News
Jury Awards $29.1 Million in Nursing Home Death
Posted on May 14, 2010
A jury in Sacramento, California has found a nursing home liable for the death of a 79 year old patient. The jury decided that the nursing home should pay $1.1 million in compensatory damages and $28 million in punitive damages.
The jury determined that $28 million was an appropriate punishment after considering the financial status of the nursing home. Punitive damages are damages designed to punish a defendant for egregious conduct and to deter others from engaging in similar egregious conduct.
In most states, including Virginia, the jury may consider the financial status of the defendant to determine the amount of damages necessary to punish the defendant. The reason the defendant's financial status should be considered is that the jury needs to know how what it will take to have a meaningful effect on the defendant without bankrupting the company. For example one million dollars may be excessive for a company that has assets of only $1 million. Alternative, it would be a drop in the bucket to a billion dollar multi-national corporation.
Unfortunately in Virginia punitive damages may not have the intended effect because we have a cap of $350,000.
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The long term care attorneys at Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C. represent victims of nursing home and assisted living facility neglect and abuse throughout Virginia, including Richmond, Fredericksburg, Fairfax, Charlottesville, Roanoke, Martinsville, Norfolk, Hampton, Farmville, and Virginia Beach. If you or a loved one has been harmed by a nursing home or an assisted living facility, please call us at (804) 288-1661 or click here to contact us by email to discuss your legal rights.