Maryland Personal Injury Lawyers
Every year, thousands of elderly nursing home residents suffer and often die as a result of gross neglect, abuse, or inadequate medical care. Victims of nursing home negligence (and their family members) can file civil lawsuits against the nursing home and get financial compensation. In fact, negligence lawsuits against nursing homes are very common. Each year the nursing home industry pays out billions in settlement compensation.
On this page, we will look at the basic components of nursing home negligence and malpractice cases. We will also discuss the average settlement payout value of nursing home negligence cases by looking at settlements and verdicts in recent cases.
Nursing Home Pressure Sore Lawsuits
Pressure sore negligence lawsuits are the most common type of nursing home case. Pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores, are tissue wounds that develop from continuous, unrelieved pressure on the skin. When certain areas of the skin are constantly under pressure, blood and oxygen flow to the tissue is restricted. These ulcers typically form around bony areas of the body where the skin is thin. Not only can pressure sores be extremely painful, but they can also be life-threatening, causing 60,000 deaths annually in the U.S. and affecting 13% of patients admitted.
Pressure sores are a clear indication of nursing home neglect, as preventing them is a fundamental service that the facility is supposed to provide. They are the most common injury alleged in nursing home negligence lawsuits. In fact, bedsores are one of the most frequently litigated injuries in the U.S., accounting for an estimated 17,000 lawsuits each year.
Nursing Home Fall Lawsuits
The second most common type of nursing home lawsuit is negligent failure to prevent a resident from falling. Nursing homes are expected to take reasonable measures to prevent residents from falling out of bed or while walking. This is part of the basic level of care that nursing homes and assisted living facilities are required to provide. While it is impossible to prevent every fall, there are far too many cases where elderly residents suffer serious injuries from falls that could have been prevented.
Nursing homes should have policies and procedures in place to identify residents at risk of falling and implement safeguards to prevent it. When nursing homes fail to implement these policies, they can be held liable for the resulting injuries. Injuries from falls are the second most common type of injury alleged in nursing home cases.
Damages Caps Limit the Settlement Value of Nursing Home Cases in Maryland
The average settlement value of a nursing home case is less than your average medical malpractice case with the same injuries. Why? The reality is that there is a damages cap on non-economic losses (pain and suffering for the victim or the victim’s family) in nursing home cases so that for injuries occurring after January 1, 2024, is between $890,000 and $1,112,500 (depending on how many wrongful death beneficiaries there are).
So you may read about a $5 million nursing home verdict by a Maryland jury, but it is very unlikely the victims are actually collecting all of that money because pain and suffering damages are reduced by the cap.
Unlike many viable medical malpractice claims, nursing home lawsuits usually lack economic damages because nursing home residents are rarely earning significant income.
So the most you can recover in most Maryland nursing home lawsuits is the noneconomic damages cap plus any medical bills that were causally related to the treatment of the injuries. Often, nursing home patients did not get much medical treatment because proper medical treatment would have averted their deaths.
Settlement Value of Maryland Nursing Home Lawsuits
The average settlement value of a nursing home negligence case in Maryland is between $175,000 and $450,000. This includes all different types of nursing home negligence cases (pressure sores, falls, abuse, etc.). This obviously does NOT mean that every nursing home case in Maryland is going to settle in this range. We see lots of nursing home cases that settle for a lot more than $475,000 and we also see lots of cases that settle for less than $175,000.
According to recent jury verdict research data, the median compensation award in nursing home negligence cases in the U.S. is $329,000. The average verdict amount in Maryland nursing home negligence cases is slightly higher than this national average. Research also shows that plaintiffs win at trial a stunning 63% of the time in personal injury cases against nursing homes. So not surprisingly, nursing homes are not exactly eager to take many cases to trial.
Because most nursing home cases are strong cases, most cases in Maryland filed by an experienced, competent lawyer are settled before trial. Of course, these statistics are of little help in evaluating your potential nursing home cases because each case is so very different.
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Sample Nursing Home Settlements and Verdicts
- 2024, Florida: $627,000 Arbitration Award: A 95-year-old woman died following a fall at an assisted living facility. The family was awarded $627,000. This included $500,000 for one of the woman’s daughters. This case debunks the myth that settlement amounts should be less if the victim is close to death. The nursing home wrongful death attorney effectively argued that the decedent’s advanced age did not diminish the value of her remaining life, highlighting her active and engaged state before the fall. By emphasizing the importance of the final years of life – a point our lawyers have made over and over – they convinced the arbitration panel to issue a larger award than the defendant expected for a 95-year-old.
- 2024, Maryland: $1,500,000 Verdict. A resident of Autumn Lake Healthcare at Alice Manor, a Baltimore nursing home, passed away due to complications from a bone infection at the base of his spine. This infection was attributed to pressure wounds, commonly known as bedsores, which are skin and tissue injuries resulting from prolonged pressure on the skin. These pressure wounds, according to the wrongful death nursing home lawsuit, developed because the nursing home staff failed to regularly turn and reposition the resident to alleviate pressure, a necessary care practice for individuals with limited mobility.
- 2023, Maryland: $9 Million Verdict: A pastor developed a critical pressure wound during his stay at the Stella Maris nursing home in Baltimore County, following a stroke. He died from severe sepsis and other complications linked to the infected bedsore. The jury, after a seven-day trial, determined that the nursing home’s negligence led to the fatal wound, awarding $8 million for the pastor’s suffering and an additional $1 million for his family’s emotional distress. This case underscores why most Maryland nursing home lawsuit end in in a settlement instead of a trial. In spite of a $9 million verdict, the family only collected a little over $1 million because of Maryland cap on pain and suffering damages that we talk about above.
