Nursing home abuse and neglect cases, though generally not thought to be the biggest verdict generators, may be positioned to increase in the commonwealth.

In two recent nursing home medical malpractice actions, Philadelphia juries returned plaintiffs verdicts for about a half-million dollars each - both times within 90 minutes of beginning deliberations.

Wilkes & McHugh attorneys Tammera R. Harrelson and Brian L. Strauss initiated both cases, which alleged abuse and neglect.

And with the aging baby boom generation approaching - gulp - their elder years, Harrelson and Strauss said they expect nursing home negligence litigation to explode.

Pennsylvania could be on the forefront of that litigation; Strauss noted that the commonwealth has one of the oldest populations in the country.

"These cases come down to a question of demanding appropriate care," Harrelson said. "When we have verdicts like this, [juries] are demanding it."

But counsel for one of the nursing homes, William Hangley of Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin, said his client provided proper care for patients who were prone to injury without improperly restricting them.

"[My client] is trying to preserve for patients as much dignity as they are entitled to as human beings," Hangley said. "Sometimes that's a good deed that gets punished. They give them as much of a life as they can give them."

Hangley said nursing home injury cases were difficult because juries tend to be sympathetic to elderly people who have become ill or hurt.

In Collins v. Philadelphia Nursing Home Corp., the family of Francine Collins alleged that negligent care at Philadelphia Nursing Home, 21st and Girard streets, resulted in Collins suffering a fractured tibia, repeated falls, bed sores, infections and physical abuse, according to court papers.

The 10-2 Collins jury awarded just under $600,000 - $500,000 for pain and suffering and $97,593.53 for medical expenses, Strauss said.

In Logan v. New Courtland Elder Services Inc., the family of 86-year-old Lottie Logan alleged similar negligence in her care.

According to court documents, Logan's daughter claimed Logan suffered multiple falls, a hip fracture, infection, physical abuse and poor hygiene at the Cheltenham York Road Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in the East Oak Lane section of the city.

The 12-0 Logan jury awarded $500,000 for pain and suffering. According to Strauss, Logan could not ask for economic damages because Medicare paid for her care.

The plaintiffs' attorneys said they are asking for $81,661.60 in delay damages for Collins and $54,541.10 for Logan.

Strauss said a high-low was not discussed in either case.

According to Harrelson and Strauss, the cases had numerous parallels.

Both involved a patient who was suffering from some form of dementia with a low level of functioning, and the patient's families alleged a failure in overall care, due at least in part to understaffing, they said.

In both cases, Harrelson and Strauss said they thought the most powerful testimony had come from former employees at the facilities, mostly certified nursing assistants, who testified that understaffing resulted in their inability to meet the standard of care for patients.

The five-day trial in Collins was tried in front of Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Annette M. Rizzo, according to Strauss. The jury entered its verdict on April 23.

Collins, a middle-aged woman with Krabbe's Disease, dementia and Charcot-Marie Tooth disease, has been a resident at Philadelphia Nursing Home since 1996.

Philadelphia Nursing Home, a government-owned facility, was dropped from the case, leaving Episcopal Long Term Care, the facility operator, as the sole defendant, according to Strauss.

According to the plaintiffs pre-trial memo, Collins was allowed to roam the facility in her wheelchair unsupervised and sustained a fractured tibia.

Her attorneys also alleged she was incontinent and, because of understaffing, was left in her own urine and feces for long periods of time.

The defense countered that Collins' care met or exceeded treatment standards for nursing homes providing long-term care, according to its pre-trial memo. The defense further argued that Collins' experts did not show willful misconduct on the part of the facility.

Collins continues to live at Philadelphia Nursing Home, her attorneys said.

Defense counsel Charles A. Fitzpatrick III of Rawle & Henderson declined to comment for this article.

Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Patricia McInerney heard the six-day Logan trial. The jury entered its verdict on June 19, Strauss said.

Logan was a resident at the Cheltenham York Road Nursing and Rehabilitation Center from November 2001 to December 2003, according to court papers.

Logan, an obese Alzheimer's patient, fell out of her bed and fractured her hip, her attorneys said.

The plaintiffs argued at trial that Logan was prone to falling and the nursing home had not taken the proper steps to prevent her falls, according to her attorneys.

The defense argued that the facility did everything it could do without improperly restraining Logan to prevent her from falling, according to Hangley, who represented the nursing home.

Hangley said there was an irony to the nursing home being the subject of a neglect case.

He said the New Courtland group of nursing homes, a nonprofit group, had been created in response to poor conditions at for-profit facilities. (New Courtland was dropped from the suit before trial, according to Strauss.)

"This is a wholly charitable attempt by some very good people to deal with probably the most significant health care crisis in the country," Hangley said.

Hangley said it was a given that Alzheimer's patients would suffer falls because of confusion resulting from memory loss. He said Logan was given "every intervention that medical science has to offer" to prevent an injury.

"[The Cheltenham facility] is going to continue to fight these cases," Hangley said. "They are in it for the long haul until juries like the one in the Logan case demonstrate that they can't do this work and not be punished."