A Memphis nursing home was on the losing end of a $30 million judgment awarded by a Shelby County jury in a case involving the death of a resident due to substandard care. Out of the total award, punitive damages totaled $28 million against Allenbrooke Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center LLC. The family of the 80-year-old resident filed the case in 2010 after the woman died from complications caused by pressure sores on her right foot. The sores went to the bone and became infected. In October 2009, the woman had to have her leg amputated and she passed away two months later.
The trial lasted just five weeks and the jury awarded the family $28 million in punitive damages, $1.9 million for negligence, and $129,000 for violations of the Protection Act.
Nursing homes are supposed to protect their residents and provide them with the utmost patient care. To prevent pressure sores, the staff must regularly change the position of the residents in bed. If they fail to do so, they may develop pressure sores which can affect the skin, tissues, and bones. This form of neglect can lead to serious injuries or death.
Nursing home abuse can go beyond not adhering to a turn schedule. It can also include neglect leading to malnutrition, physical assault, emotional attacks, or financial abuse. There are signs that a family can look out for such as sores or bruises on their loved one, behavioral changes, and avoiding eye contact with staff members.
When a resident is victimized by the staff at a nursing home that is responsible for caring for them, they or their family may have the right to take legal action against the nursing home and its owners for any damages or injuries sustained. Liability for nursing home negligence can fall on a staff member, the manager or owner who is supposed to oversee the actions of the staff or another party.
At The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson, M.D., J.D & Associates, we are committed to helping victims obtain compensation after suffering harm at the hands of nursing home staff. Our team has the dedication and commitment necessary to help our clients achieve justice and protect their rights from start to finish. You deserve skilled representation and our firm has the tenacity to provide you with it.
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Dr. Michael M. Wilson is an attorney and a physician who earned his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his legal and medical degrees from Georgetown University. He has focused in the area of medical malpractice for more than three decades and secured more than $100 million in settlements and verdicts on behalf of clients throughout the country. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and New York as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is listed in America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators.
