$11 Million Verdict for Widow After Brain-Injured Man Dies Neglected at Phoenix Assisted Living Facility

Earl Scherrer was 36 years old and living with severe traumatic brain injury from a 1996 car accident. After spending roughly 16 months in a coma and making a partial recovery through years of intensive care from his wife Lydia, he still needed round-the-clock supervision. On April 7, 2006, Lydia placed him at Liberty Manor Residency, a small Phoenix assisted living facility, believing he would be properly monitored.

One month later, on May 7, 2006, Lydia received a call saying her husband had been vomiting. Earl Scherrer died shortly after. The medical examiner's autopsy found plastic bags, unopened ketchup packets, candy wrappers, and paper towels blocking his stomach and small intestines. The cause of death was mechanical obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract from ingested foreign objects.

Craig Knapp of Knapp and Roberts filed suit in Maricopa County Superior Court (CV2007-007660), asserting abuse, neglect, and wrongful death against Liberty Manor Residency, Inc. During discovery and at trial, the firm revealed that the facility had fabricated care records, including chart entries noting supervision on days when Lydia had actually checked her husband out of the facility. The employee listed as Earl's primary caregiver could not be produced at trial.

On March 20, 2009, the jury returned a verdict of $11 million: $2 million for the decedent, $5 million for Lydia Scherrer, and $4 million in punitive damages. News accounts described the award as the largest verdict ever returned against an assisted living facility in the United States at that time. A satisfaction of judgment was filed in May 2009, indicating the verdict was paid without a successful appeal reducing it.