Wrongful Death
Settlement Spotlight
Roy and Tosh Settle Wrongful Death Claim for $627,000.00, Exceeding Louisiana’s Cap on Damages
Bedsore.Law attorneys Chris J. Roy, Jr. and Ernest Tosh represented the four (4) surviving children of Theresa Gremillion, who suffered significant injuries due to negligence while a resident at Bayou Vista Community Care Center in Bunkie, Louisiana.
On April 15, 2017, Ms. Gremillion fell from her wheelchair causing intense pain in her lumbar area. Notwithstanding, the nursing home never physically assessed the lumbar and/or hip area following the fall, instead attributing it to her history of chronic low back and thoracic pain.
Impairment & Infection
Due to her impaired cognition, Ms. Gremillion was unable to express the focal point of her left lower extremity pain even though it was clear she was in distress. Bayou Vista Community Care Center’s policies and procedures required a thorough physical assessment to determine the etiology of her complaints of pain; however, the facility failed to provide one.
Sometime after the fall, Ms. Gremillion developed a urinary tract infection (UTI) for which she was given antibiotics. The nursing home failed to follow-up with post-antibiotic assessments of the urine which led to either a new UTI that went undiscovered, or the failure of the first UTI to heal. In either event, Ms. Gremillion was found in a uroseptic condition on June 5, 2017 requiring transfer to a hospital for further treatment.
During a subsequent hospitalization, an assessment of the hip area uncovered a femoral neck fracture and supra pubic rami fractures that had existed since the April fall.
Surgery Post-Op Complications
She underwent hip replacement surgery to recover her ability to transfer from bed to chair so as not to be totally bed bound. Following the hip replacement, she developed post-operative complications which led to her untimely death approximately one month later.
The nursing home denied any wrongdoing, including that its negligence caused the fall which caused the fracture, and blamed the hospital for fracturing the hip. Roy and Tosh were able to prove through expert testimony that the hip fracture had, in fact, more than likely occurred as a result of the fall on April 15, 2017. They were also able to relate the uroseptic event and hospitalizations to the failure of the nursing home to assess Ms. Gremillion whose condition had obviously deteriorated.
After a lengthy litigation process including numerous pretrial motions, the parties reached a settlement in the amount of $627,000.00, despite the fact that Louisiana has a $500,000.00 cap for medical malpractice and/or nursing home malpractice.