Butler County Jury Returns $12.5 Million Verdict Against Chesterwood Village, Including Punitive Damages, in Wrongful Death of 83-Year-Old Resident

Summary: After a nine-day trial, a Butler County jury found that Chesterwood Village and its corporate operators breached the standard of care, violated Ohio’s Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights, and proximately caused the death of Janice Combs. The jury also awarded punitive damages, a finding reserved under Ohio law for conduct that shows a conscious disregard for the rights and safety of another with a great probability of causing substantial harm.

A Butler County jury has returned a $12.5 million verdict, including $1.5 million in punitive damages, against Chesterwood Village (also known as Chesterwood Nursing Care, Ltd.) and its corporate operators in the wrongful death case of Janice Darlene Combs, an 83-year-old resident who suffered a catastrophic brain injury at the West Chester nursing home and died nearly ten months later.

The verdict was returned on May 14, 2026 in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Judge Daniel E. Haughey presiding, following a nine-day trial. The jury answered every interrogatory in favor of the Estate of Janice Combs, finding unanimously that the defendants breached the standard of care, that the breach proximately caused her injuries and death, the defendants violated Ohio’s Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights, R.C. 3721.13, and that their negligence caused Ms. Combs’ death.

Ms. Combs was admitted to Chesterwood Village in June 2023 for short-term rehabilitation after falling down stairs at home. She was 83 years old, blind, and had been living independently. Shortly after her initial admission, she was sent to a geriatric hospital for approximately nine days of evaluation due to confusion. She returned to Chesterwood on June 19, 2023.

Within about two hours of returning to the facility, Ms. Combs sustained a fall while in Chesterwood’s care. The facility’s records describe a single incident: a face-first fall from her wheelchair in a common area with minimal injury. Based on the West Chester Township Fire Department EMS run report and paramedic testimony however, a fall occurred in her room that the facility did not document. Plaintiff alleged Ms. Combs was dropped on the back of her head while staff were transferring her from her wheelchair to her bed in her room. Paramedics documented an injury to the back of her head and blood in the room, none of which appeared in the facility’s nursing records.

Ms. Combs was transferred to the hospital and diagnosed with a catastrophic brain bleed. She was intubated and underwent a tracheostomy. Doctors attempted three times to remove the tracheostomy tube but had to reinsert it because she was unable to breathe on her own. She remained ventilator-dependent and bedbound until her death on March 31, 2024.

The jury’s verdict consists of $1 million in survivorship damages, $8 million in wrongful death damages to Ms. Combs’s next of kin, $2 million for violations of Ohio’s Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights, and $1.5 million in punitive damages, plus attorney fees as permitted by law. Lead Plaintiff attorney William Eadie asked the jury to award $11 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages; the jury matched the compensatory request and exceeded the punitive damages amount.

Nursing homes are required to maintain basic safety standards, including adequate staffing, supervision during transfers, careful handling of residents with known injuries, and accurate documentation of what happens in their care. The jury’s findings reflect a conclusion that those duties were breached in Ms. Combs’s case.

“Families place their loved ones in nursing homes trusting they will be kept safe, and trusting that the truth will be told if something goes wrong. This jury looked carefully at the difference between the facility’s account and what the evidence actually showed, and they held the defendants accountable for both the harm to Janice Combs and how it was reported.” – William B. Eadie, Eadie Law: Nursing Home Injury Lawyers

“My mom was part of our life, part of the thread, and she was the glue that held it together. This verdict is justice for her, her voice being heard. We are without her now, but in her honor, we feel as though she is with justice. For our family, it is not about a monetary number.” – Rita Combs-Jordan, daughter of Janice Combs and Estate Representative

The case was tried over nine days by counsel from Eadie Law: Nursing Home Injury Lawyers, led by founder William B. Eadie. Defendants are expected to pursue post-trial motions and/or an appeal.