Nursing Home Directed to Pay $29 Million for Patient's Death
A jury ruled against a California nursing home company and ordered it to pay over twenty-nine million dollars to the family of an elderly resident who died while under its care. According to a Sacramento Bee report, the jury ruled that the nursing home had committed elder abuse. They found that the resident’s daughter was entitled to over one million dollars for the victim’s pain and suffering and for the loss of her mother’s companionship. After the jurors were told that the nursing home company was worth about two hundred million dollars, they awarded twenty-eight million dollars in punitive damages. The punitive damage award was by far the largest elder abuse award in the area’s history.
The deceased had mild dementia when she moved into a nursing home in Auburn, California in 2005. Seven months later, she had a fall that broke her hip. The hip break was not diagnosed for days, and she died of an infected bed sore. This was the fourth incident in which the home was cited for the death of a resident.
The plaintiff argued that the nursing home was purposely without sufficient staff members and therefore provided substandard care. The defense claimed that it took good care of the patient and that the sore that killed her happened after she was transferred to a hospital for surgery on her hip.
Nursing home neglect and abuse is tragic and unfortunately occurs throughout the United States. If you or someone you care about has been a victim of nursing home abuse in Missouri, you need to protect your rights or the rights of your loved one. Contact the experienced Missouri nursing home abuse attorneys at Page Law by calling 314-322-8515 to learn more. We can help.
