Tennessee appellate court upholds $4.25 million award in nursing home abuse case, 19 times the compensatory damages
McLemore v. Elizabethton Medical Investors (Tenn. App. June 22, 2012). Decision.
Opinion by Judge Herschel Pickens Franks. Background here.
Plaintiff sued a nursing home claiming its abuse and neglect of her husband had caused his death. The jury awarded $500,000 in compensatory damages (remitted to $225,000 by the trial judge) and $4.25 million in exemplary damages (sustained by the trial judge). The appellate court sustained the judgment in full, finding no federal due process flaw. The court’s opinion reiterated the careful scrutiny of exemplary damages awards required under Tennessee law.
M. Chad Trammel, S. Drake Martin, Tony Seaton, and Brian G. Brooks for plaintiff.
Robert W. Dickson, Travis R. McDonough, Robert F. Parsley, Kevin D. Hudson, and Jade D. Dodds for defendant.