In April 2014, David Howard filed a complaint, individually and on behalf of the wrongful death beneficiaries of Donald Lee Howard (“Donald”), alleging that Donald had suffered injuries and wrongful death while he was a nursing home resident at Heartland of Springfield between December 11, 2011 and April 5, 2012. The named defendants included HCR, the local administrator of the nursing home, and various defendants.
The complaint contained claims for negligence for lethal and non-lethal injuries, medical malpractice, malice, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and premises liability. Attached to the complaint was a request for an extension of time to file an affidavit, and the court subsequently granted Howard a 90-day extension of time.