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California SNF amputee awarded $12 million
LTC Liability Monitor, July 14, 2005
A Los Angeles nursing home, Western Convalescent Hospital, must pay $12 million to 62-year-old resident Kenneth F. Morris, who required a leg amputation because of an infected pressure ulcer. It was one of the largest verdicts against a California nursing home in years, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Morris, a paraplegic with schizophrenia, first developed the ulcer on his right heel in November 2002. Within a month, it became so infected that the bones of his foot were exposed. Nurses did not take steps needed to relieve him, and "all they had to do was put a pillow under his heel," Morris' attorneys told the Times. The nursing home was also cited for being understaffed.
California state law requires nursing homes to provide a minimum of 3.2 hours of care per day per resident, and Western Convalescent's records showed it failed to do so at least 50% of the time for the period of December 2002 to April 2003.
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