Kreisman Law Offices Professional Corporation
A jury has awarded an 84-year-old woman resident of a nursing home $6.5 million following a fall from her bed.
The resident, V.C., was a known fall risk because she had suffered a stroke. She had been living at Stanleytown Healthcare Center. Her personal care plan called for her to use bed and chair alarms.
V.C. rolled out of bed when she attempted to go to the bathroom. She fell, breaking her left shoulder and hip.
After undergoing hip surgery, she required several months of rehabilitation. She still suffers ongoing pain and has limited use of her shoulder.
V.C. sued the nursing home and its corporate owner, Medical Facilities of America, Inc., claiming that the nursing home chose not to use a bed alarm as required in V.C.’s care plan.
In her suit, V.C. charged that the nursing home’s policies and procedures characterized bed alarms as restraints to discourage use of a safety device, thereby reducing staff at the facility.
The jury awarded $6.5 million, including $5 million in punitive damages. Post-trial motions are pending. The attorney for V.C. was Robert W. Carter, Jr., of Appomattox, Va.
V.C. v. Medical Facilities of Am., XLVIII (Roanoke City Cir. March 23, 2012).
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling nursing home injury cases for individuals and families for more than 36 years, in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Bensenville, Bartlett, Hanover Park, Midlothian, Matteson, Antioch, Grayslake, Chicago (Englewood), Chicago (Beverly), Hillside and Elmhurst, Illinois.
Related blog posts:
Kane County, Illinois Nursing Home Resident Settles After a Below the Knee Leg Amputation
Disabled Resident’s Fall Leads to $400,000 for Surviving Family – Estate of Schrik v. Omole