On February 15, 2024, a Baltimore nursing home malpractice jury returned its verdict in the amount of $1.5 million for the death of a nursing home resident who died from an infection resulting from an avoidable bedsore that was not prevented by the nursing home.
The Baltimore nursing home negligence complaint alleged that the nursing home failed to turn and reposition the resident as required, which led to the development of a stage four pressure ulcer at the bottom of his spine. The resident suffered a bone infection that developed as a result, which led to the resident’s death in May 2021. The estate alleged that the nursing home was understaffed and that the nursing home placed maximizing its profits over the care that the resident needed.
The nursing home fought hard against the allegations of negligence, claiming that the resident’s underlying medical conditions (peripheral vascular disease and positive test for COVID-19 in November 2020, one month before the pressure ulcer developed) were the cause of his death.
The estate further alleged that the nursing home staff failed to recognize the resident’s worsening pressure ulcer, failed to timely and properly treat the pressure ulcer after it developed, and failed to implement necessary safety precautions in light of the resident’s high risk for developing bedsores: “These practices road-blocked the facility’s ability to provide healthcare in a manner than enables it to use its resources effectively and efficiently to attain or maintain decedent’s highest practicable physical, mental, and psychological well-being.”
The estate’s lawyer stated after the verdict: “You don’t get a stage 4 bed sore by the nursing home missing one turn. What we’re talking about with this significant of an injury, it’s an ungodly amount of the patient just being abandoned and left in that position over and over again. These people’s lives are worth more — it’s not worth less because they’re older — it’s worth more. When there’s less life to live, each remaining moment is worth more, and so you’re taking more from these folks. The nursing home tried to write the last chapter of this man’s life, and the people and the community got to rewrite that last chapter with their verdict sheet. They gave this man true justice.”
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of negligence or malpractice in a nursing home in Baltimore, elsewhere in Maryland, or in another U.S. state due to nursing home pressure ulcer (nursing home bedsore) negligence, a nursing home infection, nursing home fall, nursing home aspiration, nursing home neglect, nursing home negligence, nursing home abuse, nursing home understaffing, or the nursing home failing to properly care for a vulnerable adult, you should promptly find a Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your nursing home malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a nursing home malpractice case, if appropriate.
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