Jury Verdict Research did a study that found that nursing home plaintiffs get a median award of $329,000. Defense lawyers are not eager to try these cases for a reason: plaintiffs win at trial a stunning 63 percent of nursing home jury trials.  Even that figure is probably misleading.  When a nursing home lets a case go to trial, it is usually because it is a case that cannot be lost.  Good nursing home lawsuits settle almost every time.

So, statistically, you are more likely to win at trial a nursing home case than a rear-end accident case. Crazy, right? Why more lawyers are not pushing for nursing home cases is beyond me. They are not as lucrative as they once were because of damage caps but they are still good cases that also, not for nothing, really help protect nursing home patients.

• Which Maryland nursing homes are getting sued?  A look at lawsuits, ratings, and reviews of Maryland nursing homes
• Take a deeper dive into nursing home settlements and verdicts in Maryland

Nursing Home Claims in Maryland

We are optimistic people in Maryland.  We have the highest per capita income in the country. Few Marylanders expect that they will one day be placed in a nursing home and depend on these strangers for their most basic needs.  I can’t imagine it myself as I type this.   Yet the harsh realities are that we are all dying and we are all at risk of losing the physical powers that make us who we are. Sometimes, long-term nursing home care is the only solution that makes any sense.

Nursing home lawsuits are frequent in Maryland.  It was not always that way.  Plaintiffs’ lawyers once expected juries to roll their eyes at nursing home claims, particularly wrongful death claims for victims of advanced age.

While not enough, times have changed.  Juries do not look at nursing homes with the loving eyes they look upon esteemed doctors.  Maryland jurors, even in conservative jurisdictions, are showing an increasing intolerance toward nursing homes that do not take care of their residents.

Nursing homes have a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid injuries and death to its residents.  This does not mean that the facility is an insurer of all harm to its residents.

But a nursing home really has to try its best to protect its patients.  Residents may expect a nursing home that complies with our state and federal regulations, and that it will provide the resident with an environment that is safe, sanitary, and hopefully, kind and gentle.  Far too often, these nursing homes completely miss the mark and the consequences can be painful and sometimes downright cruel.

Example Maryland Nursing Home Jury Payout

Few – and I mean few – Maryland nursing home lawsuits go to trial.  It is rarely worth it for the victims to go to trial with the settlement offers you see before trial, give the cap on damages in Maryland. But we have had a few more in recent years.

Here are the few recent verdicts in Maryland (and other nearby jurisdictions) nursing home lawsuits. The examples provided highlight the wide range of outcomes in nursing home negligence and wrongful death lawsuits, offering valuable insight into how settlement compensation and verdicts are determined in Maryland. These cases illustrate the significant role that factors such as the nature of the injury, the level of negligence, and the resulting impact on the resident and their family play in influencing settlement amounts or jury awards. However, while these cases are instructive for understanding potential trends and legal considerations, they cannot predict the specific compensation you may receive in your case. Each nursing home lawsuit is unique, shaped by variables such as the resident’s medical history, the quality of evidence presented, and Maryland’s legal caps on damages, all of which make exact outcomes impossible to forecast.

• $500,000 Settlement (Maryland 2025): A woman in her mid-60s (much younger than the typical besore case patient) was admitted to a nursing facility after spinal surgery left her unable to move her lower body for an extended time period. Within just a few short months, the woman developed a pressure ulcer on her back that rapidly progressed from Stage I to Stage IV in just 60 days. She eventually died from sepsis related to the pressure ulcer.
• $180,000 Settlement (Pennsylvania 2025): A nursing home resident developed a Stage II bedsore that progressed to Stage III before he was transferred to a hospital. While hospitalized, her condition worsened, and he ultimately passed away due to complications from the bedsore. His family filed a negligence claim against the nursing home, alleging that staff failed to follow proper pressure ulcer prevention protocols, adequately assess her risk for skin breakdown, and regularly reposition her.