3/14/2005
By: Sean Carroll
Pine City
Donald and Jane Rockwell are coming to grips with the death of their oldest son. Their son Donald fought a losing battle with Hepatitis A. “He could not speak, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t ring a bell, they really watched to make sure that he had pain medication whenever they thought he was in pain,” Jane Rockwell described her son’s time in the hospital.
At one point it looked as if Donald might pull through, before things got worse. Donald’s father remembers his son’s best days at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. “He was able to lift a hand off the bed and wave to his daughter, he was able to purse his lips and throw a kiss, he was able to smile.”
Rockwell and his family learned he’d contracted Hepatitis A about four months ago. “It was actually November 3rd, mom’s birthday,” Rockwell’s brother Tom recalled. “His son called and I think he said, ëgrandma come see what’s wrong with my dad.'”
In October a worker at Maple Lawn Dairy in the Town of Ashland was diagnosed with the disease. “There was at least a 3 week time lapse between the time that the worker at the restaurant was diagnosed and the time that the public was notified.”

In their investigation into 13 hepatitis-a cases late last year, the Chemung County Health Department concluded that all 13 people did have contact with the Maple Lawn Dairy Family Restaurant. However, there is no way to be 100% sure that all of those people contracted the illness from the restaurant. In December, a civil suit was filed in Chemung County Court on behalf of Donald Rockwell and two others who contracted Hepatitis A during October and November.
The suit claims the Chemung County Health Department failed to immediately investigate the first reported case of Hepatitis A. If the health department had acted sooner, Donald’s family says there’s a chance his death could’ve been prevented. “We just felt that had the public been notified sooner, Don could’ve gotten treatment earlier,” Tom Rockwell said. “The doctor said that treating him earlier definitely would’ve benefited him.”
The Rockwell family has no part in the lawsuit against the health department. The notice of claim, the first stage in filing a civil suit, was set in motion by a lawyer on behalf of Donald Rockwell and two others. The Chemung County Health Department cannot comment on the lawsuit. Maple Lawn Dairy has not been named in any lawsuit.