$5 Million Verdict Upheld in NY Nursing Home Neglect Case

A Nassau County Supreme Court justice has upheld a $5 million jury verdict against South Shore Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Freeport and its management company, preserving findings of nursing home neglect and violations of New York Public Health Law tied to the death of resident Henry Serrapica. The court’s post-trial ruling left intact a damages package that included $1 million in punitive damages, a remedy rarely awarded in nursing home cases and less frequently sustained after motion practice. The decision reflects the court’s conclusion that the record supported the jury’s determinations on liability, causation, and damages, and that the defendants’ challenges did not justify setting aside the verdict, ordering a new trial, or reducing the award.

Post-Trial Ruling Preserves Liability Findings

In a Decision & Order dated Jan. 14, Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Christopher T. McGrath denied the defendants’ post-trial motions in their entirety. The nursing home and its management company sought to set aside the verdict, dismiss the action, obtain a new trial, and reduce the jury’s award. The court rejected arguments that the verdict was excessive, duplicative, or unsupported by the evidence, concluding that the jury’s findings were supported by the trial record and that the damages did not materially deviate from reasonable compensation under New York standards governing post-verdict review.

The ruling also preserved the jury’s findings that the defendants’ failures violated New York Public Health Law § 2801-d, a statute that provides a private right of action for deprivation of nursing home residents’ rights and permits recovery for injuries resulting from such violations. According to court records summarized in the decision, the jury determined that the statutory violations were a substantial factor in causing Serrapica’s death. Although the defendants maintained that they followed appropriate protocols and provided care through a team of clinicians and staff, the court held that the jury was entitled to credit the plaintiffs’ proof and reject the defendants’ interpretation of the evidence.

Evidence of Neglect and Deterioration During Residency

Trial evidence focused on Serrapica’s repeated and preventable deterioration during multiple stays at the facility, including the development and worsening of severe pressure ulcers. Records described Stage 4 pressure ulcers affecting multiple areas, along with additional wounds characterized as unstageable pressure injuries. The family’s allegations included inadequate monitoring, ineffective wound care, deficient documentation, and failures to follow basic repositioning and supervision practices reflected in the resident’s care plan—issues often evaluated through nursing experts. The record also referenced significant weight loss and multiple falls during his residency, which the plaintiffs attributed to neglect and understaffing.

Serrapica, an Army veteran and retired postal worker, had a complex medical history that included treatment for a stroke and a kidney and pancreas transplant. After hospitalization for pneumonia, he was transferred to South Shore on Jan. 19, 2018, and he later returned to the hospital multiple times as his wounds progressed and complications developed. Court records described later diagnoses including osteomyelitis, sepsis, and septic shock, culminating in his death on Dec. 26, 2019, at age 69. A claim against Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital was previously part of the litigation but was dismissed in 2021, leaving the nursing home and its management company as the remaining defendants at the time of trial.

Punitive Damages and the Court’s Deterrence Analysis

The June 26 verdict included $1 million in punitive damages, signaling that the jury found conduct exceeding ordinary negligence. Justice McGrath stated, “The evidence entered reflected not only the negligent treatment of the pressure ulcers resulting in death but showed instances where [Serrapica’s] dignity was compromised that was not based on mere carelessness, but rather persistent instances that support the jury’s punitive damages award.” The court’s reasoning, as reflected in the order, framed punitive damages as an available remedy when the evidence supports punishment and deterrence, and when the conduct is shown to be sufficiently egregious under New York law.

Notably, the jury did not award damages on the family’s wrongful death claim, even as it returned liability findings tied to Serrapica’s death through the statutory framework and negligence theory presented at trial. The court’s refusal to disturb the verdict indicates it found the jury’s allocation of damages and its liability determinations reconcilable with the evidence and the instructions given. More broadly, the decision underscores the evidentiary threshold required to sustain punitive damages in nursing home litigation, particularly when defendants pursue post-trial relief aimed at reframing the proof as mere errors in care rather than systemic or persistent failures—an analysis that often turns on liability, causation, and damages and what can be proven from the underlying nursing home medical records.

Case Details

Case Name: Serrapica v. South Shore Rehabilitation and Nursing Center

Court Name: Nassau County Supreme Court

Case Number: 601695/2021

Plaintiff Attorney(s): Parker Waichman LLP

Defense Attorney(s): Catalano Gallardo & Petropoulos, LLP