West Virginia Nursing Home Challenges $91M Jury Award

A Charleston nursing home is challenging a $91 million damage award in a lawsuit stemming from the death of an elderly woman hours after she left the facility.

Lawyers for Heartland of Charleston claim in a recent court filing that the defense misstated the earnings of the facility’s parent company to inflame the jury.

The Charleston Gazette reports that the filing also cites other trial errors. Heartland asks the Kanawha County Circuit Court to throw out the case, grant a new trial or substantially reduce the damage award.

In August, jurors found the facility responsible for the death of 87-year-old Dorothy Douglas. The verdict came in a lawsuit filed by Douglas’ son, Tom Douglas.

Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib cut about $400,000 in non-economic damages from the jury’s award in October.