Landmark Nursing Home Arbitration Award May Cause Facilities To Re-Evaluate Patient Care
One of the trends in nursing home litigation has been the inclusion of mandatory arbitration agreements in admission paperwork. By signing an arbitration agreement (usually unknowingly), nursing home patients may surrender their opportunity to recover money for an injury via a traditional jury trial. Alternatively, injured parties must present their grievances before an individual or group of arbitrators. The arbitration agreements set forth the terms of the arbitration and how many arbitrators will hear the matter. Generally, in the case of a single arbitrator, the individual is selected by the nursing home. In the case of an arbitration...
More
What is a surviving spouse entitled to in a wrongful death lawsuit against a nursing home?
Most states have enacted a specific cause of action for wrongful death lawsuit. For example, in Illinois, a surviving family spouse and/or family member is entitled to bring a lawsuit for the loss of the deceased services. Although no award can truly replace your loved one, you can be compensated for the loss of support and companionship that your spouse provided. Under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act (740 ILCS 180), a victim’s family members (next of kin - surviving spouse and children; parents and siblings can recover if there are no surviving spouse or children) can recover for damages...
More
Failure To Conduct Adequate Pre-Employment Criminal Background Search Costs Assisted Living Facilty $750,000
A jury awarded $750,000 to a disabled man who was a resident at Cote De Neige Home for Adults after he was sexually assaulted by a worker at the facility. The lawsuit was brought against the assisted living facility for their failure to conduct an adequate pre-hiring background search before hiring a certified nursing assistant. Junious Boyd Batten, the CNA who was allegedly involved in the sexual assault, currently faces five counts of forcible sodomy, three counts of carnal knowledge and one count of abuse and neglect for incidents that occurred between 2006 and mid-2007 while he was employed...
More
$29 Million Sought From Nursing Home In Case Involving Molestation Of Comatose Resident
The legal guardians of a a comatose nursing home resident who was molested by a licensed practical nurse at a Virginia facility have filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit against the facility in Norfolk Circuit Court. The lawsuit alleges officials at Chesapeake Health and Rehabilitation should have known the nurse, Mark S. Albright, was prone to to such behavior. The lawsuit seeks $29 million in damages. Police say another nursing home employee reported that Albright put his mouth on the victim's breast. In November, Albright pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery. Currently, he is serving six months in prison. ...
More
Dehydration Death Costs Nursing Home $6.5M
Sometimes I'm amazed by the number of preventable situations that develop in nursing homes due to a facilities failure to provide basic care. I mean, doesn't it seem obvious that facilities must provide food, water and a decent environment for their residents? Am I oversimplifying nursing home care? Perhaps, but the reality is that an overwhelming majority of nursing home injuries and deaths could be avoided if the facility were to provide this basic level of care. The Columbus Dispatch reported on this type of preventable situation when it reported on the dehydration death of 61-year-old Peter Southard. ...
More
Tennessee Legislature Attempts To Limit The Rights Of Injured Nursing Home Residents
Lawmakers in Tennessee are attempting to limit the rights of those injured due to nursing home abuse & neglect. Under a bill proposed by State Senators Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) and Randy Rinks (D- Savannah), nursing home residents injured or killed due to a facilities poor treatment would be limited to a recovery of $300,000 in non-economic damages. The bill would also place a cap on punitive damages against nursing homes of $600,000. This protectionist legislation would provide little incentive for poorly equipped nursing homes to 'clean up their act.' Taking the decision making process away from a jury of one's...
More
Wrongful Death
I have used the term 'wrongful death' in many posts and was asked recently: What exactly does wrongful death consist of? 'Wrongful death' is usually associated with a legal cause of action on behalf of the person who died but also on behalf of the people close to the deceased who depended on the person both economically and emotionally. A 'wrongful death' lawsuit is usually brought by a family member or person close to the deceased. Many states have statutes on point as to who may bring a wrongful death lawsuit. The Wrongful Death Act in Illinois is codified...
More
Damages
'Damages' refer to losses sustained do to physical or psychological injury for which you can be compensated. In cases involving injury or death, damages are assessed in terms of money compensation. In order to recover damages, you first must establish that an employee of a nursing home or the facility itself did something wrong or negligent. There are three elements in proving fault in nursing home accident cases: Duty: The nursing home had a 'duty' to act as a reasonably safe facility. In nursing home cases, the facilities must follow strict Federal and State Regulations setting forth both the type...
More
Page:
1
