09/27/2021
The trial attorneys of Meyers & Flowers, in combination with their Peru, Illinois sister firm, Meyers, Flowers, Bruno, McPhedran & Herrmann, recently finalized a $520,000.00 nursing home negligence settlement for an 85-year-old woman who developed bed sores because her central Illinois nursing home failed to provide proper care and treatment.
In November of 2016, Abigail was admitted to a nursing home to recover from a hip surgery. Prior to her hip surgery, Abigail was fully independent. Abigail entered the nursing home to receive physical and occupational therapy so she could begin walking again and return home to continue enjoying her independent lifestyle.
During her stay, Abigail regressed both physically and cognitively, so her family arranged for her discharge less than three weeks after entering the facility. The day after she was discharged to her residence, her home health nurses arranged for her to be transferred to a hospital where she was diagnosed with stage 4 bed sores on her buttocks and legs.
The nursing home staff, including nurses and nurse assistants, failed to follow standard procedures designed to prevent bedsores from developing. The nursing home staff also failed to discover and treat her bedsores in a timely manner. As a result, Abigail experienced pain and suffering and loss of her normal life before she passed away three months later.
“This was a clear deviation from the standard of care for skilled health care professionals,” said James McPhedran. “A number of good years were taken from her and her family because the nursing home failed to provide reasonable care.”
After the passing of Anthony C. Raccuglia, James A. McPhedran and Craig D. Brown continued the firm’s dedicated and compassionate representation of the plaintiff. The pair was determined to demand justice to achieve some semblance of peace after such tragedy.
“When I initially contacted the nursing home representative, I was told our client’s severe pressure ulcers had nothing to do with Abigail’s untimely suffering or death. The Defendants disputed liability making contentions including that the sores got much worse post-discharge before the subsequent hospital stay and that unrelated dementia had led to her demise. Initially, the Defense offered an unfair settlement that would not fully compensate for her pain and loss of quality of life,” said Craig Brown.
After completing numerous depositions of staff members at the nursing home, Mr. McPhedran and Mr. Brown were able to establish that Abigail did not recover and return to her pre-surgical level of independence because of the substantial pressure sores caused by the neglect of the nursing home and their staff. In the end, Mr. McPhedran and Mr. Brown were able to convince the nursing home to pay $445,000.00 and a physical therapy firm to pay $75,000 for a total settlement of $520,000.00.
“Probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through was the death of my mom, but Meyers & Flowers made the entire legal process easy. They were compassionate, understanding, and well-informed. In the beginning, it was really hard because it brought up a lot of difficult memories, but Mr. McPhedran allowed us to take our time as we worked through the process. We made it through because of him and the support of everyone else at the firm,” said Abigail’s daughter.
"We were shocked at the settlement that Meyers & Flowers was able to get for our case – it was exceptional! Mr. McPhedran was there to help us through mediation, his experience was instrumental in reaching the settlement we received. It was apparent responsibility for our Moms’ death was finally admitted and it gave us the closure we needed."
Nursing home abuse and neglect cases cause a wide range of injuries including bedsores, malnourishment, and wrongful death. The guilty parties must be brought to justice and held accountable. Exercising your legal rights ensures that care facilities and their employees are held accountable for their actions and thus help prevent other people from being victimized.
If a loved one has been a victim of nursing home negligence or abuse, please contact our team of skilled trial attorneys to explore your rights at [email protected] , (630) 232-6333, or online to request a free case evaluation.