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A federal jury has ordered a Texas nursing homeowner to pay $312.8 million for neglecting a former resident. Horizon/CMS, whichformerly owned Heritage Western Hills nursing home, was ordered to pay theestate of Wyvonne Fuqua $2.8 million in actual damages and $310 million inpunitive damages. The judgment is reported to be the largest nursing homeverdict ever. Ms. Fuqua spent two and a half years at Heritagebefore being moved to a medical center, where she died two months later at age76. Attorneys for her estate said that when she left the nursing home, Ms. Fuquahad 16 bedsores, some of which were so severe that they exposed her bones. Shewas also malnourished, dehydrated, and her joints had stiffened from lack ofmovement. "We weren't really surprised by theverdict because the conduct of the nursing home was so outrageous," leadattorney H. Dustin Fillmore III told Lawyers Weekly. "Any moralperson would react the way the jurors reacted." Understaffing at the nursing home was largely toblame for the neglect of Ms. Fuqua, Mr. Fillmore said. "They did itpurposefully in order to maximize profits," he said. "Horizon waswarned by its employees, warned by the Texas Department of Human Services andwarned by family members that the understaffing would hurt these patients. Yetthey continued to run the home in an understaffed condition." The attorney for Horizon/CMS, R. Brent Cooper,said his client planned to appeal, citing the judge's decision not to allowHorizon to mount a defense as punishment for its delays in turning over requireddocuments. Mr. Fillmore said he and his co-counsels anticipated discovery abuse,which is why they chose to dismiss the case from state court and file it infederal court. They believed that a federal judge would be more willing to throwthe book at a plaintiff who abused the discovery process. Four years ago, a jury ordered Horizon/CMS to pay$97 million to the family of another resident of the same home. That verdict waslater reduced to $11 million. Horizon/CMS sold all of its 130 nursing homes whenit became a subsidiary of HealthSouth.
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