Date: 10-09-2011

Case Style: Jill M. Talley v. Manor Care of Oklahoma City (Southwest) LLC

Case Number: CJ-2009-1029

Judge: Bryan C. Dixon

Court: District Court, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

Plaintiff's Attorney: David T. Marks, Jacques G. Balette, Charles M. Hessel, Henry P. Giessel, Kenneth L. Connor and Paul A. Harris

Defendant's Attorney: Jake Jones, III, Cheryl P. Hunter, Matthew L. Standard, Gene P. Kissane, John Coleman, Daniel A. Shapiro

Description: Houston Plaintiff Personal Injury Lawyers David T. Marks, Jacques G. Balette, Charles M> Hessel, Henry P. Giessel, Kenneth L. Connor and Oklahoma City Personal Injury Lawyer Paul A. Harris represented Jill M. Talley, as personal representative of the Estate of J.L. Talley, deceased, and on behalf of all wrongful death survivors of the decedent sued Manor Care of Oklahoma City (Southwest) LLC d/b/a Manor Care Health Services-Southwest; Manor Care Inc.; HCR Manor Care, Inc.; Manor Care Health Services, Inc.; HCR-Manor Care Services, Inc; HCRA, Inc.; Four Seasons Nursing Centers, Inc. and Clara Jenkins, L.P.N. on a medical negligence (medical malpractice) wrongful death claiming seeking compensation for the wrongful death of J.L. Talley claiming that on June 17, 2007 Mr. Talley died. That Mr. Talley was a resident of Manorcare Health Services, - Southwest located in Oklahoma City from 5:30 p.m. February 16, 2007 until 6:00 a.m. on February 18, 2007.

Mr. Talley had open heart surgery on February 12, 2007 to replace a heart valve. He was discharged from the hospital on February 16, 2007 and admitted to Defendants' nursing home facility for IV antibiotic therapy.

Plaintiff claimed that during Mr. Talley's 40 hour residency at Defendants' nursing facility, he was the victim of repeated violations the applicable standard of care, negligence, violations of the Oklahoma Nursing Home Care Act, gross neglect, willful, wanton, malicious, oppressive and reckless disregard for his health and safety.

As a direct result of the acts, errors and omissions on the part of Defendants' agents and employees, by 5:30 p.m. on February 18, 2007, Mr. Talley's physical condition had deteriorated to critical. He was cyanotic, pasty, unable to talk, and cold and clammy to touch, all signs of impending cardiovascular collapse. He suffered brain damage that eventually caused his death.

Defendants admitted that Mr. Talley was, in fact, a resident at Manorcare but denied all other allegations and denied wrongdoing.

Defendants moved for partial summary judgment on the issue of the ability of Plaintiff to prove that the Non-Facility Defendants owed Mr. Talley a duty of due care. The motion was never ruled on by the Court because the case was settled.

Outcome: Settled for a confidential sum and dismissed with prejudice.

Plaintiff's Experts: Victoria Fierro, Tallahassee, Florida; Mark Lachs, New York, New York; Suzanne Frederick, R.N., Waco, Texas; Raymond F. Stainback, M.D., Houston, Texas, cardiologist

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: Editor's Comment: The pre-trial order entered prepared by the parties and approved by the Court is probably one of the best that I have ever seen. A tremendous amount of work went into preparing the PTO.