Sending a message to nursing homes

There are plenty of nightmare stories about nursing homes and poor care, but it seems a jury in Humboldt County, California, has decided enough is enough. This week a jury awarded nearly $677 million in damages in a class-action lawsuit against Skilled Healthcare, one of the biggest nursing home providers in the nation. The decision came after a trial that lasted more than seven months.

The class-action lawsuit represented about 32,000 patients who received substandard care between 2003 and 2009. A California law requires each patient receive 3.2 nursing hours per day, a mandate Skilled Healthcare allegedly violated. Based in southern California, Skilled Healthcare has facilities in seven states totaling some 78 nursing homes, including five in Humboldt County.

Additional punitive damages will be determined by the jury next week. For more information, see this article.

This was posted on Friday, July 9th, 2010 and is filed in the Legal, Patient Care categories.