FRANKFORT - A jury awarded $20 million yesterday to the estate of a man that filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against a Frankfort nursing home.

Connie O'Brien and Deborah Cunnigan, two of the 11 nurses named in the suit, were also found to be culpable in the death of Loren Richards, 84. They must each pay $500 in punitive damages, according to the verdict.

Richards died on March 2, 2002, at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation of Frankfort.

Richards' daughter, Wanda Delaplane, sued the home, alleging that nurses had ignored her father's repeated calls for help with abdominal pain. With an impacted bowel, he later died of a heart attack and a blood clot in his left lung.

The suit also alleged that the home was understaffed because of companywide cost-cutting.

Those who monitor elderly care said the verdict puts the nursing-home industry on notice.

"No resident should ever suffer the way Mr. Richards suffered," said Kathy Gannoe, executive director of the Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency.

Attorneys for Beverly Health and Rehabilitation had no comment as they left the courtroom. Kara Meredith, current administrator of the Frankfort nursing home, said, "We are happy to put this behind us so we can continue providing care to our residents. We're proud of our staff who work hard every day."

Delaplane, who administers her father's estate, said the Franklin Circuit Court verdict was a vindication.

Asked whether she thought the verdict sent a message to caregivers of the elderly, she said, "I do, and I hope it's heard by a lot of people."

"Families need not be afraid to come forward and do this," Delaplane said. "I promised my dad on his grave I would do this."

The jury found that the nursing home had "deprived or infringed upon" the patient rights of Richards to be free from mental and physical abuse. The jury also found that Beverly had not immediately informed relatives of a downward turn in Richards' health. On those counts the jury awarded total compensatory damages of $200,000.

The panel also awarded more than $18.79 million in punitive damages against Beverly Health and Rehabilitation, and an additional $1 million for the family's "physical pain and mental anguish" for the loss of their father.

The estate had sought $159 million in damages.

Norris Cunningham, an attorney for Beverly, said in closing arguments Wednesday that the case was really about the family's greed.

But Gannoe of the nursing home monitoring agency said, "The corporation, instead of saying the family was greedy, should have said, 'Oh, my God, how did we let this happen to this man?'"

The verdict is significant, Gannoe said, because cases like this rarely go to trial. They are typically settled out of court, she said.

And Bernie Vonderheide, president of a citizens' advocacy group called Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform, said the case reaffirms that the state and families "need to be paying attention to the care, particularly when it comes to staffing of front-line caregivers."

The eight women and five men on the jury returned the verdict after a seven-week trial.

Based in Fort Smith, Ark., Beverly Enterprises Inc. employs 34,000 people nationwide and operates more than 400 nursing facilities, assisted-living centers and hospices in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

In recent years, Beverly has been hit with wrongful-death lawsuits in Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas and Virginia.

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