Maryland Injury Law Center
There is a graph in Metro Verdicts Monthly on nursing home verdicts and settlements in Virginia and Maryland over the last 25 years.
The median nursing home verdict/settlement in Virginia was $287,500. In Maryland, the median verdict was $150,000. Virginia seems about right. I think the Maryland data is wrong. Again, I have no idea how Metro Verdict Monthly compiles this data.
Jury Verdict Research did a study that found that nursing home plaintiffs get a median award of $329,000. Defense lawyers are not eager to try these cases for a reason: plaintiffs win at trial a stunning 63 percent of nursing home jury trials.
So, statistically, you are more likely to win at trial a nursing home case than a rear-end accident case. Crazy, right? Why more lawyers are not pushing for nursing home cases is beyond me. They are not as lucrative as they once were but they are still good cases that also, not for nothing, really help protect nursing home patients.
- Which Maryland nursing homes are getting sued? A look at lawsuits, ratings, and reviews of Maryland nursing homes
- Take a deeper dive into nursing home settlements and verdicts in Maryland
Nursing Home Claims in Maryland
We are optimistic people in Maryland. We have the highest per capita income in the country. Few Marylanders expect that they will one day be placed in a nursing home and depend on these strangers for their most basic needs. I can’t imagine it myself as I type this. Yet the harsh realities are that we are all dying and we are all at risk of losing the physical powers that make us who we are. Sometimes, long-term nursing home care is the only solution that makes any sense.
Nursing home lawsuits are frequent in Maryland. It was not always that way. Plaintiffs’ lawyers once expected juries to roll their eyes at nursing home claims, particularly wrongful death claims for victims of advanced age.
While not enough, times have changed. Juries do not look at nursing homes with the loving eyes they look upon esteemed doctors. Maryland jurors, even in conservative jurisdictions, are showing an increasing intolerance toward nursing homes that do not take care of their residents.
Nursing homes have a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid injuries and death to its residents. This does not mean that the facility is an insurer of all harm to its residents.
But a nursing home really has to try its best to protect its patients. Residents may expect a nursing home that complies with our state and federal regulations, and that it will provide the resident with an environment that is safe, sanitary, and hopefully, kind and gentle. Far too often, these nursing homes completely miss the mark and the consequences can be painful and sometimes downright cruel.
Example Maryland Nursing Home Jury Payout
Few – and I mean few – Maryland nursing home lawsuits go to trial. It is rarely worth it for the victims to go to trial with the settlement offers you see before trial, give the cap on damages in Maryland. But here are the few recent verdicts in Maryland nursing home lawsuits:
$1,500,000 Settlement (Maryland 2024): The estate of a former resident of Autumn Lake Healthcare at Alice Manor in Baltimore settled for $1.5 million. The resident passed away from complications arising from a severe spinal bone infection linked to bedsores. These sores were attributed to the nursing home staff’s failure to adequately turn and reposition the resident, which is a crucial care practice for individuals with restricted mobility. Pressure sores, or bedsores, can lead to death by causing severe infections like sepsis when the broken skin and deeper tissue damage provide a pathway for bacteria to enter the bloodstream. These infections can become systemic, affecting multiple organs and leading to failure or overwhelming the body’s ability to recover.
$9,000,000 Verdict (Maryland 2023): Another pressure sore case in Baltimore City… a pastor residing at Stella Maris nursing home in Baltimore County developed a fatal pressure sore post-stroke, leading to sepsis and death. The jury found the nursing home negligent, awarding $8 million for the pastor’s pain and suffering and $1 million for the family’s emotional distress. However, Maryland’s cap on pain and suffering damages meant the family received slightly over $1 million, highlighting the state’s nursing home lawsuit complexities.
Getting a Nursing Home Attorney in Maryland
If you or someone you love was harmed by a nursing home, bringing a claim is about accountability and responsibility. Our system of civil justice calls for money damages when these nursing homes’ negligence cause harm.
But a nursing home claim does more than that. These nursing homes’ are restrained largely by lawsuits. If you took away the fear of litigation, I would hate to see the systems in place to protect residents from harm.
If you need a lawyer because of the harm caused by a nursing home, call Miller & Zois at 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation to learn about your options and what we can do for you.