LevonP
12-29-2008, 12:52 PM
Stonington — Derek Berube of Pawcatuck had begun his apprenticeship as a custom sailmaker at Halsey-Lidgard Sailmakers in Old Mystic in 2005 when a sail tack came loose and embedded in his left eye.
The 21-year-old Berube was temporarily blinded and needed two surgeries to restore some of his sight. He was left with two-thirds of the vision in the eye and a blind spot in the center of it.
Because of the surgery, Berube's physician stopped the immunosuppressive medication he took to control his Crohn's disease. The Crohn's symptoms returned and Berube had to spend 19 days in the hospital where portions of his small intestine and bowels were removed. He also had a temporary ileostomy, a surgical procedure in which a portion of small intestine is connected to an external pouch.
The temporary blindness left Berube, who graduated with high honors from the American School for the Deaf in 2001, unable to read lips, which was his primary means of communication.
These factors caused him to suffer from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. He filed a workers' compensation claim, but the insurer, Hartford Fire Insurance Co., better known as The Hartford, denied his claim. On June 5, 2007, Berube committed suicide at his home. He was 24 years old. Two days later the state Workers' Compensation Commission found that Berube was entitled to workers' compensation and that the insurance company had unreasonably contested his claim of psychological injury.
These details are included in a lawsuit that Berube's estate filed this month against the insurance company in New London Superior Court.
The suit charges that The Hartford's conduct was “intended to inflict emotional distress upon Berube, and to cause him to drop his claim or to commit suicide.”
Among its many allegations, the suit also charges the Hartford “maliciously and intentionally” tried to use Berube's weakened medical and psychological condition to make him abandon his claim. It states he was also unable to receive treatment for post traumatic stress disorder due to the Hartford's refusal to accept his claim.
In Berube's obituary his family wrote that he especially loved composing music, playing his guitar and listening to Bob Dylan.
Derek's father, Danny, the administrator of the estate, said Sunday that his son had learned how to play guitar before he began to lose his hearing when he was 13. He was left with just 25 percent of his hearing but that could be improved to 60 percent with the use of digital hearing aids and Derek continued to play and write music. At the time of his death he was in the process of recording 12 songs he had recently written.
He had also restored a 1970 Chevy Nova to mint condition, an achievement he was especially proud of. He loved animals, especially Copper, his basset hound, who was always at his side.
John Pavano, an attorney from the New London firm of Faulkner & Boyce, is representing the estate but could not be reached for comment nor could Robinson & Cole, the firm that represents the insurance company. The Hartford did not respond to a request for comment.
The 21-year-old Berube was temporarily blinded and needed two surgeries to restore some of his sight. He was left with two-thirds of the vision in the eye and a blind spot in the center of it.
Because of the surgery, Berube's physician stopped the immunosuppressive medication he took to control his Crohn's disease. The Crohn's symptoms returned and Berube had to spend 19 days in the hospital where portions of his small intestine and bowels were removed. He also had a temporary ileostomy, a surgical procedure in which a portion of small intestine is connected to an external pouch.
The temporary blindness left Berube, who graduated with high honors from the American School for the Deaf in 2001, unable to read lips, which was his primary means of communication.
These factors caused him to suffer from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. He filed a workers' compensation claim, but the insurer, Hartford Fire Insurance Co., better known as The Hartford, denied his claim. On June 5, 2007, Berube committed suicide at his home. He was 24 years old. Two days later the state Workers' Compensation Commission found that Berube was entitled to workers' compensation and that the insurance company had unreasonably contested his claim of psychological injury.
These details are included in a lawsuit that Berube's estate filed this month against the insurance company in New London Superior Court.
The suit charges that The Hartford's conduct was “intended to inflict emotional distress upon Berube, and to cause him to drop his claim or to commit suicide.”
Among its many allegations, the suit also charges the Hartford “maliciously and intentionally” tried to use Berube's weakened medical and psychological condition to make him abandon his claim. It states he was also unable to receive treatment for post traumatic stress disorder due to the Hartford's refusal to accept his claim.
In Berube's obituary his family wrote that he especially loved composing music, playing his guitar and listening to Bob Dylan.
Derek's father, Danny, the administrator of the estate, said Sunday that his son had learned how to play guitar before he began to lose his hearing when he was 13. He was left with just 25 percent of his hearing but that could be improved to 60 percent with the use of digital hearing aids and Derek continued to play and write music. At the time of his death he was in the process of recording 12 songs he had recently written.
He had also restored a 1970 Chevy Nova to mint condition, an achievement he was especially proud of. He loved animals, especially Copper, his basset hound, who was always at his side.
John Pavano, an attorney from the New London firm of Faulkner & Boyce, is representing the estate but could not be reached for comment nor could Robinson & Cole, the firm that represents the insurance company. The Hartford did not respond to a request for comment.