Nursing home to pay $3M after patient deaths

The families of three patients at a now-defunct nursing home in Raleigh will receive the maximum amount allowed under North Carolina state law from a $5.2 million verdict from 2017, their attorneys report.

Rachel Fuerst and Thomas Henson Jr. of Henson Fuerst in Raleigh, the plaintiffs’ attorneys, report that after the punitive damages were reduced pursuant to state law, the total judgment came to just over $3 million, including costs and interest.

A jury initially granted $650,000 in compensatory damages and just over $4.57 million in punitive damages to the families of Del Baird, Bettie Mae Kee, and Elizabeth Jones, who died while being treated at Blue Ridge Health Care Center in Raleigh.

U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle later granted the defense’s motion for judgment negating the punitive damages entirely, but that ruling was overruled, and the punitive damages reinstated by the 4th Circuit last August. In November, the 4th Circuit granted a motion to amend the mandate to include interest on the awards of punitive damages running from the original Feb. 16, 2017 verdict.

Fuerst said that cost-cutting measures taken by the nursing home were largely responsible for the jury’s decision to grant punitive damages.

“There was evidence from former employees … that this facility was known to be understaffed,” Fuerst said. “They asked the prior administrator to cut back on staff and supplies and he quit because he warned this was unsafe and put lives in danger.”

Fuerst said that the administration further skimped on crucial medical supplies, which inevitably led to the three deaths happening in a three-month period of time. She said that soon thereafter the facility lost its ability to accept Medicaid and Medicare money, forcing it to sell its license.

Fuerst said the case represented the first time that a nursing home malpractice case has resulted in punitive damages in North Carolina, and the first time that the 4th Circuit has ruled on the matter of the origination date for interest following a reversal or modification of a judgment reinstating an award.

Gregory Brown and Kristi Gavalier of Brown Law in Raleigh represented the defense in the case. Brown did not respond to requests for comment before press time.

Follow Matt Chaney on Twitter @NCLWChaney

VERDICT REPORT – MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

Amount: $3,007,922

Injuries alleged: Wrongful deaths of nursing home patients caused by negligence

Case name: VanDevender v. Blue Ridge of Raleigh

Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

Case No.: 5:14-CV-150-BO

Judge: Terrence Boyle

Date of verdict: Feb. 16, 2017

Special damages: Punitive damages for gross negligence

Attorneys for plaintiff: Rachel Fuerst and Thomas Henson Jr. of Henson Fuerst in Raleigh

Attorneys for defendant: Gregory Brown and Kristi Gavalier of Brown Law in Raleigh