Excerpt from: McKnight's (click for full article)
HCR ManorCare was appropriately penalized $90 million in a case involving resident neglect and understaffing, a judge in West Virginia ruled last week.
The case involves Heartland of Charleston, a nursing home in Charleston, WV, owned by HCR ManorCare. After Dorothy Douglas died in 2009 following a stay at Heartland, her son sued, alleging that negligent treatment at the facility contributed to his mother's death. A jury returned a $90.5 million verdict against HCR ManorCare in 2011.
Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Paul Zakaib reduced the penalty by $400,000, ruling that some of the economic damages were limited by a cap on such awards in West Virginia. HCR ManorCare argued that the medical malpractice cap, established in 2003, should apply to the entire amount, which would limit the penalty to $594,000. The plaintiff's attorneys said an older law, the Nursing Home Care Act, supersedes the caps.
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