| Home Health Agency Negligent in Murder Trusted Health Resources, Inc. hired Jesse Rogers in 1991 as a home health care aide in Boston. The employer did not conduct a criminal background check on Rogers. A background check would have revealed that Rogers had six larceny-related convictions in Massachusetts, and that he had not, as he stated on his application, worked for a state agency and attended nursing classes. Rogers was hired to care for John Ward, a 32-year-old quadriplegic. Several months later, Rogers murdered Ward and Ward's 77 year-old grandmother, Alba Pellegrini. He had reportedly been stealing from Ward and committed the murder to cover up the thefts. Ward's parents sued Trusted Health Resources, Inc. and others, alleging that they were negligent in allowing a convicted felon to care for their son. The court agreed and in February 1999 awarded the Wards $26.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages. |
||||