$155 million nursing home lawsuit underway

By Daniel Hawn

Published on March 23, 2006

Beverly Health and Rehabilitation of Frankfort is accused of being severely understaffed when Loren Richards, 84, died of a heart attack on March 2, 2002.

As the trial got underway, attorneys for Richards' estate alleged that Beverly had intentionally reduced the number of its staff in an effort to decrease its expenses and boost stock price. This was part of the reason that Richards suffered a horrible death, they claimed.

According to the lawsuit, Richards was in agony during the 10 hours prior to his death. An impacted bowel caused him to continually cry out; however, none of the nurses responded. He eventually suffered a fatal heart attack. The lawsuit charges the nursing home and 11 of its employees with negligence in Richards' death.

In response to the allegations, attorneys for the nursing home argued that Richards smoked for years, and that an autopsy revealed he suffered from clogged arteries. They claimed that Richards' daughter potentially filed the lawsuit from grief and guilt.

Over the last few years, the operator of the nursing home, Beverly Enterprises Inc., has paid out millions in wrongful death suits stemming from other facilities it runs across the United States.

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