WEST CHESTER, Ohio — After a nine-day trial for a lawsuit, Butler County jurors determined a West Chester nursing home caused the death of an 83-year-old resident in 2024, according to a press release sent by Eadie Law firm.
According to the press release, Janice Combs was admitted to Chesterwood Village, also known as Chesterwood Nursing Care Ltd., in June 2023 for short-term rehab after she fell down stairs at her home.
Lawyers said Combs was blind, but had been living independently up to that point. After she moved to Chesterwood Village, she was checked into a geriatric hospital for evaluation for confusion. Nine days later, on June 19, 2023, she returned to Chesterwood, lawyers say.
Two hours after she returned, Combs fell again. Chesterwood Village documented the fall, but their records described it as a face-first fall from her wheelchair in a common area, with minimal injury, according to Eadie Law.
When she was evaluated by the West Chester Township Fire Department's EMS team, however, they found she'd also been dropped in her room — an incident that was not documented by Chesterwood Village, according to lawyers. Paramedics' run report and testimony during trial said they found Combs had an injury on the back of her head, and there was blood in her room.
The lawsuit alleged Combs was dropped by nursing staff while they were transferring her from her wheelchair to her bed.
Combs was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a brain bleed, lawyers say. Doctors tried to save her, but ultimately she could no longer breathe on her own; she was dependent on a ventilator and bedbound until she died in March 2024, the lawsuit says.
Following the trial, jurors returned a $12.5 million verdict in favor of the plaintiffs — including $1.5 million in punitive damages against Chesterwood Village and its operators. Jurors unanimously agreed that Chesterwood Village "breached the standard of care, that the breach caused her injuries and death, the defendangs violated Ohio's Nursing Home Residents' Bil of Rights and that their negligence caused Ms. Combs' death," says the press release from Eadie Law.
"My mom was part of our life, part of the thread, and she was the glue that held it together," Rita Combs-Jordan, Combs' daughter, said in the press release. "This verdict is justice for her, her voice being heard. We are without her now, but in her honor, we feel as though she is with justice. For our family, it is not about a monetary number."
Lawyers said they expect the defendants will pursue post-trial motions and/or an appeal of the ruling.
