Image of nurses' hands at computer keyboard

An appeals court has ordered theretrial of a lawsuit in which a major nursing home chain had most ofa $29.8 million punitive damages award against it thrown out. TheTennessee Court of Appeals ruled last week that a Warren CountyCircuit Court judge had made a mistake two years ago when he reducedthe damages amount to $163,000.

The appeals court also upheld more than$4 million of a $4.1 million compensatory damages award in the samenegligence lawsuit. The original case was brought by family membersfor Cheatum Myers, an 88-year-old woman who died after allegedneglect at National Healthcare Corp.’s McMinnville facility.

National Healthcare CorporationSpokesman Gerald Coggin said the company planned to appeal theappellate court’s findings. It has 60 days to formally request theTennessee Supreme Court consider the case. Murfreesboro-based NHC had73 facilities and more than 9,100 skilled nursing beds, making it the11th largest nursing home chain in the country at thebeginning of this year.