Cunningham Bounds attorney Lance Lourie recently helped secure a $23.6 million jury verdict for the family of John Owens, Jr., a longtime Fitzgerald High School baseball coach and economics teacher who died after being given medications that had not been prescribed to him while residing at PruittHealth-Fitzgerald.
Affectionately known as “Coach Owens,” Owens suffered a traumatic brain injury after being assaulted in his home in early 2020. His injuries left him in need of nursing care, and he became a resident of PruittHealth-Fitzgerald.
As a result of his brain injury, Coach Owens sometimes exhibited behaviors that included yelling out and wandering the halls. During the overnight shift of January 26–27, 2021, after he displayed these behaviors, nursing staff administered morphine, hydrocodone, and lorazepam, medications that had not been prescribed to him.
Soon afterward, Coach Owens was found unresponsive and in respiratory distress. He was transported to the hospital, where two separately collected urine samples tested positive for the three unprescribed medications.
He never recovered and died 43 days later.
Family’s Attorneys Argue Drugs Were Used as a Chemical Restraint
Attorneys Evan Jones, Lee Atkison, and Josh Wages filed suit on behalf of Coach Owens’ family. Cunningham Bounds attorney Lance Lourie later joined the legal team and assisted in the trial of the case.
During the 10-day trial, the family’s attorneys presented evidence and argued that the medications had been used as an unlawful chemical restraint in a chronically understaffed nursing home. They further argued that the drugs caused or contributed to Coach Owens’ respiratory decline, hospitalization, and eventual death.
The jury agreed and found PruittHealth-Fitzgerald responsible for Coach Owens’ death.
The jury awarded his family $11 million in wrongful death damages and an additional $12.6 million for the pain and suffering Coach Owens experienced before his death, bringing the total award to $23.6 million.
On August 24, 2026, the jury found that the employees of PruittHealth-Fitzgerald were agents of Pruitt Health, Inc. and United Health Services of Georgia, Inc., and therefore held both corporations responsible for the damages.
Holding Nursing Homes Accountable for Resident Care
“The jury carefully reviewed the evidence presented at trial and sent a clear message that nursing home facilities must not allow drugs to be improperly used to chemically restrain residents,” Lourie said. “We are gratified to have helped bring justice to the Owens family and hold these corporations accountable for dangerous practices that compromise the dignity and well-being of the residents entrusted to their care.”
Cunningham Bounds has a longstanding commitment to represent individuals and families who have suffered catastrophic injuries or losses because of negligence and wrongdoing. Our attorneys have the experience and resources necessary to take on complex cases and pursue accountability for our clients.
The law firm of Cunningham Bounds has offices in Mobile, Alabama, and Atlanta, Georgia, and has represented plaintiffs for more than 65 years. Today, the firm continues its tradition of representing victims in cases involving catastrophic personal injury, industrial accidents, defective products, truck and automobile accidents, and medical malpractice. The firm also has expertise in business litigation, complex litigation, and national and state class action litigation involving defective products and consumer fraud.