13 August,2009 09:57 AM IST | | Agencies
The family of the first fatal swine flu victim in New York has filed papers in court with the intention of suing the local government for $40 million, news reports said on Wednesday.
Assistant Principal Mitch Wiener at a Queens school succumbed to the influenza virus H1N1 in May, the first death, while several schools in New York City were ordered closed to prevent a further spread of the disease that struck mostly young children.
The CBS television network said Wiener's wife and three sons plan to sue City Hall and its health and education departments for not taking faster steps in closing more schools.
CBS said the lawsuit claimed City Hall was negligent in failing to quickly report the influenza outbreak and failing to warn Wiener that he had been exposed to the H1N1 virus.
"The city didn't do anything wrong," CBS quoted Mayor Michael Bloomberg as saying. Bloomberg said the city had the obligation to keep schools open and he was sorry that Wiener died.
