Why Manadatory Insurance is necessary
Court Hands Down Decision in Sevier County Nursing Home Case
A Court in Sevier County, Arkansas decided today (April 17, 2009) that a family deserved $7 million for the neglect and wrongful death of its patriarch. It was a record judgment for the county - the previous high was believed to be $1 million -but the family likely will never see any of the money.
John W. Minor, an 87-year-old DeQueen man, died after officials at a local nursing home neglected him to the point where his body was covered with 35 bedsores. The sores, many in advanced stages and infected, made it impossible to embalm his body when Minor passed away.
Minor's family, including a wife, step-daughters and grandson, filed a lawsuit against the nursing home, Sevier Healthcare Inc., and its management company, Regional Management Inc., for negligence, violation of the Arkansas Long Term Care Resident's Rights Statute, and wrongful death.
The suit details how Minor also suffered from severe malnutrition, multiple urinary tract infections, pneumonia, severe dehydration leading to kidney failure caused by the neglect at the nursing home. The injuries, "caused John W. Minor to lose his personal dignity and caused him to suffer extreme and unnecessary pain, degradation, anguish, otherwise unnecessary hospitalizations, emotional trauma, and death," according to the suit.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants, among many other things, tried to maximize profits by reducing staffing levels below what was needed to provide adequate care to residents. They failed to provide adequate care for Minor, to the point where their actions were "grossly negligent, willful and wanton, outrageous, reckless, malicious," according to the suit.
The family sought compensatory and punitive damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of life, and funeral expenses.
In a hearing today (April 17, 2009), the court, after hearing testimony from Minor's family, ruled for $3.5 million in compensatory damages and $3.5 million in punitive damages.
It is unlikely the family will see any of that money, because the former owner and director of both Sevier and Regional previously filed personal bankruptcy.
Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. attorneys and Minor's family learned this early in the litigation process, but saw the case through in an effort to bring awareness to the problem of nursing home abuse and neglect in the hopes of preventing others from receiving such horrific treatment, Priebe said.
The facility is still doing business under a new name and a new owner.
