Appeals court upholds ruling in child’s death

By: Associated Press//May 7, 2015//

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — An appeals court says a judge properly ruled against a Deerfield couple who sued a nursing home claiming a painkiller patch their child found there killed him.

Brian and Melissa Seamonson and their 2-year-old son, Blake, visited Blake’s great-grandmother at the Nazareth Health and Rehabilitation Center in 2011. The couple discovered Blake dead in bed two days later.

An autopsy found Blake died from ingesting a fentanyl patch. The couple sued, alleging Blake found the patch at the home, amounting to infliction of emotional distress.

A Madison judge ruled for the home last year. The 4th District Court of Appeals upheld that decision Thursday, saying the couple had to witness Blake’s death soon after it occurred to prevail and it’s unclear how much time passed before they found the body.

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