Award Could Lead To Supreme Court Appeal

{West Virginia}...After a Kanawha County jury awarded $91.5 million to the family of Dorothy Douglas, claiming that Heartland of Charleston workers' serious neglect led to her death, a West Virginia Supreme Court appeal could be in the future. Tom Douglas filed the suit in 2010 against Manor Care, Inc. HCR Manor Care Services, Inc., Healthcare and Retirement Corporation of America, LLC, and Heartland Employment Services LLC after Douglas was admitted to Heartland, claiming she died as a result of severe dehydration and neglect from the nursing home. Mike Fuller, Douglas’s attorney, said Dorothy Douglas walked into the home on a walker and was able to communicate when she first got there, but, within 20 days, she was rolled out in a comatose state, unresponsive, not walking and not able to feed herself. Fuller says Douglas’s son worked relentlessly to get her transferred out of the facility. Much debate has ensued as a result of the verdict concerning whether medical liability caps should apply. According to Richie Heath, executive director for the West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, state code supports the opinion that these caps should apply.