Oakland Accident Attorneys - Bay Area Accident Law Attorneys Based in Oakland

	verdicts Notable cases from the nursing home and elder abuse group include: Judgment by Default in the Amount of $3,279,463 in an Elder Abuse Case on Behalf of an Elderly Woman and Her Daughter Against a San Pablo Nursing Home. An elderly woman had suffered because a San Pablo nursing home repeatedly neglected her, causing her to develop a Stage 4 bedsore that covered her buttocks. The bedsore required multiple surgeries to save the elderly woman’s life, rendering her bed-bound for the rest of her life. In a suit she filed prior to joining Boxer & Gerson, LLP, Felicia Curran obtained a judgment by default in the amount of $3,279,463 in an elder abuse case. The judgment was entered by a judge after an evidentiary hearing in which Felicia presented evidence of the woman’s pain and suffering. She also presented evidence that entitled the daughter to a damage award for her own emotional distress that was based on gross acts of mistreatment of her mother which she observed during visits to the nursing home. Back to Top Settlement of $850,000 for Wrongful Death and Neglect of a Dependent Adult Who Became Septic at Long Term Care Home. Felicia Curran represented a forty-five-year-old who went to live at a long term care facility after he became physically disabled from multiple sclerosis. He was totally dependent on others for basic activities such as toileting, bathing, turning in bed, and getting in and out of bed. He was often left for hours sitting in wet diapers, causing him to develop chronic urinary tract infections. The facility’s neglect of his needs caused him to become depressed and withdrawn to the extent that he refused to eat and became malnourished and dehydrated. He passed away after becoming septic, caused by the urinary tract infections. In a case filed before she came to Boxer & Gerson, LLP, Felicia presented evidence that the long term care facility caused the man’s death by its repeated neglect of his medical and psychological needs, and that the managers of the facility were aware of the neglect but did nothing. Her advocacy secured an $850,000 settlement on behalf of the family for wrongful death and neglect. Back to Top Settlement of $825,000 on Behalf of Elderly Disabled Woman Against Physicians and Skilled Nursing Facility. An elderly woman’s physicians mistakenly diagnosed a back injury as a muscle sprain, instead of a fracture. The elder became disabled from the pain, to the point where she had to be admitted several times to a nursing home for pain management. At the nursing home, she was repeatedly over-sedated with medication and required to do physical therapy, which only made her condition worse. Her cries of pain were ignored. When the fracture was finally diagnosed months later, the woman had spinal cord damage. The case settled for over $825,000 after the judge ruled that there was evidence that could support a claim that the nursing home and some of the physicians had committed malicious, oppressive, and despicable neglect of their elderly patient. Back to Top Settlement of $850,000 on Behalf of Elderly Disabled Woman Against Physicians and Skilled Nursing Facility. An elderly disabled woman in her seventies developed decubitus ulcers on her hips and buttocks during a period of immobility following a major surgery. The ulcers could have been prevented if she had been turned regularly in the hospital. Her physicians cut corners, and delayed providing her medically necessary treatment, equipment, and referrals to specialists, causing the ulcers to become infected, which in turn infected her bones, ultimately requiring hip resection surgery. The neglect permanently altered the quality of the woman’s life and cut short her remaining years. The physicians argued that the decubitus ulcers were caused by pre-existing disabilities, and not by any neglect. The case settled for $800,000 after a hearing in which evidence was presented to establish that the physician’s neglect had caused her injuries, and which established the amount of the woman’s monetary losses. Back to Top Settlement of $825,000 for Wrongful Death and Neglect of an Elderly Woman Who Died from Aspiration. After an elderly woman moved into a long term care facility, staff of the nursing home dropped her, causing a fractured hip. They then ignored her complaints of hip pain for weeks. The elderly woman became depressed from the pain and neglect, and began to refuse to eat, which severely affected her well-being and contributed to her deterioration. She was finally seen by a physician when her daughter had her examined by a physician visiting the facility. She was operated on for repair of the hip, but then aspirated while recovering from the surgery in the hospital. The case settled for $825,000 based on legal theories of wrongful death and neglect. Back to Top Settlement of $700,000 on Behalf of Dependent Adult Against Care Home. A mentally disabled young adult was placed in a group home by a placement agency. Her parents discovered scars all over her back when they visited her, which hadn’t been there before. She was unable to tell anyone what had happened because of her mental disabilities. The group home blamed the young woman for the injuries, contending that wounds were self inflicted. The case settled for $700,000 after extensive pre-trial work-up which showed that it was likely that she was beaten with a strap by an overnight "caregiver" at the group home. Back to Top Settlement of $500,000 on Behalf of Elderly Man and Her Family Against Skilled Nursing Facility and its Physicians. An elderly man entered a skilled nursing facility for short-term care to recover from a heart attack and stroke. At the nursing home he was left unattended in bed, flat on his back, for long periods of time, which caused him to develop pressure ulcers all over his body. The physicians at the skilled nursing facility held back aggressive treatment for the pressure ulcers because of his advanced age, putting him at risk of losing a leg as the pressure ulcer spread into the muscle and bones. The skilled nursing facility and the physician contended that their conduct amounted to, at most, negligence, and that the damage limitations of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) should limit any settlement to $250,000. Felicia Curran obtained a settlement in excess of the MICRA limits by advocating a legal theory for the family members that entitled them to damages for their emotional distress. Back to Top Settlement of $375,000 on Behalf of Elderly Woman and Her Family Against Skilled Nursing Facility and its Physicians. An elderly resident of a nursing home was unconscious when she was taken by ambulance from the nursing home, after having aspirated juice and liquid which the nursing home staff had negligently given her. She never regained consciousness, and passed away at a hospital, without being able to say goodbye to her family. The case settled for $375,000 after Felicia Curran defeated the nursing home’s motion to have the elder abuse case dismissed, by presenting evidence of the nursing home’s reckless neglect to a judge, including the nursing home’s delay in seeking medical treatment for the elder.