Personal Injury Law

TN Nursing Home Neglect Damages Restored by Appeals Court

Despite nursing home abuse lawsuits? setback last week with the discovery that the previous Administration had secretly signed an executive order that prevents Medicare and many nursing home inspectors from testifying against nursing homes in negligent or abuse lawsuits (read more in the original article, ?New Rule? Impedes Cases Against Nursing Homes?)--despite this serious setback to preventing nursing home abuse, there was good news for at least one Tennessee family whose loved one was seriously injured by a Murfreesboro nursing home's neglect. A Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled against a Warren County Circuit Court judgment last week that reduced damages a Tennessee branch of major nursing home chain had to pay for its neglect of its Tennessee resident. The Circuit judge wanted to reduce the original $4.1 million punitive damages previously awarded to $163,000.

Understanding this Tennessee nursing home neglect lawsuit requires us to return to 2005 when Tennessee resident Cheatum Myers, age 90, died less than month after his one-year stay at NHC McMinnville, a Tennessee nursing home owned by National HeathCare Corporation (Murfreesboro-based) which is in turn owned by National Health Corporation. Myers v. NHC McMinnville et al was filed by Mr. Myers?s family claiming that numerous nursing home falls, one resulting in a fractured hip, pressure sores (bed sores) at the Stage IV level, urinary tract infections (urosepsisepses), untreated pain, and other signs of neglect were proof of mistreatment (grossly negligent conduct) by the Tennessee nursing home. The plaintiff?s attorney claimed that the nursing home company had put profits over resident care, which led to understaffing resulting in part to the nursing home neglect, and that this negligence was responsible for Myers? untimely demise (wrongful death) and constituted malpractice.

Full post as published by Tennessee Law Blog on March 03, 2009 (boomark / email).