Nursing Home Deaths and Punitive Damages

Nursing Home Wrongful Death

In violation of numerous federal and state laws, three separate families brought suit against Care One, LLC, Care Virginia Management, LLC, and Blue Ridge of Raleigh, LLC for lack of proper care and supplies at a Raleigh nursing home that led to the deaths of their loved ones. The matter resulted in the first published opinion awarding punitive damages in a nursing home wrongful death matter in the United States Court of Appeals for the 4^th Circuit, which includes North Carolina, Vandevender v. Blue Ridge of Raleigh, LLC, 2018 U.S. App. Lexis 24196 (4^th August 2, 2018).

Henson Fuerst Attorneys Rachel Fuerst and Thomas Henson tried the lawsuit alleging neglect, corporate negligence, and wrongful death in Elizabeth City in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The Defendants contended that they were not at fault and their actions did not cause the deaths. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the three families represented by Henson Fuerst on February 16, 2017. The judgment was $5,221,817.48, representing $650,000 in compensatory damages and $4,571,817.48 in punitive damages. Both outstanding interest and costs were later added to the judgment.

North Carolina law allows a jury to award punitive damages in certain cases to “punish a defendant for egregiously wrongful acts and to deter the defendant and others from committing similar wrongful acts.” N.C. Gen. Stat.  1D-1. Defendants asked the trial court to throw out the awards of punitive damages, and the trial court threw out the punitive damage awards. Henson Fuerst attorneys recognized that the awards of punitive damages were right and appealed the removal of punitive damage awards to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4^th Circuit. Defendants argued in opposition and also requested that one of the families’ compensatory awards be thrown out.

After a successful oral argument by Rachel Fuerst at the United States Court of Appeals for the 4^th Circuit, the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the trial court in the first published opinion supporting an award of punitive damages in a nursing home case in North Carolina. Henson Fuerst attorneys were successful in having the awards of punitive damages reinstated to the three families, with agreed upon reduction in the overall punitive damages awards to meet North Carolina law ($2,050,000 total). Henson Fuerst attorneys were also successful in retaining the award of compensatory damages challenged by the Defendants. After the Defendants balked at paying interest on the awards of punitive damages, Henson Fuerst attorneys returned to the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals to ensure that the families received proper awards of interest on the punitive damages awards. The result was the first opinion from the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals on the appropriate date for interest following a reinstated award. Pursuant to the request of Henson Fuerst attorneys, the three families received interest on the awards of punitive damages retroactive to the original date of the February 16, 2017 judgment.

Henson Fuerst attorneys Rachel Fuerst, Thomas Henson, and Carma Henson worked on this case from start to finish. They handled the depositions, the trial, the oral arguments, and the appeals. They successfully obtained payment from the Defendants for $650,0000 in compensatory damage awards and $2,050,000 in punitive damage awards, as well as payment of an additional $220,121,17 in interest on the compensatory damage awards, $31,292.93 in interest on the punitive damage awards, and $56,508.33 in awards of costs. The total recovered by Henson Fuerst attorneys for the three families was $3,007,922.43.