South Carolina Nursing Home Blog : South Carolina Nursing Home Lawyer & Attorney : Poliakoff & Associates Law Firm : Elderly Care, Senior Care

The Orange County Register reported the jury verdcit in conservative Orange County of $3.1 million to Barbara Lefforge who suffered a brain-damaging morphine overdose at St. Edna skilled nursing home.   Lefforge went to St. Edna on Sept. 17, 2007, to recuperate from tendon repair surgery.  Her doctor, Kobayashi, mistakenly recommended 50 mg of morphine for pain instead of 50 mg of Demerol.  The mistake clearly should have been caught by staff at St. Edna's. The pharmacist warned that the dosage was too high.  But nurses at the facility, unable to immediately retrieve the full dose, obtained 30 mg from an office emergency kit and gave it to Lefforge.  The woman suffered an overdose but was not monitored or taken to the hospital until the next morning, causing brain injury.

St. Edna Subacute & Rehabilitation Center is one of 25 homes in California owned by Covenant Care.  After two days of deliberation, the jury found that St. Edna was 90 percent responsible for the damages and Kobayashi was 10 percent responsible. Jurors awarded Lefforge $2 million for pain and suffering and $1.1 million in medical costs, Wacker said.  The unanimous jury also awarded punitive damages -- which will be set on Tuesday --who was barely at the hospital 5 1/2 hours when the overdose occurred.

Covenant Care facilities are among hundreds of California skilled nursing centers that received $880 million in additional compensation from the state since 2004 to increase staffing and wages at homes that serve Medi-Cal patients. An analysis by the non-profit newsroom California Watch found 232 of those homes statewide slashed staff and let nursing ratios fall below the state minimum.  St. Edna and 12 other homes in the Aliso Viejo-based Covenant Care chain stood out: they accepted $15 million in additional compensation from the state -- but still cut caregivers.

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The Patriot Ledger reported a recent $508,000 verdict against Kindred in Massachusetts by the great trial attorney David Hoey.  The case involved a 93 year old John J. Donahue, a former patient at Brockton’s Embassy Rehabilitation and Health Center.   He was hit in the eye with the cradle bar of the Hoyer Lift. The CNA was not properly trained and was using the lift by herself when it required two people. The facility waited 18 hours before they sent him to hospital where as a result of the damage to his eye it had to be removed.  Donahue died 47 days later, but the jury did not find that the injury contributed to his death.

A Brockton Superior Court civil jury ordered Kindred Healthcare to pay the damages to Marlene Owens.  Donahue’s eye was crushed iwhen he was struck by a piece of a Hoyer lift, a device designed to help injured or disabled people move between their beds and chairs.

Donahue had suffered a debilitating stroke and required assistance moving back and forth from his chair and bed, said Hoey, who has specialized in nursing-home cases for 14 years.

 Considering their recent financial returns, Kindred should have no problem paying the verdict.  Consolidated revenues rose 1% to $1.1 billion.  Each operating division reported revenue growth compared to last year.  See article here.

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Aboutlawsuits.com had a good summary of the recent Pennsylvania case that held that nursing homes can be held corporately liable for injuries caused by substandard care.  The Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned a lower court verdict, ruling that Grane Healthcare, which owns Highland Park Care Center, can be held liable for the 2004 death of one of their residents. The case stems from a lawsuit filed by the son of Madeline Scampone, who died from a heart attack after suffering from a urinary tract infection,untreated bedsores, malnutrition, and dehydration while in the nursing home home.

Key to the case was the fact that the nursing home was chronically understaffed, which the panel of judges said expressly showed failing on the part of the management company.   Witnesses testified on Scampone’s behalf that the nursing home was chronically understaffed, and said that the company would temporarily boost staffing levels when an inspection was scheduled and then immediately return to its understaffed state after the inspection was over. They also testified that nursing home staff altered medical records to hide substandard care.

The panel unanimously ruled that a nursing home has the same responsibility and liability for its residents as a hospital has for its patients, indicating that the evidence suggested the management company and nursing home staff acted with reckless disregard for residents and made nursing home abuse and neglect more likely.

“Corporate negligence as a basis for liability is supported as a cause of action against Grane because it was the entity that managed all aspects of the operation of the nursing facility,” Supreme Court Judge Mary Jane Bowes wrote in the opinion. “Grane had assumed the responsibility of a comprehensive health center, arranging and coordinating the total health care of the nursing facility residents.”

The Superior Court determined that not only could the company be held responsible for compensation, but that a jury could determine it should suffer punitive damages as well. The lower court had ruled that there was insufficient evidence for punitive damages.

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Congratulations to Jay Reinan who recieved a verdict and an Order allowing for punitive damages against SavaSeniorCare et al.  The case is Reigel v. SavaSeniorCare L.L.C and related companies.

On the claim of wrongful death, the jury awarded Plaintiff $75,000.00 in compensatory losses and $150,000.00 in punitive damages, for a total wrongful death verdict of $225,000.00. After reducing the punitive damages to the amount of the compensatory damages pursuant to the Court’s Order of June 16, 2010, the total wrongful death award is $150,000.00.  Total interest on the wrongful death claim is $51,151.71. The total judgment on the wrongful death claim is $201,151.71.

As to the extreme and outrageous conduct claim, the jury awarded $125,000.00 in compensatory damages and $100,000.00 in punitive damages.  Three years, four months and 24 days of pre-judgment interest on $225,000.00 at 9.0% per annum, compounded annually equals $76,727.56. The total judgment on the extreme and outrageous conduct claim is $301,727.56.

Total judgment in favor of the Plaintiff and against all Defendants shall enter in the amount of $502,879.26.

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Juanita Jackson became a resident of IHS of Florida, Auburndale, in March 2003 for short term rehabilitation. Her family planned for her to regain her strength so her children could resume caring for her at home.  Trans Healthcare Inc. and Trans Healthcare Management operated the nursing home at that time.  These companies are part of the corporate maze of sham LLCs that were created by Murray Forman and Leonard Grunstein and others to shield them from accountability.  The company is now known as Auburndale Oaks Healthcare Center.

Ms. Jackson was at risk for falls, but the facility did not take proper preventative measures to ensure she would be safe from falls. Within two weeks of her admission, she fell. She suffered a closed head trauma and fractured her upper arm, which she never fully recovered from. Due to short staffing Ms. Jackson didn't get turned enough and developed numerous pressure ulcers. They didn't give her enough to eat and drink, causing her to become malnourished and dehydrated. She was also overmedicated during her stay. Ms. Jackson was left to lie in bed so long that she developed contractures, where the muscles shrivel up, making movement even more difficult. Ms Jackson's family removed her from the nursing home in May 2003, but she died several weeks later.

Suit was filed July 2004. In May 2009, Plaintiff's Motion to Amend to Add Claim for Punitive Damages was granted. After years of delay and obstruction from the corporate defense lawyers causing unnecessary litigation costs, and days before a Pre-Trial Conference, defense counsel moved to withdraw from the case. In June the Court allowed defense counsel to withdraw.  Defendants chose not to hire counsel for trial.  The insurance money probably ran out--why else would they abandon the case after defending it for years? 

Later, Defendants declined to defend themselves, and accepted default as to liability.  The only issue at trial was the amount to compensate the family and punish the corporate owners who mismanaged the facility.  The owners have probably bled all the assets out of the companies--where did all the money go?

Lance Reins and Blair Mendes of Wilkes & McHugh tried the matter for two days before a Polk County, Florida jury and presented live testimony from three former employees, the family and a physician expert. The jury entered a $114 million verdict with Trans Health Management, Inc. and Trans Healthcare, Inc. each bearing 50% liability. The Plaintiffs elected damages in accordance with Florida law which reduced the award to $110 million.

The verdict is believed to be the largest awarded by a Polk County jury and followed allegations that Jackson’s treatment at the facility was the cause of her death and that she was injured after falling and then received other injuries from “pressure sores, overmedication, malnourishment, and dehydration,” said The Ledger.

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The Sacramento Bee reported a $29 million nursing home abuse and neglect verdict upheld by the Court in California.  A Sacramento Superior Court judge upheld a $29 million verdict against Horizon West Healthcare in the 2005 death of a resident, Frances Tanner.  The case revolved around the last months in the life of Tanner, 79, a retired public servant who worked for agencies including the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service. Tanner had mild dementia when she moved into Colonial Healthcare. Seven months later, after a fall that resulted in a hip fracture that went undiagnosed for days, she was dead of an infected bed sore.

Judge Candee said "overwhelming" and "devastatingly powerful" evidence in the trial in May supported the jury's verdict and damage awards against Horizon, which owns 33 nursing homes.  The judge called the trial "a classic demonstration of how well the jury system works."  Candee said panel members were unimpressed by the testimony of staffers of Colonial Healthcare in Auburn, one of Horizon's facilities, who came across as "overworked, untrained and uncaring."

Testimony proved that Horizon West Healthcare illegally understaffs its facilities and runs its business "based, time and again, predominantly on a concern for the bottom line" instead of compassionate patient care, Candee wrote. He said the jury clearly intended to "discourage future wrongful conduct" in awarding $28 million in punitive damages.

The jury ruled that Horizon and Colonial committed elder abuse and awarded $1.1 million in damages for Tanner's pain and suffering and for her daughter's loss of companionship. A day later, after hearing evidence about the corporation's finances including its net worth of about $200 million, the panel made the $28 million punitive award.

Candee reduced the pain and suffering damages to $800,000. Including $1.2 million in attorney's fees, the total judgment is for $29.1 million, believed to be the largest ever for an elder abuse case in Sacramento County.

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NewsInferno reported the recent (historic) verdict against Skilled Healthcare for insufficient staffing at assisted living and nursing homes in California.  The class action jury award of $671 million was a result of Shilled Healthcare's failure to provide reasonable and appropriate staffing.   The complaint involves the time from 2003 to 2009 and 32,000 patients at 22 facilities.

