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Ensure justice in nursing home cases: substandard care of nursing home residents makes jurors angry. Know what to focus on so jurors feel empowered to right the wrongs your client suffered.

Article Excerpt
Cases of nursing home abuse abound, and juries often hold these facilities and their parent corporations accountable. Earlier this year, a North Carolina jury ordered a nursing home to pay compensatory damages for the death of an Alzheimer's patient who had been trapped in a freezer. In 2004, a Mississippi jury told a nursing home to pay compensatory and punitive damages to the family of a 72-year-old woman whose leg was amputated because of pressure ulcers. In 2001, an Arkansas jury re turned a verdict in favor of a patient who suffered from dehydration. How can you make sure the jury in your case will be willing to give your client the compensation he or she deserves?

Because of research conducted by jury consultants, we know what the jurors in those cases were thinking and what jurors like them will think in the future: Many nursing homes place making profits ahead of providing quality care to residents. Of the jury pool walking into the courtroom, 36 percent already believe that statement, and 44 percent strongly agree with it. (1) In addition, 75 percent of the jury-eligible population nationwide believes nursing home abuse is a significant problem today. The jurors walking into your courtroom already dislike nursing homes and think these facilities value profits more than the residents in their care--and you haven't said a word yet.

When talking to the jury, make sure the fundamentals are clear. First, retrain your thinking on damages. After all, what are they? Damages are money. Don't be afraid to tell the jury that you are asking them to award your client money, but make it clear that the money is representative: It either takes the place of something your client has lost or acts as a penalty for the defendant's willful misconduct. You will gain credibility by being candid but lose it if you fail to address the issue directly.

Why would jurors be willing to punish the nursing home company? Remember what they were thinking before they walked into the courtroom: 54 percent of potential jurors agree with the statement, "If I had to put a loved one in a nursing home, I would be afraid he or she would not be treated well," and 78 percent say the thought of living in a nursing home frightens them. (2) Jurors already are receptive to hearing about the damage the nursing home caused. In fact, most of them are so receptive to the idea, you may not need to cover these issues in voir dire.

The defendant's conduct

Nursing home cases often involve deaths and horrible injuries: pressure sores, dehydration, malnutrition, fractures, and brain injury. What is the best way to prove these damages?

Under the "old-school" analysis, popular 5 to 10 years ago, the focus was entirely on the plaintiff. But that's exactly what the defendant wants you to do--to talk about your client's injuries the whole time, including his or her medical condition while in the nursing home and the circumstances that brought him or her there.

Although this old-school theory plays on juror sympathy,...

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