A Butler County jury has delivered a major blow to Chesterwood Village, ordering the West Chester nursing home to pay $12.5 million after finding its care led to the death of 83-year-old resident Janice Combs. The nine-day trial ended with a verdict that includes $1.5 million in punitive damages, and Combs’ family says the size of the award speaks to both the severity of her injuries and gaps in how the facility documented what happened.
According to a press release from plaintiffs’ counsel, the May 14 verdict includes $1 million in survivorship damages, $8 million in wrongful-death damages, $2 million tied to violations of Ohio’s Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights, and $1.5 million in punitive damages. The case is listed as Estate of Janice Darlene Combs v. Chesterwood Village, Case No. CV 2024 06 1161, in court records cited by Eadie Law.
Plaintiffs say Combs, who was blind, had been living independently before a fall at home led to her admission to Chesterwood for short-term rehab in June 2023. She returned to the facility from a geriatric evaluation on June 19. About two hours later, lawyers alleged, staff dropped her while transferring her from a wheelchair to her bed. Paramedics ran reports, and trial testimony described a wound on the back of her head and blood found in her room, according to WCPO…