Macdonald Devin
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Greg Ziegler and Bryan Rutherford win in Texas Supreme Court for nursing home client.

The Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion July 1, 2011 that a nursing home in North Texas was not liable for the death of an elderly resident allegedly caused by a bite from a brown recluse spider. The family of the deceased resident sued the nursing home for negligence, alleging that the nursing home should have prevented the spider bite. The nursing home filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the Plaintiff failed to prove that the nursing home's conduct fell below the applicable professional standard of care for long term care facilities. The trial court denied the motion. The Texarkana Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's ruling. However, the Texas Supreme Court reversed, ruling that the nursing home was entitled to a complete dismissal of all claims, and remanded the case back to the trial court for a determination of whether the nursing home is entitled to reimbursement of its attorney's fees and costs. The nursing home was represented by Macdonald Devin partner, Greg Ziegler, and associate, Bryan Rutherford.

July 2011