Gates v. Sells Rest Home, Inc.

JAMES K. PREWITT, Judge.

Charles Gates and his six brothers and sisters (“Appellants”) appeal from a September 13, 1999 jury verdict in favor of Sells Rest Home, Inc. (“Respondent”) on a ■wrongful death claim based on the disappearance from Respondent’s facility and subsequent death of Appellants’ father, Ernest Gates (“Decedent”).

Decedent, a sharecropper, became a single parent in 1958 when his wife passed away. In 1968, Decedent had an accident that caused a severe head injury and prohibited him from working. Appellants noted in testimony that Decedent’s overall demeanor and personality…