Defendant doctor was in charge of resident’s care at nursing home. Resident’s nutritional status was compromised, dropping approximately 30 pounds and pressure ulcers progressed from Stage II to Stage IV; when resident was taken to the hospital shortly before death, she was malnourished. Doctor filed an expert affidavit stating that he met the standard of […]
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Beverly petitioned for a writ of certiorari and a writ of prohibition after being ordered to post a $25,000,000 supersedas bond before appealing an order for class certification. Plaintiff had argued that Beverly was unstable and that the class should be protected during appeal. The court found that requiring a bond prior to judgment is […]
Supreme Court reversed after trial court entered an order striking and dismissing Plaintiff’s complaint with prejudice for failing to properly revive the claim after the resident’s death. Plaintiff had filed a suggestion of death, motion for appointment of special administrator and request for order substituting parties, which was granted, but did not seek a formal […]
In this hospital fall case, after a jury returned a verdict for the estate, Defendants appealed four evidentiary rulings. First, defendants objected to the introduction of statistical evidence consisting of bar graphs in a nursing journal article and information kept by Defendants regarding other patient fall cases. The objections were not preserved because Defendants did […]
Plaintiff sued the nursing home for injuries suffered by and wrongful death of her father. The complaint alleged violations of federal regulations and State statutes and regulations concerning nursing home care, including those relating to Medicare and Medicaid, and the Georgia Bill of Rights for Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities. The complaint alleged negligence, negligence […]
A jury trial was held to determine whether Mildred Hilton had testamentary capacity to execute a new Will. After the jury found she lacked capacity, the trial court determined that the verdict was incorrect and entered judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Alternatively, the judge also entered an order granting a new trial. Under Georgia law, a […]
Nursing home moved to dismiss or, in the alternative, to transfer the case from Madison County to Jersey County based on forum non conveniens. The nursing home was located in Jersey County, but the owner also owned a facility in Madison County. Defendants claimed numerous witnesses would be inconvenienced unless the case was transferred and […]
Appellant was a mentally retarded girl, who had been placed under a guardianship after a finding that she lacked capacity to exercise good judgment with regard to her person, assets and financial affairs. While at a private facility, Appellant had sex with two men. Initially she reported that she was raped, but later reported she […]
Diversity case where RLI sued PIIL and USF to recover part of what RLI paid to settle a nursing home case. The nursing home and all three insurance companies settled the underlying claim in 2003 for $3.9 million. The issue on summary judgment was allocation of the settlement amount among the insurers. Applying Texas law, […]
Forfeiture action by the government where it was alleged that cocaine was sold at a nursing home. One witness “observed the Isleys supply people living in the home with cocaine and alcohol in exchange for the endorsement of their monthly government check to the Isleys.” The government filed a motion for summary judgment under the […]
Plaintiff brought wrongful death action against assisted living facility. During the admission process, resident’s daughter signed admission papers without a power of attorney and without discussing it with the resident. After suit was filed, the facility filed a motion to compel arbitration. The matter was referred to the magistrate. The court found no evidence that […]
At admission to assisted living facility, daughter who was completing documents indicated she wanted to have residency agreement reviewed by an attorney. The facility employee said that would be “pointless” because the facility would not accept any changes and resident would not be allowed to move in without a signed agreement. The agreement provided for […]
Glover v. Liggett Group, Inc. Plaintiff brought a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1395y(b)(3)(A) to recover funds for the Medicare program attributable to cigarette smoking. The trial court dismissed the claim. On appeal, the court found that “[u]ntil Defendants’ responsibility to pay for a Medicare beneficiary’s expenses has been demonstrated (for example, by a judgment), Defendants’ […]
CMS sought to impose a civil monetary penalty on the successor of a fined nursing home where the successor accepted assignment of the provider agreement rather than going through the certification process for a new provider agreement. This case includes a detailed discussion of the administrative process through which civil monetary penalties are imposed and […]
A community spouse purchased an actuarially sound single-premium irrevocable annuity for $250,000 for the purpose of spending down excess assets so her husband, a nursing home resident, would qualify for Medicaid. Pennsylvania denied eligibility, contending that the annuity was an available asset and that Medicaid eligibility could not be established until that asset was spent […]
The district court granted insurer’s motion to defense where insurer claimed it had no duty to defend case where the only potential claims are by putative class members until the class is certified. The district court was reversed on appeal. Applying Florida law, the Court held that the duty to defend is determined from the […]
