Settlement of $1.25 Million is Reached After Virginia Patient’s Health Declined in Long Term Care

Many cases of medical malpractice are brought against long term care facilities and nursing homes. In a recent case in the Hampton Roads area, the family of a 76-year-old woman who died, received a $1.25 million settlement after the facility was accused of negligence.

Virginia Lawyers Weekly reported on how the woman was admitted to a long-term care facility to undergo physical therapy after she was admitted to a hospital for aggravation of a pre-existing compression fracture in her spine.

She was reported to be alert but she also had a “suspected diagnosis of Parkinson’s and dementia,” according to the report. Over the next week the woman’s overall mental and physical condition deteriorated rapidly. She was transferred out of the facility to a hospital, following complaints from family members.

She was found to be in septic shock and suffered a range of serious conditions including urinary sepsis, dehydration, renal failure and pneumonia. She suffered from multiple organ failure and died 24 hours after she was admitted to the hospital.

A lawsuit was brought against the long-term care facility claiming a doctor failed to ensure his orders were carried out by the nurses, including failing to determine that various test results had been admitted from the chart and failing to monitor the patient’s deteriorating condition in a timely manner.

Experts hired by the defendant claimed the facility complied with the standard of care in all respects and the patient was suffering from a debilitating condition that meant she did not have long to live.

The attorneys for the plaintiff were David J. Pierce and Anthony M. Gantous of Norfolk. All cases are unique and different and we cannot guarantee the same result in your case.

A failure to adequately monitor patients is a common cause of medical malpractice lawsuits in Virginia. When we put elderly relatives into the care of long-term care facilities we expect them to receive excellent treatment. Sadly, this is not always the case.

See our FAQs about medical malpractice. If you have been seriously injured due to neglect at a care facility or hospital or a doctor mistake, call Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers at 757.455.0077.