Spring 2007
Lawsuits Filed Against Nursing Homes Alleging Abuse Resulting in Deaths

Clark Mason Attorneys recently filed lawsuits against the Beverly Health Care nursing home in Camden, Arkansas, on behalf of two families whose elderly loved ones were subjected to abuse and/or neglect in that facility. In one case, the victim’s family placed the victim in the nursing home after she suffered a stroke. Due to the increased attention and care many stroke sufferers require, the family felt that a nursing home was the best place for their loved one to be. Sadly, the Beverly facility failed to live up to the family’s reasonable expectations. The victim suffered extreme weight loss, dehydration and Stage IV pressure sores – the worst kind possible, the type that are so deep they affect the muscle, bones and tissue far beneath the skin. The dehydration suffered by the victim only worsened the sores, as proper hydration is critical to the healing process. The victim never recovered and soon thereafter the pressure sores began poisoning her body (sepsis), which led to her death.

In the second case, the victim entered the Beverly – Golden Living facility needing specialized care her family could not provide, but she was awake, aware, and alert. The victim suffered significant weight loss from malnourishment and developed skin breakdowns that resulted in the formation of pressure sores. In addition to the facility’s neglect that was ravaging her body, the victim was cruelly, inexcusably and brutally sexually assaulted by another resident – a resident who had inappropriately touched and made sexually explicit comments to numerous staff prior to the assault incident. Despite the previous incidents, the nursing home failed to take any action to protect the residents from a sexual predator they knew lived within their walls. The victim suffered unimaginable physical and emotional damage as a result of the nursing home’s failure to adhere to basic standards of decency and care that we as citizens – and especially the residents – expect from a nursing home facility.

For over twenty years, Clark Mason has represented families whose loved ones were the subjects of extreme abuse and neglect in nursing homes across the region, resulting in numerous multimillion-dollar jury verdicts and settlements.

July 9, 2006
Settlement Reached For Survivors of 28-Year-Man Killed While Working on Drilling Rig

The victim, whose family ultimately sued the operator and the owner of the natural gas drilling rig he had been working on, was killed as a result of an explosion that occurred while he was working as a derrick hand on the land-based rig. The explosion badly burned the victim as well as burned through his safety belt, causing him to fall some 60 feet to the ground. Evidence showed that he survived for some time after the fall.

Witness testimony as well as several renowned experts in oil and gas exploration showed that the explosion was the result of reckless and faulty drilling procedures, and that a different, safer drilling method should have been used.  The evidence uncovered in the case proved that another common drilling method would have prevented the terrible accident, but the owner of the drilling rig chose not to use the safer alternative method.

The victim is survived by his wife and two young daughters. The settlement in this case awards them several million dollars, comprised of initial cash payments as well as periodic payments for the rest of their lifetime.

July 22, 2005
$42.5 Million Settlement Reached For 84 Arkansas Farmers In Their Lawsuit Against Tyson Over Tyson's Sudden Pull-Out From The Hog-Growing Business
Read the Russellville Courier News

The 84 farmers sued Tyson after the corporation suddenly decided in 2002 to cancel the farmers’ contracts and get out of the hog-growing business.  Tyson had blamed higher prices for feed and transportation and said it wanted to use farmers closer to its packing plants in the Midwest.  About a quarter of the 132 affected farmers accepted contract buyout offers, while the rest joined the lawsuit. The farmers argued that the company broke promises to stay in the business.

The lawsuit between the contract farmers and Tyson wound its way to the Arkansas Supreme Court and was set for trial before the company agreed to settle the case.  In February 2004, the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of the farmers on one of the issues in the lawsuit, saying they had a right to sue rather than adhere to arbitration clauses in Tyson’s hog contracts. It was a considered a vital victory for individuals fighting arbitration clauses in any situation.

Later, Tyson settled the lawsuit with the farmers for $42.5 million, which was divided among the farmers in the case. The settlement was much needed by the farmers, who had massive bank debts to repay after their contracts were cancelled and their livelihoods taken away.

January 2005
$4.8 Million Settlement Reached For Family of Man Who Died While Saving a Drowning Girl

A $4.8 million settlement was negotiated on behalf of the family of the victim, who was electrocuted on Lake Hamilton, just outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas, while saving the life of a 9-year-old girl who was drowning.  She had just begun swimming near the back of a houseboat that was docked at a boat slip and was plugged into the shore electricity.  An electrical short was found in the houseboat, and the girl had come into contact with the electrical field while swimming near the houseboat.

Unfortunately, the property association that maintained the power outlets failed to provide grounding wires or ground fault circuit interrupters in conjunction with the boat dock's electrical system.  An electrical short occurred due to a crimped wire within a track-lighting fixture, which evidence proved was defectively designed.  In addition, evidence also showed that the houseboat owner had reversed the polarity of the shore power wires in an effort to obtain “free” electricity from the property association.  The property association had knowledge of numerous previous electrical incidents on their boat docks, but had failed to adequately address the problems.

When the victim heard and saw the young girl screaming in the water, he immediately jumped in to save her.  While his heroic act allowed him to push the young girl back to the boat, the electrical current in the water around the houseboat overcame him and paralyzed his body, causing him to drown.  He left behind a wife and three young children, the beneficiaries of the settlement.