LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Nursing homes in California will face a lot less liability when they are sued, thanks to a recent ruling by the state Supreme Court.
The court decided Aug. 17 that the $500 statutory penalty stipulated in the state’s Health and Safety Code for violating certain regulations is applied once per lawsuit and not once for each regulator violation.
“Undoubtedly, nursing care patients comprise a particularly vulnerable segment of our population and deserve the highest protections against any abuse and substandard care,” Justice Ming Chin wrote for the majority.
“That said, we cannot and must not legislate by grafting onto section 1430(b) a remedy that the Legislature has chosen not to include.”
Lawmakers wrote violators “shall be liable for up to $500.”
The case involved the late John Jarman, who broke his hip at 91 years old after falling while getting out of a swimming pool. He landed in Manor Care of Hemet after surgery.
The lawsuit alleged Jarman was left in soiled diapers and had his calls for nurses ignored. He filed suit in 2010, and his lawyers sought to impose the up-to $500 penalty per violation they alleged.
Jurors went along with them, assessing $95,500 in statutory damages - $250 for 382 violations. A court of appeal agreed, but the Supreme Court has reversed.
Chin wrote that the language in the code was far from clear. Justice Tino Cuellar dissented, starting by writing about COVID-19 issues in nursing homes.
“The majority’s concern seems to boil down to a fear that patients will be irresponsible in bringing suits, opening up nursing homes to expansive liability for minor violations,” Cuellar wrote.
“Yet that possibility arises whenever the Legislature creates a private right of action for damages. Addressing this potential problem is a policy choice better left to the Legislature.”