Case Values of Nursing Home Abuse Claims in Arizona

If you’re considering submitting an abuse claim against your loved one’s nursing home you’ll not only want justice on their behalf but to understand the financial compensation that may be available.

If you’ve lost a loved one and suspect that their death could have been prevented there are usually financial repercussions to face as well. Whether that is significant medical costs, funeral expenses or other bills to pay.

The average nursing home abuse lawsuit in the US recovers over $400,000 in damages, this amount rises further still if there’s been a wrongful death following abuse or neglect. This can go a long way to covering ongoing medical expenses your loved one may now face or settling their affairs if they are no longer with you.

What affects the settlement amount?

Many different factors can have an influence on the total settlement amount, these include:

• The cost of medical treatment needed following an injury
• The type of injury sustained, e.g. Bedsores or a hip fracture
• How much similar cases have been awarded at trial

Wrongful death cases, where the victim has passed away as a result of the abuse or neglect tend to have the largest settlement amounts.

Recent Arizona abuse claim settlement values:

You can get a better idea of how much abuse and neglect cases typically settle for by looking at the value of recent successful cases:

Here are some recent abuse and neglect cases in Arizona, along with their settlement amounts:

• Estate of Cote v. Five Star Quality Care, Inc. (May 28, 2015.): A wrongful death case where the estate were awarded compensatory and punitive damages in the amounts of $2,506,000 and $16,704,400, respectively.

• Fazio v. Life Care Centers of America, Inc: A case where the victim developed a serious bedsore and the the jury found for the plaintiff in the amount of $365,000.

• Baldwin v Winslow Convalescent Center Inc (December 12, 2016): A personal injury case where the plaintiff suffered multiple falls. Jury unanimously awarded $1 million in damages plus $4,780 medical expenses.
• Bucan v All Valley Management & All Valley Home Healthcare & Nursing Inc (January 1,2018): A personal injury and medical malpractice case where the plaintiff was neglected and suffered a fall. Awarded $109,734 medical expenses.

You can see more settlement examples by reading our articles on different abuse settlements, including:

• Bedsore settlements
• Slip and fall settlements
• Wrongful death settlements

What about tax?

All of the case values quoted don’t deduct any tax due on the settlement, any tax would need to be paid separately.

Thankfully, many nursing home abuse settlements are tax free because they are treated in the same way as a personal injury claim. However, there are some exceptions – especially when the settlements are very large.

For more information on how nursing home abuse settlements are taxed read our article: Are Income Taxes Paid on Wrongful Death Settlements?

How does Medicare & Medicaid affect settlement values?

When you receive your settlement there is a chance that you could be asked to pay a portion of it back to the government.

If your loved one was treated for their injuries following an abuse or neglect case and they were paid for using Medicare or Medicaid they are often entitled to claim these costs back from your settlement. This is called placing a lien on your settlement.

To find out more we’ve looked into how Medicare can affect settlement payments in a couple of different scenarios:

• Can the state take my father’s nursing home abuse settlement?
• If my mother’s nursing home abuse injuries were paid through Medicare can we file a claim?

If you’ve got any more questions about how medical insurance could impact the value of your settlement, feel free to contact the team for a free consultation.

Who will receive the money?

This depends on the type of case you file and whether your relative or loved one which suffered the abuse is still alive when the money is paid.

You can read our article who will receive payment in a nursing home wrongful death settlement for more information.

How does your nursing home rate?

If you’d like to see your loved one’s nursing home’s record you can use our Nursing Home rating tool to check how the nursing homes in Arizona compare.