The family of Jonathan Carey, an autistic teen who was killed by a worker from the O.D Heck facility for the disabled while another worker looked on, settled two wrongful death lawsuits for $5 million.



“Our son Jonathan was a precious gift from the Lord, and we miss him every day,” said Michael and Lisa Carey, Jonathan’s parents in a statement. “Nothing can bring Jonathan back, but we hope his case will be a catalyst for further necessary reform to protect vulnerable, disabled children and adults.”



On Feb. 15, 2007 Jonathan Carey was asphyxiated by what police said was an improper hold by worker Edwin Tirado while Nadeem Mall did nothing to prevent the incident. Mall pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in July of 2007, and in October of that year Tirado was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter after a trial in Albany County Court and sentenced to five to 15 years in prison.



The Careys brought the lawsuits against Tirado, Mall and more than a dozen administrators and employees at the Niskayuna center. It alleged that policies there as well as their failure to address previous incidents led to the 13-year-old’s death including the fact Tirado worked 197 hours in the two weeks prior to the killing, Torado abused Jonathan on three other occasions and that the two were inadequately trained to deal with autistic children.



Furthermore, the lawsuit claimed that neither employee should ever have been hired by the state because Tirado had a prior criminal record, and Mall had been fired four times for cause by agencies serving the disabled.



“This settlement brings some measure of accountability from the State of New York for this terrible tragedy, but much more must be done,” said the family’s lawyer, Ilann M. Maazel. “We remain deeply concerned about systemic problems plaguing New York State’s care for the disabled, and will continue to advocate for disabled people in state care until this system is dramatically reformed.”



After Jonathan’s death, the Careys started the Jonathan Carey Foundation, the goal of which is “to help other vulnerable children, and to help prevent other children from suffering abuse and neglect like Jonathan suffered.”