What Happened
Emeritus Corp. was found guilty for the wrongful death of a former resident that died shortly after leaving a senior living community. The 82-year-old woman left Emeritus at Emerald Hills in Auburn, California (CA) and died a short three months later from at least four pressure ulcers.
In a Sacramento Superior Court the jury voted unanimously against Emeritus on 12 out of 15 accounts on the jury forms. They also voted the employees failed to use responsible hygiene, mental health, and safety care and that these failures led to the death of the woman. They also determined the officers and directors knew about the issues and chose to disregard the rights and safety of others. The last vote proves “that an employee, officer, director, or a managing agent acted with recklessness, malice, oppression, and fraud.”
The plaintiffs’ attorney states “understaffing and lack of training represented a corporate strategy of Emeritus” and will begin to pursue punitive damages in the next phase of the trial.
The Virginia Personal Injury Lawyers’ Perspective
It is never easy to manage with the death of a loved one and can become even more difficult to handle when your loved one dies due to the negligence of another. When a resident dies as a direct result of nursing home negligence, neglect or abuse, the family may be entitled to compensation or settlement benefits through a wrongful death lawsuit. Most cases are based on negligence; in nature to nursing home neglect is legally defined as the failure to exercise ordinary care for the safety of others. In many cases, the lack of a trained staff or poor operational oversight can lead to life threatening infections, falls, and sicknesses that can easily lead to death. However, the nursing home staff will sometimes cover up the actual cause of death or fail to report it and if that happens, family members have every right to have the case evaluated for legal remedy.
Our Virginia (VA) nursing home abuse attorneys have handled numerous nursing home related wrongful death cases. We will determine liability in your family member’s death whether the facility, a staff member or a third party was at fault; and hold that party accountable. Our goal is to compensate your family for the grief and your loved one’s pain, and to make a difference to the system that caused your loved one’s death.
Potentially Helpful Info:
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