A physician brought a qui tam action against two other physicians and several health care providers after a nurse showed him a progress note in a nursing home chart allegedly documenting a physician’s (Lachman’s) review of the chart. The problem was that the resident had died several weeks earlier. After seeing that record, the relator […]
The court identifies this litigation as a “grudge match.” When counsel spent the first 30 pages of a deposition reviewing Gerstein’s criminal history, the questions got under his skin. After he began answering with “that’s none of your business” counsel began instructing him not to answer. Counsel gave no reason for the instruction other than […]
This is not a nursing home case. Justice Scalia, writing for the Court, framed the issue as whether a court or an arbitrator should consider a claim that a contract containing an arbitration agreement is void for illegality. Customers of a check cashing company had signed agreements including an arbitration clause. A class of customers […]
In Arkansas Dept. Health and Human Services v. Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268 (2006), Heidi Ahlborn suffered severe and permanent injuries at age 19 as a result of an automobile accident. She was left partially brain damaged and unable to complete her education. Medicaid determined she was eligible for benefits and paid providers $215,645.30 on her behalf. Later, […]
Suit was filed after a CNA failed to check the water temperature before bathing resident; resident was burned and died 3 days later. Suit was settled for $1.5 million. One of Defendant’s insurers paid $200,000; Defendant paid the balance of $1.3 million because its other insurer was in liquidation. Defendant then sought indemnification from the […]
“Plaintiff presented expert medical testimony that the cause of Mr. Alston’s death was septicemia, or an infection which entered into his bloodstream. Plaintiff argued the cause of the infection was the pressure sores which defendant negligently failed to prevent. Defendant presented conflicting expert medical testimony that the cause of death was Alzheimer’s dementia, a terminal […]
Plaintiff’s suit against the nursing home was dismissed for failing to comply with the pre-suit notice requirement in W. Va. Code § 55-7B-1, et seq. The decision was affirmed. Any possible error was harmless because the dismissal was without prejudice and Plaintiff has the right o refilled after compliance with the statute.
A personal injury victim tried to make an end-run around MSP by having payment go directly to the victim. The trial court approved the settlement structure, but it was appealed. The case was reversed since “Liberty Mutual exposes itself to paying off Tripp’s Medicare lien in the event Tripp herself does not. Leaving Liberty Mutual […]
After Plaintiff brought suit against a nursing home, the trial judge indicated that he was personally acquainted with three of the witnesses expected to testify at trial. One was a nursing home administrator; the other two were physicians. The trial judge described himself as being “very good friends” with one of the doctors. The judge […]
The Estate appealed after the trial court granted Manor Care’s motion to compel arbitration. Resident’s wife had signed admissions agreement and an arbitration and limitation of liability agreement. After the resident filed suit, Manor Care answered, making a demand for trial by jury. Later it moved to compel arbitration. On appeal, Plaintiff argued that Manor […]
Conservator initialed pages indicating she read arbitration agreement, but did not sign the agreement. Facility made two attempts to have her sign the arbitration agreement and each time she declined. Resident continued to receive care in the facility. Plaintiff submitted an affidavit stating: “To the best of her memory and knowledge she had a reservation […]
Resident was in two different nursing homes and after her death, Plaintiff sued both of them. Each was dismissed and Plaintiff appealed. The action against the first nursing home was beyond the limitations period. Plaintiff’s discovery argument was rejected. The trial court’s dismissal of the second nursing home was also sustained since the only evidence […]
Plaintiff sued the nursing home, its owner (an LLC) and the individual manger of the LLC. The manager was not a Florida resident and moved to dismiss the complaint on personal jurisdiction grounds. The manager contested each allegation that he was subject to jurisdiction in Florida, shifting the burden back to the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff […]
Order compelling arbitration was affirmed. Four days after admitting her mother to a nursing home, Ms. Coker, the resident’s daughter, signed documents which included an arbitration and limitation of liability agreement. The agreement was clearly worded, conspicuous and separate from other documents. “The Agreement was intended to be signed by “Resident, Guardian or Other Legal […]
The nursing home filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in January 2000. Plaintiff resided in the nursing home from November 1999 through February 2000. In November 2001, Plaintiff filed suit, followed by an individual defendant’s motion to dismiss. In June 2003, the trial court granted the motion to dismiss, but gave Plaintiff 30 days to […]
Trial court sustained defendants’ exception of prematurity. The trial court was reversed in part because violations of the nursing home resident rights bill prior to August 15, 2003 were not subject to the medical review panel process. Further, claims that the resident was not cleaned and was left in her own feces were not subject […]
Plaintiff appealed after trial court sustained patient liability fund’s exception of no cause of action on Nursing Home Bill of Rights claim and appealed trial court’s awards for damages. Plaintiff had settled with the nursing home and proceeded to trial against the fund. On appeal, the court found no error in sustaining the exception since […]
