Justice for Neglect: $750,000 Settlement Secured in Nursing Home Wrongful Death Case
Attorney Ryan J. Gavin of Bautista LeRoy LLC successfully secured a $750,000 settlement for the family of a 64-year-old man who tragically died from an untreated foot infection while in the care of a nursing facility. Despite clear signs of worsening infection, including bandages soaked through with fluid and a blackened toe, facility staff failed to act. The man ultimately suffered sepsis and underwent a below-the-knee amputation before passing away. Read the full article on this link:
The wrongful death suit uncovered troubling evidence of chronic understaffing, failure to follow physician orders, and financial self-dealing by the facility's owners. With no insurance coverage involved, the full settlement was paid directly by the defendants after a full day of mediation.
You can read the full article on this link.
This result reflects Bautista LeRoy's commitment to holding negligent nursing facilities accountable and securing justice for Missouri families. Contact us today at 833-381-6589 or send us an email on our Contact Page. Serving the surrounding areas of St. Louis, Benton County, Southern Illinois as well as Kansas City, MO and KS.
More Details Below:
Family obtains $750,000 settlement in wrongful death suit against nursing facility
■ KALLIE COX
A 64-year-old man died in the care of a nursing facility after a wound on his foot became infected. His brother has obtained a $750,000 confidential settlement after suing the facility for his wrongful death.
According to the plaintiff's attorney, Ryan Gavin of Bautista LeRoy in St. Louis, the defendants in the suit were: the LLC that operated the facility, the director of nursing, the corporation that provided management and administrative services and the two individuals who owned collectively 90 percent of the facility and one of whom also owned the management/administrative company.
The decedent was initially admitted to the facility on Feb. 6, 2020, for cel lulitis on the top of his left foot — an infection that had a red circle area with weeping — he stayed through Feb. 23, but staff didn't receive orders for his care until Feb. 11. “Our experts testified that this was negligent. After the orders were secured, the staff failed to carry out the orders for seven of thirteen days,” According to Gavin. “Our experts testified that this was also negligent.”
The decedent's infection continued to worsen, presenting with worsening edema and more weeping. “Over the final few days, the bandages wrapped around his foot were soaking through with fluid,” according to Gavin. “These changes were not reported by the staff to a physician. This was also negligent according to our experts.”
The decedent's brother, the plaintiff, visited him at the facility on Feb. 23 and observed that the bandages on his brother's foot were soaked through with yellow fluid and the left big toe was black.
The plaintiff demanded his brother's transfer to a hospital and the hospital documented that the decedent had a cold, purple, pulseless left foot, according to Gavin. Additionally, the decedent “had weakness, lethargy and low blood pressure consistent with sepsis.”
The man's leg was amputated below the knee and he was admitted to the ICU.
“The stump was surgically revised a few days later,” according to Gavin. “However, the decedent never recovered and was removed from life support on March 4, 2020, when it was determined by his medical providers that he would never recover any quality of life.”
The case for direct liability of the owners and management company included evidence from publicly available sources that the facility was understaffed and provided far less direct resident care per day than suggested by industry standards, Gavin said.
“While this was happening, the facility was sending more than $1,000,000 a year to related entities under common ownership, like the management defendant and a separate entity that leased the property back to the defendant LLC,” he said. “We also had evidence showing that the facility had been inspected by DHSS twice in 2019 and been cited for failing to provide resident care that met professional standards of quality, including failing to carry out physician orders or prepare appropriate care plans.”
Gavin added that when the facility was inspected again in March 2020, shortly after the decedent's death, it was noted that the facility “(1) still had many of the same problems as noted in 2019 and (2) had failed to develop and implement an action plan to address them.”
Gavin said this evidence helped to show that the defendants were enriching themselves at the expense of residents.
No insurance was involved in the case and the $750,000 settlement was paid by the defendants, Gavin said. The settlement was reached after a full day of mediation.
“He was survived by three siblings who all live in St Louis City,” Gavin said. “They were a close-knit family (…) while their brother was still alive, they all got together for dinner at least once a week. They all kind of supported each other. They're just all nice, good, working-class people.”
Contact us today at 833-381-6589 or send us an email on our Contact Page. Serving the surrounding areas of St. Louis, Benton County, Southern Illinois as well as Kansas City, MO and KS.
Amount of verdict, judgment or settlement: $750,000
Type of action: Wrongful Death Settlement
Venue: St. Louis City Circuit Court
Case Number/Date: Confidential/1/14/2025
Judge: N/A Person Presiding Other (Lynne Perkins)
Plaintiffs' Experts: Greg Lewis MD (Primary care and geriatrics) / Betty Pederson-Chase RN
Defendants' Experts: Michael Grendon MD (Internal medicine and geriatrics)
Injuries: Death, amputation, infection, and sepsis.
Special Damages: $172,790.39 in past medical bills.
Caption: Confidential v. Confidential
Plaintiffs' Attorneys: Ryan J. Gavin of Bautista LeRoy LLC (St. Louis)
Defendants' Attorneys: Confidential
Contact us today at 833-381-6589 or send us an email on our Contact Page. Serving the surrounding areas of St. Louis, Benton County, Southern Illinois as well as Kansas City, MO and KS.