The Case of Gregory v. Beverly Enterprises, Inc. et al.

Gregory v. Beverly Enterprises, Inc., et al.

Parties:	Gregory v. Beverly Enterprises, Inc., Beverly Enterprises-California, Inc., Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Services, Inc., and Chuck Williams
Court:	Siskiyou County Superior Court
Docket Number:	53756
Date of Verdict:	March 4, 1998
Plaintiff's Counsel:	Michael D. Thamer

Injuries. Reba Gregory was dropped by a Certified Nursing Assistant, causing a fractured right hip and shoulder. The aide dropped Mrs. Gregory during an attempted one-person transfer despite the fact that two aides were needed to safely move her.
At trial, plaintiff presented evidence that Gregory's fall was due to chronic understaffing which led to patient care "short cuts" resulting in injury. Key evidence included a letter, signed by 23 nurses' aides and sent to Beverly Enterprises, Inc’s CEO, which noted "it is only a matter of time before a tragedy occurs."

Awards. The defendants' destruction of staffing documents during the discovery process led to a court sanction in the form of a special jury instruction at trial. The Siskiyou County jury awarded compensatory damages of $365,580.71, and punitive damages of $94,720,450.00. Following post-trial motions, the trial court reduced the judgment to $3,124,480.57.

Judgment Upheld. On May 1, 2000, the Third District Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment for plaintiff Gregory, and published their decision [In re Conservatorship of Gregory (App. 3 Dist. 2000) 95 Cal.Rptr.2d 336, 80 Cal.App.4th 514, modified on denial of rehearing, review denied].