Our client was a 43-year-old complete care patient, who required full time skilled nursing care. For the first 43 years of his life, he lived comfortably in his home with the care of his family. He had a history of aspiration and developing pneumonia, due to his inability to produce a productive cough. Approximately 2 years before his death, he was prescribed a high-oscillation chest physiotherapy vest. This vest oscillated or shook at a high frequency to move secretions up and out, so he did not aspirate and develop aspiration pneumonia.
In 2020 his family became sick and could no longer care for him. As a result, he was transferred to a local hospital, where he was supposed to be cared for in the same manner as at home – including the daily use of the physiotherapy vest. During Decedent’s 10-day hospital stay, the hospital’s social worker attempted to find a skilled nursing facility where he could be transferred. After a skilled nursing facility agreed to accept Decedent as a patient, it was discovered that there was a hang up to his admission there – the physiotherapy vest. The skilled nursing facility informed the hospital that Decedent could not be accepted with the continued prescription of the physiotherapy vest.
In response, the hospital and the discharging physician amended Decedent’s discharge orders to remove the vital physiotherapy vest. Plaintiff alleged that the defendants failed to notify or obtain approval from Decedent’s family or primary care provider and failed to assess his health situation before removing the order for the vest. As a result, Plaintiff was discharged to the skilled nursing facility without use of the vest, and he died 4 days later from aspiration pneumonia – the exact reason for the vest prescription. In sum, Plaintiff alleged that the defendants pulled the order for the vest in order to dump Decedent out of the hospital into another facility. As a result, the Court allowed Plaintiff to put on a claim of punitive damages in the case.
Preuss | Foster Law received a $0 offer prior to filing the lawsuit. After nearly three years of litigation, the defendant hospital agreed to pay $750,000.00 just one week prior to trial.