Jury Fines Nursing Home Chain $619 Million for Safety Violations

This week, The Eureka Times-Standard reported that a jury in California returned a verdict against Skilled Healthcare, a nursing home chain in Humboldt County Superior Court on Tuesday, “opting to impose the maximum amount of damages totaling nearly $619 million for health code violations.” Along with “the statutory damages, the jury awarded an additional $58 million for a violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, bringing the total damages to nearly $677 million.”

Skilled Healthcare runs approximately 76 nursing home facilities and another 21 assisted living facilities in California and 6 other southwestern states.  The company has over 10,000 beds and 14,000 employees.

The trial involved patient incidents from 2003 through 2009 and an estimated 32,000 patients.   The case has been going on for over 7 months. Next week the jury will be deciding the issue of punitive damages.