Nursing Home Death Lawsuit Ends With $4.5 Million Award

A nursing home death lawsuit just ended with a $4.5 million award. The lawsuit was filed by the son of the woman who died after a short stay at a Las Vegas facility.

The award covers damages and legal fees from a private binding arbitration panel for the death of Eleanor Wildhaber who stayed briefly at the Life Care Center of Las Vegas, said the Las Vegas Review Journal. Eleanor’s son, Greg Halbrook, sued the Life Care Center, which is part of the larger national chain, Life Care Centers of America, alleging the wrongful death of his mother. Eleanor spent less than three weeks at the Center in December 2008 after she suffered a stroke.

Court papers were filed yesterday asking a federal judge to approve the binding arbitration award, said the Las Vegas Review Journal. The panel found that Eleanor was a victim of elder abuse while at the Life Care Center, located at 6151 Vegas Drive. The attorney for the woman said that the Center place profits over its patients.

The lawsuit was originally filed in District Court and was moved to federal court, said the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Meanwhile, we just wrote that national law firm, Parker Waichman LLP, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the estate of a Nassau County, New York, woman who died, allegedly, as a result of nursing home negligence on the part of the Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation. That center is located in Woodbury, New York.

The complaint states that while at the facility, the woman developed numerous decubitus ulcers, skin breakdown, infections, malnutrition, dehydration, and other injuries that were allegedly caused by the negligence of UPR Care Corp. The defendants are charged with a variety of items, including negligence, gross negligence, and wrongful death; the complaint seeks compensatory and punitive damage and attorney fees and costs on behalf of the decedent’s estate.

Parker Waichman LLP also filed another nursing home neglect lawsuit against Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, of Long Island, New York. That lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Nassau County who woman suffered severe and permanent injuries from falls associated with negligence on the part of Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, which is also being charged with violations of the New York Public Health Law and negligence and gross negligence.

Parker Waichman has long been dedicated to protecting the rights of nursing home abuse and negligence victims and has, among other measures to protect this vulnerable demographic, prepared a video blog.

We also recently wrote that a negligent nursing home owner was convicted of Medicare and Medicaid fraud, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Not unsurprisingly, conditions for residents at three Georgia facilities run by the owner and his wife, were simply deplorable. Owner, George Dayln Houser and his wife and accomplice, Rhonda Washington Houser were convicted and pled guilty of defrauding both government agencies in an investigation that involved the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Criminal Investigation. George Houser was just convicted; Rhonda pled guilty last year.

The FBI cited insufficient food, minimal air conditioning and heat, severely leaking roofs that required numerous barrels and plastic sheets to catch water, dumpsters overflowing with trash, flies and rodents running rampant, and significant mold and mildew, to name just some. Shockingly, the Housers received a massive $32.9 million in Medicare and Medicaid payments for resident care; most of that money was pocketed and not used to adequately run the facilities.