$250,000 Settlement in Veteran’s Death

The state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs agreed to pay $250,000 to settle the negligence and wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a retired Philadelphia police officer, Harold C. Chapman, who froze to death after wandering from a state veterans home. Attorney Ezra Wohlgelernter handled the case for the Chapman family.

Chapman, 75, who suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, wandered away from the Delaware Valley Veterans Home at 5:30 p.m. December 31, 2007. Court records show a surveillance camera recorded Chapman walking unnoticed past a security desk, wearing pajamas. Settlement papers show most of the money will go to the estate of Harold C. Chapman, Jr. and his two daughters.