$1.25 million verdict in Georgia pressure ulcer case
Melvin Raybon died in pain four years ago, and a DeKalb County jury agreed that the cause of his suffering was neglect at the Tucker nursing home where he lived for nine months. The jury compensated Raybon’s daughter $1.25 million for the pain and suffering her father felt the last year of his life.
The nursing home provided inadequate care and attention to Raybon. He was admitted in 2002 when he turned 67. Nine months later, he had to go to a hospital for treatment of a bed sore that infected his left buttock to the bone. Nursing assistants from the nursing home testified there weren’t enough staff to provide adequate care to Raybon. The staff neglected him by failing to follow standard protocol of turning and repositioning him every two hours which is necessary to prevent and treat his pressure ulcers.
Raybon also suffered from malnutrition as a result of the infection, which sent his body into a death spiral that led to more bed sores and infections and finally his death in June 2004.
Kindred Healthcare was the company that owned the nursing home at the time. The facility was sold to a new owner last year.
