Davidson County Jury Awards $347,134 After Nursing Home Fails to Give Diabetic Resident Her Insulin
Won by The Higgins Firm.
A Nashville jury awarded $347,134 after a nursing home admitted it never administered insulin to an elderly diabetic woman during her five-day respite stay, leaving her in a hypoglycemic crisis when her family came to pick her up.
What happened
An elderly woman with Type II diabetes checked into a Nashville nursing home for a short respite stay before the holidays. Her family brought her insulin and made clear to staff that she needed it throughout her stay. The facility took the medication. Over the next five days, no one administered it.
When her son arrived to pick her up, she was in a hypoglycemic event. She was taken to a hospital, where she remained for five additional days recovering from a condition that was entirely preventable.
The nursing home admitted fault. Before trial it offered $220,000 to settle. Attorneys Richard Piliponis and Hannah Garrett of The Higgins Firm in Nashville declined the offer and took the case to a Davidson County jury.
The jury awarded $347,134 on November 20, 2024. The figure included $63,134 in stipulated medical expenses and $284,000 for pain and suffering. At the time the verdict was reported, a defense motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) was pending.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.