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

The children of 94-year-old Alice Limbrick claim their mother's legs had to be amputated  because of negligent care during her stay at the Green Acres Parkdale nursing home.

The trial of Roy Limbrick vs. Mariner Health Care Inc. (Green Acres) began Jan. 23.  The defense will attempt to convince the jury that the amputating Alice Limbrick's legs had to be taken because of Alice's medical conditions and old age.

Alice Limbrick was admitted to Green Acres for long-term care with multiple health problems.  During her residency, Alice fell fracturing her left hip.

The plaintiffs say Limbrick was admitted to the hospital as a result of the preventable fall where she developed pressure ulcers (bed sores) and eight blisters on both heels and left leg. She was in stable condition and was discharged back to Green Acres.

A week later, she was readmitted to the hospital with gangrene on both heels.   The decubitus ulcers to her heels and left leg continued to deteriorate.  Limbrick's legs were amputated below her knees. 

In the suit, the plaintiffs allege that Green Acres' nurses were negligent in the following ways:

Failing to properly monitor, treat and care for the decubitus ulcers, which progressed and worsened while Alice was a resident;

Failing to properly assess Alice's risk level in the progression of pressure ulcers;

Failing to prevent the progression of Alice's decubitus ulcers;

And by failing to prevent infection in Alice's decubitus ulcers.

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Spectrum News has an article discussing a study that shows elderly citizens to fear nursing homes and loss of independence more than death. 

89% of America’s seniors want to age-in-place and are willing to use adaptive technology allowing them to maintain their independence, according to a study commissioned by Clarity and the EAR Foundation. The same study found that their boomer children share the same concerns and are willing to support their parent’s efforts. 

In a recent survey, seniors rated loss of independence (26 percent) and moving out of their home into a nursing home (13 percent) as their greatest fears. Death was listed as a fear by only 3 percent of the respondents.

Seniors cited three main threats to their independence. Health problems were the main consideration followed closely by memory problems and the inability to drive.   Most seniors stated an openness to new technologies that help them avoid nursing homes.

The children of seniors, today’s boomers, were also interviewed and their answers echoed the parental desires and concerns over aging in place and living independently.   The vast majority (94 percent) feel that it’s important their senior parents are able to age-in-place. More than three-fourths (79 percent) are concerned about their parents’ ability to do so, and more than half (57 percent) are very concerned.

Despite the boomers’ parents’ belief that they receive no support from their children, 63 percent of the boomers surveyed stated that they are providing some kind of assistance to allow their parents to age-in-place. Much of the assistance reportedly provided by boomers was with household maintenance, transportation, medical issues, help with financial decisions and financial support.

Surprisingly, senior parents appeared to be more open to aging-in-place technology than their boomer children. Only 14 percent of the tech-savvy boomers have actually looked into technological solutions to help them ensure the health and safety of their parents.

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After a 2 week trial in Hendersonville, North Carolina, the jury awarded $800,000.00 to the Plaintiff. Plaintiff was represented by Poliakoff & Associates of Spartanburg, South Carolina. The jury award was $200,000.00 for personal injury suffered by the decedent while a resident at Brian Center - Hendersonville, and $600,000.00 in punitive damages. The Brian Center - Hendersonville is a nursing home owned by SSC Hendersonville Operating Company, LLC which is a subsidiary of  SavaSeniorCare. The Defendant denied all liability, and vigorously defended the entire suit.

The Plaintiff argued that the decedent, Neal Hawkins, Jr., was identified by the Brian Center as being high risk for falls, but that the facility did little to address this problem in the care plan for the resident, and failed to revise the care plan on occasions when changes in his condition compelled such. Further, on February 11, 2005, Mr. Hawkins fell 3 times in one day at the facility, apparently fracturing his hip on the 3^rd fall. Plaintiff further argued that the nursing facility failed to properly assess the patient, failed to follow procedures, failed to follow doctor’s orders, and allowed Mr. Hawkins to remain in the facility in pain for 7 days following the fracture, until he was finally transferred to the hospital.

The Defendant denied that it was liable or responsible for the falls or any resulting injury, and argued that it followed appropriate procedures. On November 16, 2007, the jury awarded a total of $800,000.00 in actual and punitive damages.

Plaintiff’s experts were Dr. Jonathan Klein of Falls Church, Virginia; Janet White of Emporia, Virginia; and Katherine Johnson, of Orlando, Florida. The case was tried for the Plaintiff by lead counsel Gary W. Poliakoff, Raymond P. Mullman, Jr., and Lara Pettiss Harrill. Also participating were attorney Matt Yelverton and attorney Greg Newman, both of Hendersonville, North Carolina.

As of the time of writing of this entry, the Defendant has indicated a possibility of appeal.

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Chad Trammel and his team of nursing home lawyers did a great job in a difficult trial.  The multi chain (and infamous) Beverly Enterprises has been found negligent in the death of  resident and ordered to pay $1.4 million in compensatory damages.

After deliberating on Monday, the Ouachita County jury agreed on $875,000 in punitive damages in the case. The company was sued for the April 2005 death of Herman Johnson.

Johnson went into the nursing home March 18, 2005. Two weeks later, he was found unresponsive in his wheelchair in the dining room. Two nurses tried to revive Johnson before an ambulance took him to Ouachita County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. An examination of the body found bed sores and evidence of malnutrition and dehydration--clear signs of serious neglect.

The suit claimed the nursing home was insufficiently staffed to provide adequate care for Johnson. Lawyers for Beverly said Johnson's condition was due to long-term alcohol abuse and other chronic health problems, including anemia, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney failure. They say Johnson also had a history of refusing to take vitamins and medicine prescribed for him.

The trial began earlier this month, and the jury announced its decision Friday along with the award of compensatory damages. The jury found the defendants also had acted recklessly and had deprived Johnson of his rights as a resident of the home.

Beverly Healthcare is one of the nation’s largest nursing home chains. Over the course of the eight-day trial, the 12-person jury heard testimony from a variety of Beverly representatives, medical experts, and other witnesses. Among the documents displayed during the trial were internal Beverly e-mails referring to the company’s own nursing assistants as “trash” and “misfits” who posed a “hazard” to the residents. According to Beverly’s own officials, the company was not able to retain quality nursing assistants because it refused to raise its wages by $1.00 per hour.

The plaintiffs also introduced evidence showing that the company recently paid its executives $138 million in bonuses. Finally, the jury heard from Beverly Director of Operations David Mills, who took the stand and compared running a nursing home to owning an automobile dealership.

“This jury sent a powerful message to Beverly and all the other nursing-home mega-chains that neglect their residents in order to boost profits,” said Chad Trammell, a partner with Nix, Patterson & Roach and the attorney who represented the plaintiffs. “The people they are abusing are our mothers, our fathers, and our grandparents. These companies have a duty to care for their residents, and that duty is more important than maximizing shareholder return and paying out huge executive bonuses.” 

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