The Tennessee Supreme Court has dealt a severe blow towards the nursing home industry in Tennessee. We can only hope that it’s one of many blows that will, ultimately, transform the industry.
The arguments in the case are complicated, but the facts are not in dispute. A woman in a Tennessee nursing home was experiencing extreme constipation. The woman’s doctor ordered that she be given daily medication, but the nursing home failed to administer the medication regularly, and her condition worsened. The resident’s doctor eventually ordered that she be given enemas three times a day to relieve pressure.
Instead of providing the care that was ordered, the nursing home staff provided a single enema in a day. Some days, there were none at all. Constipation is no joke. In some cases it can lead to an impacted bowel that can rupture and become fatal. That’s what happened to the Tennessee resident.
The nursing home in question was notoriously understaffed. The jury determined that the nursing home management company was partially responsible for the woman’s death by creating a working environment that made providing adequate care impossible. This is a very big deal.
All too often, the wrongful deaths or severe injuries that happen in nursing homes are placed squarely on the shoulders of the overworked staff members, while the nursing home administrators avoid all blame and responsibility.
This isn’t the first sign that this dynamic is changing. Earlier this year a Florida jury handed down a $1 billion dollar judgement against a nursing home that was guilty of nursing home neglect.
If you have a loved one who has been injured or neglected in an Illinois nursing home, contact my law offices for a free and confidential evaluation of your case. At my law offices, our Chicago nursing home lawyers have the experience and expertise to manage every aspect of your nursing home neglect lawsuit, and we would welcome the opportunity to speak to you.