Long Term Acute Care Facility/Wrongful Death – Two patients admitted to a Southern California long-term acute care facility (LTAC) died shortly thereafter as a result of the facility’s failure to provide them with appropriate care. The families of these two patients filed a joint lawsuit against the facility, physicians, and other persons responsible for the decedents’ medical care. In the first case, the patient went into cardiac arrest in the early morning hours, and the facility had to call 911 because it did not have anyone on duty that was trained in CPR or Advanced Life Support. No medical treatment was provided at all until the ambulance arrived 20 minutes later, and, as a result, the patient died. In the second case, the patient had an indwelling catheter that was supposed to be changed every 48 hours, and the facility failed to change or monitor the catheter for over 10 full days. Consequently, the patient became septic, and died. Over the course of litigation, it was discovered that the California Department of Health Services had been investigating this particular facility for various reasons, such as understaffing and failure to provide competent care. Shortly after the two unfortunate incidences that made up this case, the facility was permanently shut down. After litigating the case for almost two years, our San Diego nursing home injury attorneys successfully settled the case for the sum of $1,125,000.00.
Elder Abuse/Neglect – Three months after being placed into a board and care facility, a 92-year-old man was rushed to a hospital where he was noted as suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, and severe muscle wasting. He also was noted as having live insect activity in his eyes and mouth. He died less than a week later. Angered by the lack of care provided, his family retained the firm to file legal action against the facility and the placement agency for their failures to oversee the proper care of their loved one. Early during litigation, settlement was reached with the defendant facility for over $1,000,000.00.
Elder Abuse/Wrongful Death – An 84-year-old patient of a San Diego County skilled nursing facility died after suffering severe neglect. Upon his admission to defendant’s skilled nursing facility and at numerous times thereafter, decedent’s needs for skilled nursing care were made known to defendant’s administration and staff. These needs included specific orders regarding injection medication that decedent was required to receive. Shortly following his admission, the patient was noted as having multiple large dark purple bruises over the entire left side of his body. This was being caused by an improper injection of his medications. Despite recognizing the condition, facility administration and staff failed to notify decedent’s physician or family of the condition and exacerbated the injuries by continuing to improperly inject decedent’s medications. As a result, decedent suffered prolonged internal bleeding and ultimately died. Despite the fact that the facility strongly contested the allegations of abuse and neglect and the fact that decedent died as a result of the internal bleeding, the firm was able to obtain a $350,000.00 cash settlement from the facility.
Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect – An 87-year-old resident of a skilled nursing facility died after the nursing home failed to administer her life-sustaining medication over a period of 26 days. The woman’s primary care physician, who the firm argued failed to adequately monitor the health of her patient, participated in the settlement. The case settled for the sum amount of $910,000.00.
Elder Abuse/Neglect – A 94-year-old man fell while residing in a residential care facility. He sustained a severely broken hip and shoulder, and died before doctors could operate. Through its investigation, the firm was able to demonstrate that the man fell late at night as a result of over-medication by staff at the residential care facility who wished to keep him quiet, and thus “trouble-free.” In the face of this harmful evidence, early during litigation the insurance provider for the facility agreed to settlement with the surviving family members in the amount of $700,000.00.
Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect – An 83-year-old resident of a skilled nursing facility died as a result of severe urospesis, which was contracted after the defendant facility failed to properly care for and cleanse her indwelling catheter. The facility ultimately settled with decedent’s six surviving children for $600,000.00.
Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect – A 78-year-old resident of a skilled nursing facility died after losing 25 pounds over a period of seven days while at the facility. Although the facility contended the weight loss resulted from medical complications, and not as the result of a lack of care rendered by its facility, it agreed to settle the case with the decedent’s children in the amount of $375,000.00 before a lawsuit was filed.
Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect – An 82-year-old resident of defendant’s residential care facility suffered a fractured femur after she was dropped by an untrained, inexperienced, unsupervised employee during what should have been a routine transfer from the toilet to her wheelchair. After surgery to repair the fracture, plaintiff was transferred to defendant’s rehabilitation facility for physical therapy. While a patient at the rehabilitation facility, she then developed severe pressure ulcers in addition to infections, substantial weight loss, and high fevers. The pressure ulcers got progressively worse, and forced plaintiff to undergo several surgeries in attempts to heal them. Plaintiff sued the defendant care providers who agreed to settle the matter in the early stages of litigation in the amount of $275,000.00.
Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect – An 87-year-old resident of a skilled nursing facility died after the nursing home failed to administer her life-sustaining medication over a period of 26 days. The woman’s primary care physician, who the firm argued failed to adequately monitor the health of her patient, participated in the settlement. The case settled for the sum amount of $910,000.00.
Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect – Wrongful death of an 87-year-old skilled nursing facility resident/patient who died after the facility’s nursing staff failed to plan care for the patient’s well-documented “high risk” status for falls. Despite notice of previous falls provided by family members, as well as the facility’s own assessment that the patient was at “high risk” for falls, the Southern California facility failed to initiate any fall prevention protocol. Six days after being admitted, the patient fell while unassisted. As a result of the fall, the resident sustained a severe head injury. Despite being transferred to the hospital, he died later that morning.The case settled early in litigation for a total of $475,000.00.
Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect – An 83-year-old resident of a skilled nursing facility died as a result of severe urospesis, which was contracted after the defendant facility failed to properly care for and cleanse her indwelling catheter. The facility ultimately settled with decedent’s six surviving children for $600,000.00.
Nursing Home/Wrongful Death – Attorneys of the firm represented the claims of a 90-year-old patient who suffered excruciating pain as the result of the formation of several pressure ulcers, one of which was so large it exposed her tailbone. She died a short time later. Despite defendant’s claims that the care it rendered to plaintiff was well within acceptable nursing standards, that there was nothing it could have done differently to prevent the formation of the decubitus ulcers, and that plaintiff’s death was unrelated to its conduct, the defendant facility paid plaintiff’s surviving family $300,000.00 in settlement of the case.
Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect – The son of 93-year-old plaintiff contracted with a geriatric in-home care company for his mother to receive assistance with her daily needs in the comfort of her own home. The contract called for the company to provide the services of a specially trained and skilled in-home care provider. On the fourth day of service, defendant sent an untrained, unskilled employee to assist plaintiff. During an attempted transfer, the employee left plaintiff, who was unstable and a known fall risk, standing unattended. Plaintiff fell and sustained a broken hip, subsequently requiring surgery then rehabilitation at a skilled nursing facility. The firm attorneys brought suit on behalf of plaintiff, alleging not only negligence but also that the conduct of defendant in promising, yet failing, to provide a specially trained and skilled in-home care provider was reckless and fraudulent under California’s Elder Abuse Act. After prevailing on an important motion early during litigation which shaped the case as one for Elder Abuse, defendant agreed to settle plaintiff’s claims in the amount of $365,000.00.
Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect – A 78-year-old resident of a skilled nursing facility died after losing 25 pounds over a period of seven days while at the facility. Although the facility contended the weight loss resulted from medical complications, and not as the result of a lack of care rendered by its facility, it agreed to settle the case with the decedent’s children in the amount of $375,000.00 before a lawsuit was filed.
Disclaimer: Case results as reported above were derived based upon facts and circumstances specific to each separately reported case and publication of such case results is for informational purposes only and by no means is intended to constitute any representation or guarantee of a similar result for your prospective case.
