Record $26 Million Ohio Verdict Shows the Cost of Nursing-Home Neglect

Published June 13, 2023 · Verdicts & Settlements

Stephen Tate could not see, and he could not safely eat on his own. A gunshot wound to the head at age 19 had left him blind with a traumatic brain injury, and he needed help around the clock, including someone to guide food to his mouth at meals. In November 2019, at a nursing home in Warren, he was left to eat lunch alone in his room. Staff later found him in distress, and, according to the newspaper's account of the case, about 42 minutes passed before anyone called for an ambulance. He did not survive.

A Trumbull County jury has now awarded his family $26 million, as reported by the Tribune Chronicle on June 8, 2023. The family's attorney called it "the largest jury verdict against a nursing home in Ohio history." Whatever happens next in the case, the verdict tells families and nursing-home operators alike how Ohio jurors view preventable neglect.

What the jury heard

The case, brought by Mr. Tate's estate against Signature HealthCare of Warren, was tried before Judge Cynthia Rice in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas. According to the Tribune Chronicle's report:

• Mr. Tate's brain injury left him with poor impulse control, so he needed supervision and help with eating.
• The lawsuit alleged the facility was understaffed and mismanaged.
• He was left to eat unsupervised in his room, and staff found him lethargic and vomiting.
• The family alleged that about 42 minutes passed before emergency services were called. He was found drowning in his vomit, and hospital staff could not revive him. Hospital diagnoses included massive aspiration pneumonia, sepsis, septic shock with multi-organ failure, and protein-calorie malnutrition.

The jury awarded $20 million for wrongful death, $500,000 for violations of Ohio's nursing-home residents' rights law, $500,000 for pain and suffering, and $5 million in punitive damages.

We are reporting the verdict as the newspaper described it. Our office was not involved in the case. Verdicts can be challenged through post-trial motions and appeals, and the article did not report on either.

Why the jury's numbers matter

A few features of this verdict are worth understanding.

The wrongful-death award reflects the family's loss. Ohio's wrongful-death statute compensates surviving family members for losses such as the society and companionship of the person who died and their own mental anguish. A resident's age, disability, or lack of earnings does not make that loss worthless, and this jury plainly did not treat it that way. Our post on nursing-home falls and understaffing explains how families prove these losses.

The pain-and-suffering award belongs to the resident's estate. Separate from the family's wrongful-death claim, the estate can recover for what the resident himself endured before death. Choking, aspiration, and the time it took for help to arrive are part of that claim.

Punitive damages punish, rather than compensate. Ohio allows punitive damages only in limited circumstances and under strict statutory rules. An award of $5 million signals that the jury viewed the facility's conduct as far more serious than a simple mistake. We discussed how Ohio courts handle punitive damages in nursing-home trials in our 2012 post on bifurcation, and our guide chapter on what your case is worth explains the categories of damages.

Ohio's Nursing Home Residents' Bill of Rights

Ohio gives nursing-home residents specific, enforceable rights. Under R.C. 3721.13(A), they include the right to a safe and clean living environment, the right to be free from physical, verbal, mental, and emotional abuse, the right to adequate and appropriate medical treatment and nursing care, and the right to have reasonable requests responded to promptly.

When those rights are violated, R.C. 3721.17(I)(1)(a) gives the resident a cause of action against the person or home that committed the violation. Under R.C. 3721.17(I)(2)(a), the resident or the resident's estate can recover compensatory damages by showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the violation resulted from a negligent act or omission and caused injury or death. Punitive damages in these cases are governed by Ohio's general punitive-damages statute, as R.C. 3721.17(I)(2)(b) provides.

That is why the Tate verdict includes a separate $500,000 line for violations of residents' rights. The statute recognizes that a resident is not just a patient; he is a person living in a home that has promised to keep him safe.

What these cases usually turn on

Neglect cases like this one tend to be won or lost on records that the facility controls:

• Care plans showing what supervision a resident needed, such as assistance with meals or fall precautions.
• Staffing schedules and timecards showing how many aides and nurses were actually on the floor.
• Call-light logs, nursing notes, and incident reports showing when staff responded.
• Ambulance and 911 records pinning down exactly how long it took to call for help.
• State inspection reports documenting prior problems at the facility.

Families should request their loved one's records promptly and keep notes of what they observe on visits. Records can be altered, lost, or summarized in ways that leave out what matters.

What this means for you

If someone you love was injured or died after being left without the help a care plan required, whether during a meal, while getting out of bed, or while waiting for a nurse, the law gives your family real remedies. Understaffing is not an excuse; it is often the reason. Our wrongful death practice page explains how we handle these cases, and our personal injury page covers injuries that stop short of death.