Failed to live up to contractual and statutory obligations
Posted by Patti on June 22nd, 2007 / Print This Post
The Arkansas state Supreme Court has ruled that class action lawsuits can go forward against chain nursing homes.
LITTLE ROCK - A lawsuit against a Fort Smith-based nursing home company can proceed as a class-action suit, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.The court affirmed a decision by Independence County Circuit Judge John Harkey to grant class-action certification to a suit alleging Batesville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center failed to live up to contractual and statutory obligations to take care of the basic daily needs of hundreds of residents.
The suit, filed in 2005 by Annette Thomas, names the nursing home and its parent company, which was known in 2005 as Beverly Enterprises, as defendants. Beverly changed its name to Golden Horizons last year following its purchase by Golden Gate National Senior Care.
The suit alleges that between Sept. 13, 2000, and June 30, 2004, the nursing home failed to care properly for 489 residents by, among other things, failing to provide adequate staffing and failing to provide a clean, safe living environment.
On May 1, 2006, Harkey granted class-action certification to the suit with respect to claims of statutory and contractual violations only, not claims of malpractice or personal injury. The defendants appealed that ruling.
In oral arguments before the Supreme Court last week, Little Rock attorney Sam Jones argued against class-action certification, saying it would be impossible to examine the issues in the case and, if necessary, determine appropriate damages without considering each plaintiff separately.
“You’re not going to have uniformity,” Jones told the justices. “You’re not going to have homogeneity. You’re going to have a mixed bag.”
Attorney Philip Bohrer of Baton Rouge, La., argued that the case did not include personal injury claims, but rather claims involving issues such as understaffing which would have affected all residents of the facility. Granting class-action status was preferable to “having 400 individual trials on the same issue and the same evidence,” he said.
Bohrer also said many of the plaintiffs are elderly and unaware of their rights and would not be able to file individual claims against the company.
In some situations, examining 400 individual cases would never end- a verdict or settle would not happen. Going after the chain for many nursing homes could be an alternative worth pursuing. It will be years before we see how this works out. Both sides will defend staffing, safe and clean homes and what not…unless there are clear standards, neither side should expect to “win” this.
It’s so sad. When we think about the fact this is all based upon human lives and nursing care, there should be no doubts or questions that lead to legal action.