The Star Tribune reports that a Humboldt County, California jury recently decided to award $677 million in damages in a class action suit against Skilled Healthcare, a large nursing home chain based in Orange County. Key testimony was provided by the daughter of a resident of Skilled’s Eureka Healthcare and Rehabilitation nursing home. The daughter reported that during her almost daily visits to the home, she would find her father wearing urine-soaked clothes and that it would routinely take the staff 20 minutes to respond to his call light. The reason for such a large verdict is that the jury found that Skilled had been chronically under-staffing its facilities. The state of California requires that nursing care providers guarantee 3.2 hours of care per resident per day. Providing cares in a nursing home is complicated and difficult, and it takes time. If there are too few employees on the floor, there literally won’t be enough time in the day to provide proper care.
If you believe that a loved one has suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home, take action now and contact the Kosieradzki Smith Law Firm online or call us toll free at (877) 552-2873 to set up a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION.
