Jury Trial Result Limiting Exposure in Nursing Home Negligence Case
The Challenge: Multi-Claim, High-Damages Nursing Home Litigation
O’Hagan Meyer partners Michael Pierce and Kevin Rasp represented a Northern Virginia skilled nursing facility in a nursing home negligence lawsuit brought by an estate in Fairfax County Circuit Court. The case originated in 2023 and culminated in a two‑week jury trial after multi‑year litigation.
The estate asserted seven causes of action, including negligence, gross negligence, wrongful death, breach of contract, and multiple fraud‑based claims, and sought $5 million in the amended complaint. In closing arguments, plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury for $10 million, creating significant exposure for the client.
The Solution: Strategic Expert and Dispositive Motion Practice
Before trial, the defense successfully moved to exclude one of the estate’s three liability and causation experts and significantly limited the testimony of the remaining two. These rulings materially narrowed the plaintiff’s ability to present its case.
At the Motion to Strike stage, O’Hagan Meyer persuaded the court to dismiss all claims except negligence and wrongful death. The court also removed punitive damages from consideration, finding that although a nurse may have committed bad acts, there was insufficient evidence of ratification to impute punitive liability to the facility.
The Outcome: Defense Verdict on Wrongful Death and Limited Damages
The jury returned a defense verdict on the wrongful death claim and awarded $550,000 with no interest on the negligence claim. Given the scope of the claims and damages sought, the result represented a highly favorable outcome for the client.
The matter reflected a successful collaboration between O’Hagan Meyer’s Chicago and Norfolk teams and significantly reduced the client’s litigation and financial exposure.
