Nursing Home Negligence, Wrongful Death
We represented the estate of an 81-year-old retired and widowed LPN, who was survived by two daughters. Our client began experiencing classic signs of an ischemic blockage in her leg, which, according to the treating vascular surgeon and other experts, was an emergency medical situation.
However, the nursing facility delayed getting help for her, and by the time she was finally taken to the hospital, her only options were a very high-risk hip amputation or death. Had our client received prompt medical care, the blockage could have been fixed relatively easily.
We alleged that the delay in treatment caused her death. A nurse—one of the defendants in the case—contended that our elderly client was contributorily negligent because she made the choice against the high-risk hip surgery, and our client would not have survived even if she had received timely treatment.
On behalf of the estate, our firm sued the operator and management company of the nursing home, as well as several other insectionidual and corporate defendants. We also pursued a “piercing the corporate veil” theory of liability. The defendants were represented by multiple law firms and lawyers. Some of the defendants had insurance, while others had only personal assets. We sought compensation directly from their personal assets.
Under North Carolina rules, the plaintiffs and defendants must attempt to resolve their case through mediation. At the first mediation, the offer from all the defendants was $25,000. At a subsequent voluntary mediation, the offer increased to $250,000. Two weeks before trial, the offer went to $350,000. Prior to trial, an offer of judgment was filed in the amount of $850,000.
The case settled for $1 million at trial, just before jury selection was about to begin. The defendants denied liability throughout the case. The settlement for our client was fully collectible.