- 2023, Pennsylvania: $240,000 Settlement. A 96-year-old female nursing home resident with a history of chronic dysphasia, chocked on food and aspirated, resulting in brain damage. This led to cardiac arrest and death. The estate contended that the defendants were negligent in the care and treatment of the decedent by leaving her unattended while she was eating. He died a year later and reportedly suffered from the sores, and resultant pain and debility, during the last year of his life
- 2023, California: $30,912,802 Verdict. An 86-year-old man reportedly fell at home, fractured his hip, underwent surgery, and was admitted to the nursing home facility after the surgery. He was severely neglected during his two-week stay at the facility and developed two unstageable heel pressure sores, one of which was discovered to be a to-the-bone stage IV pressure sore. The nursing home offered $1 million to settle the case prior to trial. The verdict included $25 million in punitive damages.
- 2023, Pennsylvania: $125,000 Settlement. An 86-year-old nursing home resident fell and fractured her hip and eventually died from complications related to the surgery to repair her hip. The estate contended that the defendants were negligent in failing to sufficiently monitor the decedent for fall prevention, failing to properly implement appropriate fall prevention measures, negligently supervising the decedent, and failing to provide more frequent observation of the decedent.
- 2022, Pennsylvania: $175,000 Settlement. A nursing home resident sustained a Stage II bedsore that developed to Stage III. She was transferred to the hospital. Her bedsore deteriorated. The woman died from her injuries. Her family alleged negligence against the nursing home. They claimed its staff failed to implement bedsore prevention protocols, assess the skin breakdown risk, and rotate the deceased. This case settled for $175,000.
- 2022, Pennsylvania: $300,000 Settlement. A 94-year-old woman was admitted to a nursing home. Her skin was intact. The woman developed bedsores. She died from her injuries. The woman’s family alleged that the nursing home staff’s negligence caused her injuries. They claimed they failed to determine the woman’s risk for developing bedsores, implement bedsore prevention measures, adequately treat her skin breakdown, and provide appropriate care. This case settled for $300,000.
- 2022, Pennsylvania: $200,000 Settlement. A 76-year-old nursing home resident experienced two unsupervised falls. She sustained a hip fracture and a skull hematoma. Her health declined. The woman died from her injuries. Her family alleged negligence against the nursing home. She claimed its staff failed to implement fall prevention protocols, provided appropriate care, and properly devise a care plan. This case settled for $200,000.
- 2021, Pennsylvania: $110,000 Settlement. A nursing home resident choked on food during dinner. He lost consciousness. The man was brought to the hospital. He died one week later. The man’s family alleged negligence against the nursing home. They claimed its staff failed to implement choke prevention procedures, appreciate the man’s choke risk, carefully observe him during meals, and timely assist him at mealtime. This case settled
for $110,000. - 2021, Pennsylvania: $250,000 Settlement. A 90-something nursing home broke her hip after falling. She developed pressure sores. The woman’s overall health deteriorated. She died several weeks later. Her family alleged that the nursing home staff’s substandard care caused her death. This case settled for $250,000.
- 2021, Louisiana: $150,000 Verdict. A 64-year-old nursing home resident suffered a heart attack. Facility staff members attempted to resuscitate her. They called 911. EMS arrived and performed advanced cardiovascular life support. The woman regained a pulse. She was brought to the hospital. The hospital staff noticed discrepancies between the nursing home-provided medical chart and the woman’s physical examination records. They discovered that the facility provided the wrong medical chart. This caused treatment delays. The woman died the following day. Her family alleged that the nursing home staff’s failure to send the correct medical records delayed her treatments. The jury awarded $150,000.
- 2021, Florida: $1,758,230 Verdict. A 61-year-old woman was admitted to a nursing home. She was infection-free at the time. The woman developed a UTI. Several months later, she died from urosepsis and septic shock. The victim’s family alleged negligence against the nursing home. They claimed its staff members failed to appreciate her high UTI risk status, prevent her infection, and routinely consult a urologist. The jury awarded the family $1,758,230.
- 2021, California: $755,144 Verdict. A 65-year-old nursing home resident, whose medical history included dementia and bilateral leg amputations, fell from her wheelchair. She sustained a subarachnoid hemorrhage. The woman alleged negligence and elder abuse against the nursing home. She claimed its staff failed to appreciate her fall risk and implement fall prevention measures. The jury awarded her $755,144.
Getting an Advocate to Fight for You
If someone you love has been hurt or killed in a nursing home, injuries of unknown origin, bed sores, a broken hip, or frequent falls, and you are suspicions of elder abuse or nursing home negligence, a personal injury lawsuit may be filed on their behalf.
If you believe that you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury as the result of nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect, call our nursing home attorneys at 800-553-8082 for a free Internet consultation to discuss a potential lawsuit. There are no fees or expenses unless a recovery is obtained.
Common Nursing Home Defendants in Maryland
One Big Problem in Nursing Homes
- Bed Sore Injuries in Nursing Homes (discussion of this common nursing home neglect lawsuit issue)
- Decubitus Ulcers and Deformities (background and Maryland law)
Nursing Home Lawsuits in Maryland: Samples and Explanation of Maryland Law
- Sample Nursing Home Complaint (sample wrongful death suit)
- Another Example Nursing Home Complaint
- Yet Another Example Nursing Home Lawsuit
- Expert Report (sample certificate of merit and expert report defending Manor Care in a nursing home case)
- Sample Mediation Statement in a Nursing Home Case (example of mediation statement in nursing home lawsuit that reached a settlement)
- Plaintiff’s Expert Report (expert report used by our nursing home lawyers in a lawsuit against Manor Care)
- CALL 410-779-4600 or get a free online Maryland nursing home claim evaluation