N.C. Appeals Court rules jury issue on pre-death injuries required in nursing home case.
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The family of an Alzheimer’s patient who had infected pressure sores for months before he died could bring two separate claims against a nursing home, the Appeals Court has ruled — one for wrongful death, the other for negligently causing the man’s pre-death pain and suffering. The court reversed a trial judge who said the plaintiff was only entitled to submit a wrongful death issue to the jury. Jurors found for the nursing home on the wrongful death claim. That was due in large part to defense arguments that Alzheimer’s caused the patient’s death, not the nursing home’s negligence. The plaintiff argued that submitting only the wrongful death issue deprived jurors of the opportunity to… |