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Star Tribune Covers Kosieradzki • Smith Trials
By Joel Smith / September 12, 2022

On the front page of the Sunday Star Tribune, the Twin Cities newspaper published an article featuring the verdicts in two of Kosieradzki • Smith‘s recent trials. The report, entitled “Troubled Twin Cities Nursing Home Ordered to Pay Millions in Neglect Cases,” reports on two of our clients’ successful efforts to hold The Estates at St. Louis Park nursing home accountable for its negligent and harmful “care.”
You can access the Star Tribune article by clicking HERE.
The article points out that this nursing home “has been cited nearly 50 times for violating federal health standards since early 2018” and that it has been “fined nine times for a total of $136,000. As a result of these deficiencies, the Estates earned just one star [the worst rating] for overall care on the federal government’s rating system.”
The Estates at St. Louis Park, however, is only one of many nursing homes in our state in that lowly category. As the article notes, nearly 20% of Minnesota’s 351 nursing homes have the lowest possible rating in federal government’s rating system.
Despite the repeated governmental fines and poor ratings, The Estates at St. Louis Park has continued to provide substandard care to its residents. As the article notes, earlier this year the government found that the nursing home “failed to provide proper respiratory care for two residents who relied on tracheostomy tubes to breathe. One of these residents died after staff failed to clean her airway properly.” Two of The Estates nursing told government investigators that “they did not recall being trained on what to do in case of emergencies with tracheostomy tubes.” Kosieradzki • Smith represents the family of the resident who died when The Estates failed the basic task of cleaning her breathing tube when it became clogged.
When the government’s regulation and fines aren’t enough to effect meaningful change, it’s up to the residents and their families to do so. As the article report, “More important than the monetary damages, family members said, is the hope that the verdicts will lead to substantive changes and improved care at the nursing home.”
As one of our clients states, “by winning these verdicts, we can stop this neglect from happening to other families and help ensure that no one else will have to go through this horrible experience.” Another client informed the Star Tribune, “Now I know the nursing home has been held accountable and they will have to follow proper safety protocols for every patient, …. It’s a victory for vulnerable adults and ordinary people everywhere.”
We are proud of our clients and their families who refused to give in to the nursing homes’ disrespect. Instead, they fought for justice and accountability.
The Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm represents clients in cases involving catastrophic injury caused by nursing homes and other care facilities that fail to provide proper care. If you believe your loved one has been harmed due neglect or abuse in a nursing home, take action and contact the Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm online or call us at (763) 746-7800 to set up a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.