Elder Law

Jury Awards $1.25 Million in Nursing Home Negligence Suit

By Levin & Perconti

A jury has determined that a nursing home patient?s death was caused by elderly negligence on the part of his caretakers. The court awarded the man?s daughter $1.25 million, ending a four-year elderly abuse lawsuit. The man was admitted to the nursing home at the age of 67 and had to go to the hospital a mere nine months later. In the hospital he was treated for a bedsore that infected his left buttock to the bone. In the trial nursing home assistants testified that there weren?t enough staffers to provide adequate care. The man should have been turned over every two hours to ensure bedsores do not form, yet the nursing home only turned him over every four hours. This lack of attention caused the elderly man to develop horrible bedsores. The man then suffered from malnutrition as a result of the original infection, which sent his body into a death spiral leading to more bedsores and infections. The last few months of the man?s life were unbearable. To read the full story, click here.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on January 22, 2009 (boomark / email).