Lewis Brisbois Healthcare Team Secures Significant Trial Victory in Wrongful Death Matter

San Bernardino, Calif. (December 10, 2021) - San Bernardino Partner Rima M. Badawiya and Walnut Creek Partner Reuben B. Jacobson recently secured a jury trial victory on behalf of an assisted living community client in a challenging wrongful death action in Tuolumne County, CA.

The lawsuit was brought by the surviving daughter of a deceased resident at the defendants’ residential care facility for the elderly, a memory care facility, arising out of the alleged wrongful death of the decedent, her father. Over the course of the four months that the decedent lived at the community he fell 14 times, suffering multiple fractured ribs on several occasions, which allegedly resulted in his death from respiratory failure two days following his final fall. The plaintiff, through her attorneys Mike Moran and Lisa Flint, filed suit seeking damages for her father's wrongful death.

After the parties were unable to resolve the matter, the case proceeded to a two-week trial in Sonora, California. The Lewis Brisbois trial team employed an effective pre-trial and trial strategy, including stipulating to negligence as to the falls during trial, thereby effectively streamlining the issues presented to the jury at trial and focusing the defense at trial on contesting the elements of medical causation of death and damages.

At the close of trial, the plaintiff's attorneys asked the jury to return a significant seven-figure verdict. After deliberating for several hours the jury returned a verdict that was significantly less than what the plaintiff had asked the jury to award and, in fact, was the same amount that the defendants had offered and which the plaintiff had turned down pre-trial.

Ms. Badawiya serves as co-chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Healthcare, Medical Malpractice, and Long-Term Care & Elder Law Practices as well as vice-chair of its Healthcare Regulatory & Compliance Practice. Her civil trial practice focuses on the defense of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare and long-term care professionals and organizations.

Mr. Jacobson is the Northern California vice-chair of Lewis Brisbois' Long-Term Care & Elder Law, Healthcare, and Medical Malpractice Practices. His litigation practice focuses on the representation and defense of long-term care facilities and home health agencies, acute care hospitals, mental health facilities, emergency department physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals.