The plaintiff’s decedent, age ninety-three, resided at defendant nursing home in 2001. The facility was owned and operated by the defendant healthcare group. The regular workers for the facility were on strike and replacement workers had been hired. Two of the replacement workers were nurse’s aides and defendants. They were recruited through the defendant staffing company.

The plaintiff’s decedent was under orders to eat only thickened liquids and pureed food. One of the nurse’s aides gave the decedent a food tray which contained a regular diet (apparently intended for the decedent’s roommate), rather than a mechanical soft diet with ground food. The decedent was blind and had no teeth. He choked on the food and was resuscitated, but died ten days later in a hospital.

The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants were negligent in failing to following doctor’s orders regarding the decedent’s food. The defendant nurses aide that served the food and the staffing company contended that the correct tray was served to the decedent and that the kitchen staff had put the wrong food on the decedent’s tray. The nursing home claimed that the nurse’s aide served the wrong tray to the decedent.

According to the Verdict Reporter, a $2.5 million verdict was returned against the staffing company and the nurse’s aid that served the food only. Interest caused the verdict to be over $4 million. A $3.4 million settlement was reached after trial, which was paid by the staffing company and the nurse’s aide.

With permission from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts; Lewis Laska, Editor, 901 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203-3411, 1-800-298-6288.