Edna McMillen’s family claimed Edna died because she was a victim of nursing home negligence. They filed suit in District Court of Cheyenne County, Nebraska, alleging that Beverly Enterprises and its Sidney, Nebraska nursing home were responsible for her death.
The lawsuit charged that Beverly, the largest for-profit nursing home corporation in the United States, committed negligence while caring for Edna, allowed her to fall, sustain leg fractures which were left unattended for a time, with resultant death.
Specifically, the McMillen family asked that a jury decide whether Edna, a long-time teacher in the Sidney, Nebraska area, fell and died because she was left unattended on a commode. Edna was a wheelchair-bound patient prone to falling. Nursing home staff failed to respond to Edna’s cries for help for over thirty minutes. She was found on the floor with her legs at “unnatural angles” in the bathroom where she had been left.
Documents uncovered by Domina Law Group disclosed that the Beverly personnel violated the Home’s own rules when Emergency Medical Services was not called. Instead, staff lifted Mrs. McMillen’s broken body without assessing her injuries or bracing her legs, and sat her back in her wheelchair. She was left there for hours. Later, when she was taken to the hospital, care came too late.
Shortly after the suit was filed, Beverly opened settlement negotiations with Domina Law Group. The compelling case assembled by Domina Law Group attorneys Richard Hitz and David Domina led to an early settlement.
“Settlement terms will not publicly be disclosed,” Domina said. “Out of respect for the family, and at Beverly’s request, the amount or terms of the settlement will not be commented on. Suffice it to say, that Edna’s daughter, June Katen of Sidney, expressed “deep gratitude that Domina Law Group attorneys accepted our case, and great thanks for their excellent and swift work.”
Richard Hitz of Domina Law Group emphasizes nursing home negligence in his practice. “This is an area of the law neglected for too long by the trial bar. I am convinced that elderly patients receive substandard care too often. Trial lawyers can help improve this care. I want to focus substantial professional effort to doing so,” Hitz said.