The Law Offices of Vic Feazell, P.C. is pleased to announce that Attorney Vic Feazell, in a coordinated effort with Attorney Jack Modesett, was recently successful in helping secure a substantial jury verdict on behalf of a family whose loved one died as a result of negligent care provided at a local nursing home.
On Friday March 17th, a jury in McLennan County found that a Waco nursing facility’s negligence let to the preventable death of a diabetic man in 2015. After deliberating for two days, jurors from the 414th State District Court ruled against the nursing home and its parent company, and awarded the man’s family $450,000 in damages.
The jury verdict stems from a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Jeffrey Place Rehabilitation Center, a nursing center located in Waco, and Senior Living Properties LLC, its parent company, filed by the son of a 79 year old retired mechanic who died while in the care of Jeffrey Place.
According to the lawsuit and testimony given over the course of a five-day trial, the 79 year old retiree was admitted to Jeffrey Place as a diabetic who required dialysis, a treatment used to help patients with kidney disease and other disorders properly purify blood. While under the care of Jeffrey Place, the man contracted an infection in his big toe that later developed into gangrenous necrosis, or gangrene. Gangrene is a serious and life-threatening condition that causes death and decay of body tissue. The condition eventually led to the amputation of the man’s right leg, and ultimately, his death.
During trial, Attorneys Feazell and Modesett family utilized an expert medical witness who testified that staff and officials at the Waco nursing center provided substandard care when they failed to timely diagnose and treat the man’s infected toe and delayed in transporting the patient to the hospital. Jeffrey Place nurses who testified at trial reported that they did not spot the toe infection until the wound had progressed so severely it turned black, emitted a foul odor, and was 4 by 5 centimeters in size.
In response, defense attorneys for Jeffrey Place stated that facility staff were following protocol from the medical director and that they did all they could for the patient, who came to Jeffrey Place in a state of poor health.
Thanks to the extensive preparation of Attorneys Feazell and Modesett and a strong case presented at trial, the jury ultimately sided with the victim’s family and awarded the requested damages, including $100,000 for the victim’s pain and emotional suffering prior to his passing, and $150,000 for the victim’s son’s loss of companionship and mental anguish. The jury, when left to determine the award for exemplary damages on their own, also included $200,000 in punitive damages. Exemplary damages are awarded in cases involving egregious acts of negligence.
Attorney Feazell and our team are pleased to have played a role in working with Attorney Modesett to secure the compensation the victim’s family rightfully deserved. In addition to helping secure justice on behalf of the family, the jury verdict was also a victory for local residents and elderly individuals, and sets a clear tone that substandard care at nursing facilities should never be tolerated.
You can read more about the case here, or contact us if you wish to discuss a case involving wrongful death, nursing home abuse or neglect, and your legal rights.