Court orders, judgments, internal investigations, damage control, subpoenas – these are words that can bring fear to our hearts.  But of even more concern are the following facts, which will be among those presented at the 2008 Care Providers of Minnesota Spring Leadership Conference on April 9 – 10:  Troubled Waters – Protecting Your Residents, Your Employees, and Your Facility.

• Between 1991 and 2000, nursing homes lost 60% of personal injury claims brought against them in jury trials.  When the claim was for physical or sexual abuse, the plaintiff recovery rate was 74%.
• In 2001 the average recovery amount among paid claims—whether resolved in or out of court—was approximately $406,000 per claim, nearly twice the amount of an average medical malpractice claim ($207,000). (Stevenson and Studdert 2003)
• A national long-term care litigation study discovered that between 1997 and 2001 40% of nursing homes surveyed had at least one lawsuit filed against them. (Dobalian, et al. 2004)
• Nursing homes located in resident rights states, of which Minnesota is one, experience a 61% higher litigation incidence rate than non-resident rights states. (Johnson, et al. 2004)
• Punitive damages (a large damage award meant to punish the defendant and set a public example) are becoming more commonplace in nursing home litigation.  Several recent examples include the $18.8 million in punitive damages awarded a plaintiff in Kentucky in 2006, the $10.5 million award to a plaintiff in Mississippi in 2005, and the $8 million awarded to a resident in Washington after arbitration in 2005. (Cunningham 2006)
• The average amount spent to defend against a nursing home liability claim has increased in the past seven years from approximately $13,600 to $52,800. (AON 2007)

Risk management, litigation, working with the media, what to do when sued, internal investigations, and protection of residents and staff are among the topics that will be addressed at this year’s Spring Leadership Conference.  The day-and-a-half conference brings together some of the Twin Cities' top talent in the areas of litigation, public relations, safety, insurance, and in the profession of long-term care to present this critical information.

Care Providers of Minnesota’s Board of Directors and other leaders in the Association were instrumental in the development of this program and stress the importance of attending this program for all providers.  Registration is still open and can be made online at:  http://www.careproviders.org/eventDetail.asp?where=member&what=1990.

For more information about the Spring Leadership Conference, contact Director of Education Cheryl Smith at 952-851-2488.

(Special thanks to Voigt, Klegon & Rode for providing the above statistics.)

Cyndi Spencer
952.851.2490
cspencer@careproviders.org

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