Pleasant Law Blog (Insurance Claims, Medical Misakes, and Nursing Home Claims)

TN Tort Reform: Bad for Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Victims and Their Families

As the nursing home industry seeks to limit "non-economic" damages in nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect (and wrongful death cases resulting from nursing home abuse and neglect), one wonders what will be left to deter the rotten conduct happening in nursing homes these days. Without non-economic damages such as punitive damages, large corporate interests operating many of these facilities these days will have little incentive to change their ways (e.g., budget pressure on nursing home administrators, resulting in severe and dangerous understaffing in some nursing homes; which equals nursing home abuse, neglect and wrongful death in many cases). One argument the nursing home industry is using is that liability costs cause unnecessary expense that could be spent hiring more staff. Unfortunately, we have seen that the nursing homes (especially the large chains we are now seeing) already have plenty of money to beef up staff. Limiting non-economic damages in nursing home cases will also devalue the true pain and suffering to which many vicitims of nursing home abuse or neglect are subjected. The following article discusses the pending proposal in TN. Hopefully, North Carolina nursing home abuse cases will not be limited. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/03/
nursing-home-industry-wants-limits-in-lawsuits/