Nursing Home Wrongful Death

We are proud to announce that Ilana Waxman, Managing Partner at Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman, has been appointed president of the Hawaii State Bar Foundation. This prestigious role recognizes Ilana’s long-standing commitment to justice, community service, and professional leadership within Hawaii’s legal community. A Respected Advocate for Civil Justice Ilana, who was born and raised on Maui, has built her career representing Hawaii residents in complex injury litigation. Under her leadership, Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman has taken on powerful interests to secure justice for individuals harmed by asbestos exposure, toxic pesticides, and institutional failures in protecting children. Most recently, Ilana and our team have been at the forefront of efforts to support victims of the devastating Maui wildfires in 2023.

More than 40 years since a vermiculite-processing facility near the Honolulu airport was shuttered over concerns about asbestos contamination, harmful vermiculite and asbestiform tremolite residue remains in the soil placing nearby Honolulu residents at risk. Hawai’i factory’s troubled history For decades, the facility known as the Vermiculite of Hawai’i Plant operated near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport processing vermiculite shipped from a Libby, Montana, mine operated by W.R. Grace & Co. The plant used an exfoliation process that released asbestos particles into the air. Although the Hawai’i facility closed in 1983 and remediation was performed in 2001, a new study confirms that dangerous levels of vermiculite and asbestiform tremolite remain. As asbestos and fibrous particles can persist in soil and air for years, the risk to nearby residents remains.  

Victims of sexual abuse at juvenile detention centers are increasingly sounding the alarm, exposing lax management and security practices that have placed vulnerable young people in danger. Lawsuits in states including Oregon, Illinois, Washington, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, California and New York detail sexual abuse in state- and county-run juvenile detention centers that include allegations of rape, forced oral sex and beatings by corrections officers, nurses, kitchen staff, chaplains and others. In Illinois, 667 people have alleged they were sexually abused as children at youth facilities in Illinois through lawsuits filed since May. The most recent Illinois complaints detail alleged abuse from 1996 to 2021 from the accounts of 272 people who were in state-run youth juvenile detention facilities and a county-run Chicago center.

Treating troubled teens has become a growth industry even as reports of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of young offenders participating in these programs have become more widespread. A Troubled History  Many trace the beginnings of the troubled teen industry to a 1950s organization called Synanon, which was a drug rehabilitation program that involved no doctors. One of the methods included a game that used verbal abuse to help drug addicts take responsibility for their part in their addiction. Over time, the game also began to involve physical abuse. Other groups began to take on this “tough love” approach to helping at-risk teens. These approaches were explored on TV talk shows and even in a 1985 TV movie called Toughlove.

Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration with a 1987 presidential proclamation. The law passed by Congress marked the month of March with observances to honor the achievements of American women in a variety of fields, including the law. This year, we are celebrating Women’s History Month with a virtual roundtable of female attorneys at Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman discussing their experiences in the field of law. This year, attorneys that work in a variety of practice areas in our firm shared their insights. Participants included Allison Aoki and Victoria Chang.