victim and thereafter being charged with murder. Erika Menendez pled guilty to manslaughter in the first degree and was sentenced to a prison term of 24 years on May 22, 2015. The claimant, Erika 4Mienendez, has been incarcerated since December 27, 2012. and she is mentally disabled. See Exhibit “A,” Mare Santora and Anemona_ Hartocollis, Troubled Past For spect In Fatal, ‘Subway Push, The New York ‘Times, December 30, 2012. 8. The claimant, Erika Menendez, alleges medical malpractice and negligence against the defendants, the medical doctors and porsonnel therein for failure to properly diagnose and treat the said claimant for her medical and mental condition, ‘The defendants, their agents, servants and/or employees, had a duty to care for and properly treat the said claimant and breached that duty and thereby proximately caused great damages to the said claimant in that she was charged with murder and but for the negligence and malpractice of these defendants, their threatened with a long prison term agents, servants and/or employees, she would not be in and otherwise disrupted from a normal, day-to-day life without great fear, anxiety and other emotional torment. 9. The claimant, Erika Menendez, is on SSI Disability. She was born on July 8, 1981 and is 33 years of age, The claimant, Erika Menendez, has been incarcerated since December 27, 2012 and she is mentally disabled. See Exhibit “A,” Marc Santora and Anemona Hartocollis, Troubled Past For Suspect In Fatal Subway Push, The New York Times, December 30, 2012. 10. The claimant, Erika Menendez’s, damages may include curtailment or a reduotion {n othr SSI benefits; expenses relating to the criminal charges and defetises as well as those relating to her commissary account which her mother/parents may be forced to replenish, ‘The said claimant will also never be able to work due to the stigma of being a prisoner charged with saurder,11. The precise date of accrual of this claim is uncertain and ongoing since both The State of New York and ‘The City of New York have failed to provide for necessary medical and psychiatric treatment for the claimant, Erika Menendez. 12, This Claim is served and filed within 90 days of accrual. 13, By reason of the foregoing, the Claimants were damaged in the amount of Two Million and 00/100 ($2,000,000.00) Dollars, together with pre-judgmont interest and the costs and disbursements of this claim, and the Claimants demand judgment against the defendant for the aforesaid amount. Dated: Garden New York July. 23" 2015 W OFFICES OF THOMAS F. LIOTTL, LLC By: Thomas F. Liotti, Esq. Attorneys for Claimants 600 Old Country Road, Suite 530 Garden City, New York 11530 Telephone: (516) 794-4700 Fax: (516) 794-2816 ERIKA MENENDEZ f Claimant fhe Y ase 4 Ae agenT Meat ale Md er, ERIKA MENENDEZ, by her gent MARICELA MERA % CAP MARICELA MERA, individuallySTATE OF NEW YORK Defendant c/o New York State Attorney Generals Office 200 Old Country Road, Suite 460 Mineola, New York 11501-3702 (G16) 248-3362 STATE OF NEW YORK OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH Defendant c/o New York State Attorney General’s Office 200 Gld Country Road, Suite 460 Mineola, New York 11501-3702 616) 248-3302 Eluburst Hospital Center Defendant 79-01 Broadway Ehnhurst, New York 11373 Creedmore Psychiatrie Center Defendant 79-25 Winchester Boulevard Quicons Village, New York 11427 Assertive Community Treatment Center at Creedmore Psychiatric Center Defendant 79-28 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, New York 11427 Federation of Organizations Defendant 105-01 101" Avenue Ozone Park, New York 11416 Dr. Adam Karpati, Director of Community Services Department of Psychiatry and Mental Hygiene of The City of New York Defendant c/o Ehnhurst Hospital Center 79-01 Broadway Elnhurst, New York 11373TO: Dr. Charles Barron, Director of Psychiatry Whahurst Hospital Center Defendant 79-01 Brosdway Elmhurst, New York 11373 ‘The City of New York Defendant clo Office of the Comptroller Municipal Building - Room 1225 1 Centre Street New York, New York 10007INDIVIDUAL VERIFICATION STATE OF __NEW YORK ) ss. COUNTY OF _NASsaU ) MARICELA MERA, being duly sworn, deposes and says that deponent is a claimant and the mother/agent/attorney-in-fact for the claimant, Erika Menendez, in the within action; that I have read the foregoing Claim and know the contents thereof; that the same is true to deponent’s own knowledge, except as to the matters therein stated to be alleged on information and belief, and that as to those matters deponent believes it to be true. fh Yl ha gal Morale MARICELA MERA. Leth [ene MARICELA MERA, individually ‘Sworn to before me this THOMAS F LOTTE Notary Pubitc, Sa 21 Naw York Mo. 0311 Suan Rassas County ‘Commission Expires Sept. 23, 20 bf.Exhibit AShe New York Cimes December 30, 2012 Troubled Past for Suspect in Fatal Subway Push By MARC SANTORA and ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS Long before Exika Menendez, was charged with pushing a stranger to his death under an oncoming train at a Queeris elevated station, she had years of contact with New York City’s mental health and law enforcement establishments, She was treated by the psychiatric stafis of at least two city hospitals, and caseworkers visited her family home in Queens to provide further help. She was also arrested at least three times, according to the police, twice after violent confrontations. Ms. Menendez's years of inner and outer turmoil culminated in the deadly assault on an ‘unsuspecting man who was waiting for a train on Thureday. Beyond stirving fear among riders on crowded platforms across the city, the attack also raised new questions about the safeguards in a patchwork private and publie mental health system that is supposed to allow mentally ill people to live as freely as possible in the community while protecting them and the public. Asimilar attack more than a decade ago led to a law aimed at forcing mentally ill people with a history of violence to undergo treatment, but itis widely acknowledged to eover only a small portion of those who need help. D. J. daffo, the executive director of the Mental [ness Policy Organization, an advocacy sroup, said that thousands of troubled individuals with violent histories were released from mental health facilities, and that beyond requiring that they have a home to go to and an outpatient care plan in place, there was