Assisted Living Wrongful Death Settles for $500,000-$2 Million

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed against an assisted living facility after a resident with a severe brain injury died from ingesting foreign objects. The resident, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in 1996, was admitted to Liberty Manor in April 2006 for continuous supervision. The facility was aware that the resident had ingested cracker packets with wrappers three weeks prior to admission. Shortly after his admission, the resident began drinking his own urine, but no modifications were made to his service plan.

In May 2006, the facility was sold to a new owner, and existing caregivers were terminated and new staff allegedly hired. Two days later, the resident's wife was informed her husband was vomiting. She brought him home, where he died in her arms after vomiting black matter. An autopsy revealed plastic bags, unopened ketchup packets, candy wrappers, and paper towels in his stomach and small intestines. The medical examiner determined these foreign objects were significant contributing factors to his death, citing hypertensive heart disease due to mechanical obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract.

The plaintiff, the resident's wife, alleged abuse, neglect, wrongful death, and sought punitive damages. She claimed the facility failed to take safety precautions despite knowing the resident's history of ingesting foreign objects. She also alleged that the new caregiver assigned to her husband was never located and that Liberty Manor made numerous false entries in his care charts, including for days he was not at the facility.

Before the jury returned a verdict, the parties reached a high/low settlement agreement. The terms stipulated a minimum payment of $500,000 and a maximum payment of $2 million, which represented the facility's policy limit. The facility's professional liability insurance carrier was responsible for the payment.