A wrongful-death lawsuit against the Devon Gables nursing home has ended in midtrial with a settlement.
The attorney for plaintiff Kathleen Havens, whose mother died after staying at Devon Gables in 2006, said Havens and the nursing home reached an "amicable settlement" late Thursday. The settlement occurred shortly before Havens was to testify.
Attorney Melanie Bossie said the settlement's details are confidential.
Devon Gables attorney Michael Ryan did not return a phone call seeking comment Friday.
The lawsuit said Havens' mother, longtime Tucsonan Irma Smith, was neglected by staff at Devon Gables, 6150 E. Grant Road, when she was a resident there.
Smith was admitted July 9, 2006, and remained there until Aug. 27, 2006, the day she fell face-down from a wheelchair while left unattended by Devon Gables staff, Bossie told a jury when the trial began in Pima County Superior Court April 13.
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Smith died in hospice on Sept. 7, 2006, after developing sepsis from a severely infected pressure sore, according to court testimony. The trial, in the courtroom of Judge Stephen C. Villarreal, had been scheduled to last until April 30.
Though Smith was 98, her death was hastened by staff members at the for-profit nursing home, Bossie argued.
Ryan had countered that Smith was already dying when she was admitted to the nursing home - suffering from bruises, tears in the skin and persistent wounds that wouldn't heal. He said she was a longtime Type 2 diabetic who had suffered heart problems, and that her body was shutting down.
"There were mistakes in documentation. But Devon Gables treats people, not documents," Ryan told the jury last week. "People are the most important part of what they do."
Bossie has two lawsuits pending against Devon Gables in Pima County Superior Court, both alleging abuse of former residents. One was filed by the family of a 95-year-old woman, which also alleges wrongful death. The other was filed by the father of a paraplegic man. In each case the families say poorly trained staff members did not adequately care for their loved ones and caused their health to deteriorate.
Devon Gables denies wrongdoing in both cases.
Contact reporter Stephanie Innes at 573-4134 or sinnes@azstarnet.com
