Jury Awards $2.1 Million To Family Of Dead Nurisng Home Resident
A Texas jury found CLC Richland Hills nursing home and its medical director responsible for the death of a 79-year old woman. The woman entered the facility for rehabilitation following a fall. During the course of her stay, she developed a urinary tract infection which went untreated by the nursing home staff. Not only did the staff fail to follow proper protocol to prevent the urinary tract infection (uti), it also over-medicated the woman. The staff admitted they 'dropped the ball' to state nursing home inspectors.
The woman's family will not collect much from the judgment. According to the families lawyer, Geno Borchardt, 'bad nursing home operators and doctors who get overextended, its hard to hold them accountable.'
In addition the fact that a woman died needlessly, this story demonstrates the importance of mandatory insurance coverage for nursing homes. In the instant situation, the nursing home owner was obviously making plenty of money as he owned 70 nursing homes. Yet creative business planning and an antiquated system allows him to avoid paying a judgment for the death of his resident.
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