Defense Verdict in Connecticut

On June 25, 2015, David Robertson obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a nursing facility and rehabilitation center in a medical malpractice case tried in Connecticut.

The plaintiff had alleged that its decedent, an elderly woman who was admitted to the facility and receiving physical therapy, fell while at the facility sustaining a left femur fracture.  The focus of the plaintiff’s claim was that the facility failed to have properly working bed/chair alarms in place and that it failed to properly respond to the plaintiff’s decedent’s continued failure to follow the instructions that she had been repeatedly given not to ambulate independently.  Following the injury, the plaintiff’s decedent’s leg fracture could not be treated due to other medical issues.  As a result, she was required to wear a full leg brace to keep the bones in place and could no longer get out of bed or walk independently.  As a result she had to use a wheelchair and was confined to a skilled nursing facility until the end of her life.  She died two years after the fall.  

Attorney Robertson introduced testimony from a nursing expert who offered the opinion that an appropriate care plan with fall prevention measures had been developed by the facility.  The expert also refuted the plaintiff’s expert’s opinion that the care plan had not been followed or updated.   The plaintiff claimed significant monetary damages for the costs incurred for nearly two years of long term care.   The argument developed to refute this claim was that the plaintiffs’ decedent would likely have required long term care regardless of this incident.  There was also a claim for the plaintiff’s decedent’s physical pain and suffering during her life.