A jury awarded the daughter of a 78-year-old woman $54 million in an ongoing nursing home neglect case.
The Albuquerque State jury ruled that the defendant, ManorCare Inc., which no longer operates nursing homes, was responsible for the woman’s early and unexpected death in 2004.
The $54 million award in the nursing home case will go to the woman’s daughter, Lori Keith.
The Lawsuit
A week before Barbara Barber was supposed to return home to be cared for by her daughter, Keith received a phone call from the nursing home saying that her mother had suddenly passed away.
Keith already had her suspicions about the level of care at the nursing home, but when the home reportedly tried to cover up Barber’s death by immediately changing her sheets and taking all the items out of her room, Keith decided to file suit.
According to court reports, ManorCare’s neglect of Barber ultimately led to her death, and jurors awarded Keith $54 million in what has been named one of the biggest settlements in nursing home history.
Successful Outcome
Although Keith is pleased with the outcome of the case, she says all she really hoped for was an admission of guilt from Manorcare and the staff that failed to properly care for her elderly mother.
“It was a pretty nasty process, the whole thing, but I stuck with it. I had wonderful attorneys that stuck by me,” said Keith.
Manorcare has declined to comment on the case or the settlement.
(Source: The Albuquerque Tribune)
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