The firm’s Ohio healthcare team secured a complete defense victory on behalf of an assisted living facility and its employees in a wrongful death lawsuit arising from the death of a resident. Early in the litigation, the team successfully narrowed the case by obtaining dismissal of the plaintiff’s medical negligence claims, leaving only claims for ordinary negligence, negligent training and supervision, vicarious liability, and spoliation of evidence.
Following discovery, the court granted summary judgment on all remaining claims and dismissed the action with prejudice. In doing so, the court rejected the plaintiff’s spoliation claim and held that the remaining negligence and wrongful death theories lacked sufficient evidence. Notably, the court assumed, for purposes of its analysis, that the defendants owed and even breached the applicable ordinary standard of care, yet concluded that the plaintiff failed to present evidence establishing causation. The court emphasized that the plaintiff’s claims rested on speculation and conjecture, not on sufficient factual evidence to create a genuine issue for trial. The decision resulted in the dismissal of all claims with prejudice.