$677 M California Nursing Home Lawsuit Verdict Faces Challenge
Published: August 12th, 2010 • Comments: 2
Defense attorneys for a California nursing home chain are attempting to overthrow a record-breaking nursing home neglect jury verdict with allegations of juror misconduct.
In July, a Humboldt County jury ruled that Skilled Healthcare should pay $677 million in a nursing home class action lawsuit that claimed that the for-profit company had dangerously cut nursing home staff, imperiling residents.
The class action lawsuit targeted the company and its 22 California nursing homes and represented more than 32,000 residents. Plaintiffs charged Skilled Healthcare Group with violating California Health and Safety Code laws by failing to staff their homes at the appropriate levels. The lawsuit sought punitive damages as well as statutory damages of $500 per resident for every day staffing levels were out of compliance.
But defense attorneys say they have evidence of juror bias and misconduct, and say that the question of whether the company violated mandatory state staffing requirements was wrongfully placed before the jury. If they are successful, the ruling would likely be overturned and the case would be retried, according to a story in the Times-Standard.
Pingback by California Judge Rejects Mistrial Motion in $677M Nursing Home Lawsuit | About Nursing Home Neglect on 30 August 2010:
[...] motions came on the heels of a head-turning, record verdict handed down in a nursing home class-action lawsuit against Skilled Healthcare earlier this summer. The company is one of the nation’s largest [...]
Pingback by California Nursing Homes, Abusers, Find Increasing Leniency, Group Claims | About Nursing Home Neglect on 31 August 2010:
[...] organization said in a SFGate.com story. The state was just recently the site of a record-breaking $677 million jury award in a nursing home class-action lawsuit that claimed that nursing home franchise giant Skilled Healthcare cut staff to dangerous [...]