With a population estimated at more than 3.5 million, Connecticut has a sizable number of elderly residents, some with special wants and needs that are catered to by nursing homes. The state runs the gamut on those, with hundreds of public and private offerings ranging from small enterprises to large for-profit chains.

Connecticut's nursing homes are not atypical when compared to facilities in other states. Some are exemplary in their care and administration, while others have demonstrated problems that point to shoddy care resulting in personal injury to some residents.

In the direst cases, of course, an act of malpractice or negligence can lead to wrongful death. A recent case from Florida, with immediate relevance in Connecticut and all other states, underscores one increasingly problematic aspect associated with a nursing home wrongful death claim: collecting damages, even after a jury has awarded them.

In the Florida case, the family of a woman who died when she fell down a stairwell at a nursing home was awarded $200 million. An interesting twist at the trial was this: There was no lawyer for the defendant, which, in fact, no longer even existed.

That lawsuit highlights what many nursing home regulators and commentators say is the emergence of a new for-profit model that seeks to shield homes from liability by slicing ownership into many layers. One company might operate the business, for example, with another owning the property. Still another might lease the buildings, with yet another providing accounting and billing help.

One long-time student of the industry says that, "It's like tracking a problem mortgage when you don't know who owns the bank."

The obvious point is that collection can be a difficult and arduous process. A personal injury attorney with strong experience in investigating claims and following through to enforce judgments can make a material difference in both the terms of a money recovery and its collection.

Source: Tampa Bay Times, "Who should pay the $200 million for nursing home death? It's complicated" Stephen Nohlgren, Feb. 5, 2012