In the Courts: Corporate Negligence May Apply to PA Nursing Homes

​The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has found that a nursing home may be held directly liable under a theory of corporate negligence if it breaches a duty of care to a resident. The court remanded the case for further proceedings to determine whether the defendants, the nursing home and its management services company, owed a duty of care to the resident and, thus, whether a new trial is necessary.

The resident’s chronic conditions included senile dementia, osteoporosis, pulmonary disease, and hypertension. She was prone to urinary tract infections (UTIs) and was hospitalized for them repeatedly in the year before her death. The last time she was again hospitalized for a UTI, she was also diagnosed with dehydration, malnutrition, and pressure ulcers. She died of a heart attack...