$3.2 Million Awarded for In Denver Nursing Home Abuse Case

An Oregon jury in La Junta recently awarded $3.2 million in damages to the family of an elderly man in a wrongful death case involving nursing home abuse in 2010. The 88 year old man died from complications that arose from bedsores, including one the size of a baseball, that were not properly treated. The nursing home was also charged with hiding his condition from his family. Though he feared getting fired, a nurse's aide eventually notified the man's son of the seriousness of his condition because he was afraid that he would die.

The elderly man's wife says he had advanced stage Parkinson's Disease and it was neglect on the part of the nursing home that resulted in the development of the pressure sore that eventually became an infected stage IV wound that went down to the bone and caused his death. Before developing the bedsore, he was in fairly good health, and was able to walk unassisted, but after developing the large sores, he became bedridden, was unable to walk, eat, drink, and eventually became unresponsive. When he became extremely sick and unresponsive, the care center would not send him to the hospital, instead saying that his family should contact the treating physician – who never returned their calls.

When his family finally got him transferred to the hospital he was diagnosed as being malnourished, dehydrated, and sceptic. In addition, his pressure sore was so severely infected with the bacteria MRSA, that the hospital staff voiced suspicions that he was the victim of nursing home neglect and abuse. He was unable to recover from the infection and ultimately passed away two months later as the result of it.

An inspection of the facility resulted in 27 citations for various deficiencies, including the presence of many infections.

If you or a loved one suspect or have experienced nursing home abuse, contact a nursing home abuse attorney as soon as possible. Unfortunately, in the above case, the care facility hid his condition from his family until it worsened to the point where he was unable to recover, which automatically became a wrongful death incident. The jury agreed that the nursing home was at fault in this instance and awarded his family $3.2 million. Had the facility properly cared for the man, and notified his family of his condition in time for him to be transferred to the hospital earlier, it is very possible that he could have survived. Protecting the health of your family and loved ones is important, and if you feel there is a need to protect them from the nursing home where they are receiving care, contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney immediately. A nursing home abuse attorney will help you to evaluate and investigate the conditions surrounding your case, and decide what the next steps should be. Facilities that are entrusted with caring for the elderly need to be held accountable when they do not properly care for individuals, in order to ensure the safety of other residents.