Plaintiff, the estate of a 92 year old resident sued for neglect. The resident was wheelchair bound and had Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis. When she began showing signs of abnormality, she was examined and X-rays revealed a non-displaced spiral fracture of the distal tibia in her right leg. She was hospitalized and died a month […]
Jury found that nursing home and hospital were equally at fault. On JNOV, the trial court awarded damages for survival, medical expenses, funeral expenses and attorney’s fees. Court of appeals rejected nursing home’s argument that the trial court erred by redacting conclusions in the medical review panel report to the effect that the nursing home […]
The trial court sustained defendants’ exception of prematurity. The medical review panels’ term was about to expire without having reached a decision so an agreed motion was entered extending the panel. The order was, apparently, not signed until after the panel term expired. Plaintiffs filed suit and Defendants filed their exception. The trial court sustained […]
Defendants appealed judgment against nursing home and the patient’s compensation fund because judgment was improperly modified, because it did not limit medical malpractice liability of a qualified health care provider to $100,000 and because it did not provide that fund was not liable for violations of nursing home resident rights bill. Court of appeals found […]
Summary judgment for Defendants was affirmed where the attorney’s certificate that the case was reviewed by an expert prior to filing was not attached to the complaint in compliance with Miss. Code. Ann. § 11-1-58. The court rejected Plaintiff’s substantial compliance argument. The court also rejected Plaintiff’s argument that Defendant waived this defense by failing […]
Summary judgment was affirmed in part and reversed in part. The statute of limitations for underlying acts of negligence applies in a wrongful death suit; thus, Plaintiff claims for negligent acts occurring more than three years prior to the time the lawsuit was filed were barred. The court reversed that part of the summary judgment […]
Plaintiff appealed the trial court’s order granting the motion for summary judgment. “During discovery, the Appellees proposed a request for admissions “asking the plaintiff to admit or deny whether each individual caregiver acted within the standard of care.” Jordan responded to the request with non-responsive answers. After receiving Jordan’s response, the Appellees filed a motion […]
Plaintiffs moved for JNOV after the jury failed to award wrongful death damages and allocated 70% of damages to the ambulance service that had previously been settled. The trial court modified the award by increasing medical expenses and funeral expenses to reflect the actual damages evidenced at trial. The trial court also awarded 40% of […]
Defendant nursing home moved to compel arbitration. The trial court denied the motion, and the nursing home appealed. The agreement provided that controversies would be arbitrated pursuant to Alternative Dispute Resolution Service Rules of Procedure for Arbitration of the American Health Lawyers Association. Rule 6.06 provided that the “arbitrator may not award consequential, exemplary, incidental, […]
Both parties appealed after the court severed limitations on damages but compelled arbitration. In 2004, Plaintiff filed suit for negligence and violations of the Assisted Living Facilities Act. Alterra moved to compel arbitration because the resident’s agent, who held a power of attorney, signed the Residency Agreement containing an arbitration provision. The court compelled arbitration […]
The nursing home appealed the decision denying its exception of prematurity and exception of no cause of action and non-joinder of a party. The defendant’s appeal was dismissed on procedural grounds, but it was given time to perfect its appeal with the proper application.
The personal representative of the resident’s estate sued multiple corporations for nursing home negligence including Residence Healthcare, a foreign corporation. Residence Healthcare moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Plaintiff is first required to demonstrate that the long-arm statute reaches the defendant; if so, then the court determines whether minimum contacts exist. In this […]
The decision of the trial court was reversed and arbitration was compelled. On September 17, 2002, Mann underwent a total gastrectomy for stomach cancer. On June 18, 2003, after the surgery but prior to surgery to repair a hernia, he signed an arbitration agreement. During the hernia surgery, his bowel was punctured. Following a third […]
Plaintiff brought suit and the nursing home filed an exception based on the immaturity of the claim as it had not been reviewed by the medical review panel. The trial court agreed, sustained the exception and it was affirmed on appeal. The court found six factors making the action subject to the medical malpractice statute: […]
Plaintiff’s daughter sued the nursing home after it asked EMTs to revive Doris Lee; Ms. Lee had a DNR. There were legal deformities and contradictions in three separate DNRs executed between 1996 and 2002. “The record was clear that Mrs. Lee had been under the care of several physicians and had several close calls with […]
After Plaintiff sued for negligence, Manor Care moved to disqualify Plaintiff’s counsel. The trial court denied the motion. An application for certiorari was filed and granted. From February 2001 through December 2004, Scott Fischer represented Manor Care defending nursing home cases. At the end of December 2004, Fischer left his prior firm and joined Gordon […]
Plaintiff filed suit alleging various claims: negligence; medical malpractice; malice and/or gross negligence; fraud; breach of fiduciary duty; statutory survival claim; and statutory wrongful death. After Defendants answered, Plaintiffs, moved to substitute parties and for leave to amend the complaint. Several incorrect defendants were dismissed. More than a year after the Plaintiffs’ motion was filed, […]