little oversight of their activities, “No one monitors if they are taking their medication,” Mr, Jaffe said. “Or follows up to see if they are a danger to themselves or others.” The case of Ms, Menendez, 31, puts renewed attention on a mental health system thet is a Joose amalgam of hospitals, supported housing, shelters and other advocacy and support groups, in which mentally ill people often bounee from one to the other and ultimately fall through the cracks. It is not known precisely where she fit in, City officials said it would be misleading to conclude that anyone was at fault in her treatment, 10/25/2013 2:18 PMoa BEE Ce eee Eee ee eee eee eee ee oe eee eee eee ones eae en Health and Hospitals Corporation, which runs Bellevue and Elmhurst Hospital Centers, said ‘Sunday. Ms. Menendez had been treated at both hospitals, according to friends and law enforcement officials, Ms. Marengo declined to confirm or deny whether Ms. Menendez had been treated at either hospital, citing confidentiality rules, but said that patients who were treated at city hospitals often were discharged into the care of outpatient mental health providers. There were ample warnings over the years concerning Ms, Menendez, In 2003, according to the police, she attacked another stranger, Daniel Conlisk, a retired firefighter, as he took out his garbage in Queens, “I was covered with blood,” Mr. Conlisk recalled on Sunday. “She was screaming the whole time.’ Just two months earlier, Ms. Menendez was accused of hitting and scratching another man in Queens, She was also arrested on cocaine possession charges the same year, Since then, according to friends and people familiar with her record, she has been cared for at mental health facilities in Manhattan and Queens as her problems worsened. Between 2005 and February this year, the police responded five times to calls from relatives reporting difficulties in dealing with Ms, Menendez, reportedly stemming from her failure to take certain medication, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to speak publicly about her medical history. In one of these instances, in 2010, she threw a radio at one of the responding officers, the official said. “She has been in and out of institutions,” another law enforcement official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Within the past year, she was discharged from Bellevue, according to a person with knowledge of her medical history. An attendant at the psychiatric ward at Elmhurst Hospital Center declined to go into detail about Ms. Menendev’s treatment there, but said that “all I can tell you is we know her very well.” Ms. Menendez is being charged with murder as a hate crime and, if convicted, faces a possible sentence of life in prison. 10/25/2013 2:18 PDA eee AGE WHA @ Date crime was based on statements she gave to the police after her arrest on Saturday, when she claimed she attacked the victim, Sunando Sen, 46, because she hated Muslims and Hindus, Mr. Sen was born in India and, according to a roommate, was raised Hindu, A family friend who identified himself only as Mike said Ms. Menendez was nota racist. But he acknowledged her troubled mental history and calls to the police regarding her behavior, He said she was supposed to be monitored as part of an outpatient program for the mentally ill run by Elmhurst, “We had someone come to the house, spend six minutes, asked how she was doing, giving medication,” he said by telephone. “I used to tell them, ‘Listen, she’s not home,’ And then they would come back the next week. They’d leave you the medication and come back in the next week,” The exact nature of what Ms, Menendez was being treated for could not be learned, It was also unclear if she was currently on medication or had lapsed in her treatment, When she was arraigned on Saturday night, the judge ordered that she be held without bail and undergo a psychiatric evaluation, The attack, which occurred at the goth Street-Lowery Street station in Sunnyside, was the second time in less than a month that a commuter was pushed to his death at a New York City subway station, In the first case, Ki-Suck Han, 58, of Ehnburst, Queens, died under the Q train at the goth Strect and Seventh Avenue station on Dee, 3, Naeem Davis, 30, was charged with second- degree murder in that case. Both attacks are reminiscent of two strikingly similar subway attacks that occurred in 1999 and galvanized the city. 1m the attack with the most lasting effect, Andrew Goldstein pushed Kendra Webdale, 32, into the path of an N train at the 2grd Street station that January, killing lier. ‘The death of Ms, Webdale, a journalist and photographer who had moved to the city from Buffalo, unnerved New Yorkers who had come to think of their city as the safest it had been inyears, Mr. Goldstein was convicted of second-degree murder, a decision that was overturned. But he ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Although he stopped taking medication for 10/25/2013 2:18 PMEEE IEEE AOOSSESS ODL LAG TOL COMVINCE B JULY. .¢ ‘Yet in the outrage after Ms. Webdale’s death, the State Legislature passed Kendra’s Law, which allows judges to order closely supervised outpatient treatment for mentally ill patients who had a history of refusing to take their medication and who had been put in jail or hospitalized repeatedly or become violent, The latest attacks show the flaws in the system, according to some advocates for the mentally ill, “Ifyou are involuntarily committed, onee you are no longer dangerous, you are discharged,” Mr, Jaffe said. Ms. Menendez often stayed in Rego Park, Queens, with her mother and stepfather in their 14-story apartment building, That was the address where family friends said she was visited by outpatient mental health workers from Elmhurst hospital. When she was arrested in 2003, she was staying in Ridgewood, Queens. Inn interview, Mr. Conlisk, now 65, said he had never seen her before the confrontation, He said she approached him from behind, screaming and accusing him of sleeping with her mother, “She goes into a boxer's stance, and then she punches my face,” he said, He pressed charges and had a restraining order against her for a year, he added, but never saw her again, “I think I would have been dead if she had a weapon,” he said, Reporting was contributed by Daniel Krieger, Michael Schwirtz, Julie Turkewitz and Benjamin Weiser. 10/25/2013 2:18 PM.