The civil trial began over seven months ago and revolved around the violation of a California statute that calls for 3.2 nursing hours per each patient every day.   A 2000 state law determined that nursing homes must provide 3 hours and 12 minutes of direct care per day to each patient.

Skilled Healthcare confirmed that $613 million were mandated in statutory damages and $58 million in damages for restitution.  Michael Thamer, a Callahan, Calif. attorney, said in an interview that the statutory damages are meant to refund care for each patient on each day the Skilled Healthcare Group’s 22 California nursing homes failed to meet state staffing minimums.

Thamer said the jury determined that the chain had engaged in “oppression, fraud or malice” in violating state staffing standards. He said the case was meant to underscore the importance of following state nursing home staffing laws, “because the consequences are so profound when they are not.”

Thamer, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, said he and other lawyers succeeded in getting 250,000 pages of internal company e-mails, some of which were used as evidence in the case. He said one administrator told corporate that understaffing was “playing with fire.”

An injunction could be issued ordering Skilled Healthcare to maintain compliance with legal staffing levels. Skilled Healthcare employs about 14,000 staff, operates in seven states, and is one of this country’s largest nursing home chains with 78 facilities.

California Watch also had an article.  California Watch reported in April that nursing homes saw an $880 million increase in reimbursement from 2004 to 2008, even as scores of homes trimmed staffing levels.  See article from L.A. Times here.

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Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org and performs research surrounding online colleges and education. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Hillcrest Nursing Home Resident, Grace Fugate, Wins Seven Million Dollar Lawsuit

In 2004, Grace Fugate had undergone a knee replacement and was recuperating at Hillcrest Nursing Home. When she used to call button to ask for assistance walking to the restroom, a nursing assistant told her , “Do it yourself,” and “Get over yourself”. She was then left alone, and nobody would respond to her calls for help. Her call button was intentionally left out of reach. As she tried to walk to the bathroom without assistance, she fell and her stitches burst open. When they found her passed out on the floor, she had nearly died from the blood loss. The hospital staff was forced to amputate her leg (http://www.sentinel-echo.com/local/x383290652/Woman-awarded-7-million-in-court-case).

Legal action.

Represented by Annette Morgan from Morgan & White Law Firm, Grace took on Hillcrest Nursing Home for their role in her accident. Ginda Rogers, the nursing assistant who refused help, could not be found for seven years. This stalled the investigation and the ensuing lawsuit. When the case came to trial, Grace was too ill to personally attend. She suffers from ongoing infections.

When the case was decided two weeks ago, the award totaled to nearly seven million dollars. Although Hillcrest Nursing Home has thirty days to appeal, it is unlikely they will overturn the ruling. Grace intends to use the award to finance home care for the remainder of her life. Thanks to the efforts of Morgan & White Law Firm, she will be able to do just that.

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The Toldeo Blade reported a significant verdict in a recent nursing home trial in Michigan.  The family of Burr Needham,  who died in 2002 of a morphine overdose while undergoing physical therapy at Mercy Memorial Nursing Center, has been compensated $4.85 million by a jury aftera three-week trial with the jury finding that a doctor and nurses were negligent.

Mr. Needham's family filed a civil lawsuit in 2005 against the home, contending that Dr. Arun Gupta and five nurses were responsible for the overdose of the painkiller administered to Mr. Needham after he entered the center April 26, 2002. 

The Wayne County medical examiner said the May 2, 2002, death of Mr. Needham was caused by acute morphine intoxication and ruled his death a homicide. The jury determined that nursing home staff were professionally negligent in the care and treatment of the 76-year-old man.

Court records showed that the jury awarded $3 million of the judgement to Mrs. Needham for the noneconomic loss of society and companionship she experienced in the loss of her husband. 
The panel decided that Mr. Needham should get $1.5 million for the pain and suffering he experienced in the nursing home. The remaining $350,000 was awarded to the family to pay for damages that Mrs. Needham incurred, including burial costs and the loss of gifts and valuables she would have received until her death on Oct. 24, 2007.

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WKYT News reported on the verdict of a nursing home negligence trial in Kentucky.  The jury determined that an aide at the Hillcrest Center was responsible for abusing resident Grace Fugate.   Fugate sued Hillcrest Nursing Home claiming an act of negligence changed her life forever.

She moved into the nursing home in July 2003 for short term rehab and recover from knee surgery. But on August 9th, when she needed help going to the restroom, the aide came in and  told Grace she knew she could transfer herself, that she was ‘busy, she had other things to do, get up and get to the potty.  Grace eventually attempted to move and reach the restroom herself. Her still mending knee could not handle the strain, however, and she ended up falling. 

She eventually lost so much blood after the fall that she had to be resuscitated at a local hospital. Fugate then fell and damaged her knee even worse.  The injury was so bad that 6 years later she lost her entire leg.  The aide that refused to help her get to the bathroom was uncertified and showed a history of poor work habits.

A Laurel Circuit Court jury agreed with Fugate and compensated her more than $7 million in damages.  Fugate wants to hire a nurse and move into a private home.

See article here.
 

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