$5.4M Verdict Obtained for the Wrongful Death of 87-year-old Nursing Home Patient

On February 28, 2025, a Dakota County jury awarded the family of Joan Englin over $5.47 million after a nursing home’s failure to provide fall precautions caused Ms. Englin to break her hip and later die.

Joan Englin, 87, was a patient at a West St. Paul nursing home, where she was receiving rehabilitation care to regain her balance after a minor stroke. On her third day, the facility assigned a temp agency CNA (certified nursing assistant) to Ms. Englin’s care without informing the CNA of the fall precautions she required for safety. Without fall precautions, Ms. Englin fell and broke her hip. From there, her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died from complications of the injury 30 days later.

After a five-day trial in Dakota County, the jury determined that the nursing home was negligent and caused Ms. Englin’s death. The jury awarded Ms. Englin’s family all of her medical expenses, $3,000,000 for their loss of relationship with Ms. Englin, and $2,400,000 for Ms. Englin’s pain and suffering after she broke her hip.

Ciresi Conlin attorneys Brandon Thomspon, Rachel Barrett, and Kara Rahimi tried the case, assisted by paralegal Brittany Bruening. “Ms. Englin was on the road home before this unjustly happened to her, and fall precautions are one of the simplest concepts in safe nursing home care. This never should have happened,” said Barrett. “We are pleased the jury saw the tremendous loss this meant for her family and recognized the gravity of Joan’s pain and suffering after her injury,” she added.