Manor Care Inc. v. Douglas, — S.E.2d —-, 2014 WL 2835831 (W. Va. June 18, 2014) arose out of the death of Dorothy Douglas from severe dehydration following a nineteen-day stay at the Heartland Nursing Home in Charleston. On September 4, 2009, Dorothy Douglas (hereinafter “Ms. Douglas”) was admitted to Heartland Nursing Home in Charleston, West Virginia. Although Ms. Douglas was eighty-seven years old at the time of her admission to Heartland Nursing Home, and she suffered from Alzheimer’s dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and other health issues, she was, nevertheless, able to walk with the use of a walker, able to recognize and communicate with her family, well-nourished, and well-hydrated. After spending nineteen days in Heartland Nursing Home, Ms. Douglas had become dehydrated, malnourished, bed ridden, and barely responsive. In addition, she had fallen numerous times, sustained head trauma and bruises, and suffered from sores in her mouth and throat that required the scraping away of dead tissue and debris. Following her nineteen-day stay at Heartland Nursing Home, Ms. Douglas was transferred to another nursing facility, then to Cabell Huntington Hospital, and ultimately to a Hospice care facility where she passed away eighteen days after leaving Heartland Nursing Home. According to her treating physician at Cabell Huntington Hospital, Ms. Douglas died as a result of severe dehydration. Manor Care, Inc. v. Douglas, 13-0470, 2014 WL 2835831 (W. Va. June 18, 2014)

Ms. Douglas’s estate filed suit against various corporate entities related to Heartland, alleging negligence, violations under the state’s Nursing Home Act, and breach of fiduciary duty. According to the West Virginia Supreme Court’s opinion, evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Heartland Nursing Home had received numerous complaints from residents and their families as well as Heartland employees about the facility’s staffing levels. Surveys by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services also documented understaffing.

After a ten-day trial, the jury awarded $11.5 million in compensatory damages and $80 million in punitive damages, for a total award of $91.5 million. The defendants challenged the award, contending both that punitive damages were not appropriate and that, even if they were, the jury’s award was excessive.

Turning to the defendants’ arguments regarding punitive damages, the court first applied the original 7:1 ratio between punitive and compensatory damages and reduced the punitive damages award to $32 million. The court then analyzed the propriety of the reduced $32 million award. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to support an award of punitive damages based on evidence of prior complaints and state surveys concerning reports of understaffing in the nursing home. With respect to the amount of punitive damages, the court held that the defendants’ conduct was sufficiently reprehensible to support the award and that the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages was not excessive.

If you suspect that you or someone you love has suffered an adverse event from improper care at a nursing home or skilled nursing facility, don’t wait to take action. You have rights; there is no reason to tolerate such despicable behavior. Call an attorney today.

Attorney Sean McDonough has been a partner with Dougherty, Leventhal and Price for over twenty years. He specializes in personal injury cases, emphasizing, nursing home abuse cases. His experience with nursing home abuse cases provided him the opportunity to present expert witness testimony in a Congressional Hearing addressing the issue of sexual abuse in nursing homes in 2008. Allow Attorney McDonough to be a part of the solution. Don’t wait any longer call DLP today and schedule your meeting with Sean McDonough.

All information was gathered from the article tilted United States: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals Upholds $32 Million Punitive Damages Award Against Nursing Home by Miriam R. Nemetz and Breanne A. Gilpatrick. For more information please view the article at http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/329326/trials+appeals+compensation/West+Virginia+Supreme+Court+Of+Appeals+Upholds+32+Million+Punitive+Damages+Award+Against+Nursing+Home