A Nassau County jury awarded $5 million to the family of Henry Serrapica, a U.S. Army veteran and retired postal worker from Lynbrook, who suffered pressure ulcers at South Shore Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Freeport before developing severe sepsis, court records show.

Serrapica ultimately died of his injuries, family members said.

Matthew Serrapica, the victim's son, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against South Shore and Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside — the latter of which was ultimately dismissed from the case — in 2021, arguing that his father's care was "inhumane" and that his death was preventable if he had received proper medical care.

"My dad deserved way better than the treatment he received at South Shore," Serrapica, who visited his father three to five times per week, said in an interview. "So it's great for my family to finally see him get the justice he deserves."

A jury issued the verdict — $4 million for pain and suffering and $1 million in punitive damages — on Thursday following a weeklong trial in State Supreme Court in Nassau County.

"The family put him in the rehab center with the hopes that he would come home," said Ryan McAllister, the Serrapicas' Port Washington-based attorney, who described the verdict as among the largest he's seen against a rehabilitation center. "And under their care, his condition continued to deteriorate."

Caitlin Robin, a Manhattan-based attorney representing South Shore, said her client "believes this is a miscarriage of justice and will be seeking all appellate relief."

Henry Serrapica, who had been treated for a stroke and a kidney and pancreas transplant, was transferred from Mount Sinai to South Shore on Jan. 19, 2018, following a bout with pneumonia.

During multiple stints at South Shore, Serrapica developed Stage 4 pressure ulcers, commonly known as bedsores, on his heel, ankle, arm, pelvis, back and buttocks, according to court records and photographs shown to the jury. Other wounds were diagnosed as "unstageable pressure injuries" where there's too much dead tissue to determine their stage.

While Serrapica's care plan called for him to be turned every two to four hours, there's little evidence that advice was followed, McAllister said.

The wounds continued to grow in size and severity, prompting multiple visits to Mount Sinai, where he was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, or bone inflammation; sepsis and septic shock. He would return to South Shore each time but his wounds grew worse and increased in size, his son said.

During Serrapica's final admission to Mount Sinai, an unstageable pressure injury near his pelvis measured 16 inches in length and 9 inches in width, records show.

In court records, Robin said South Shore followed proper care protocols and that Serrapica was treated by a team of doctors and nurses.

"All of South Shore's interventions were reasonable, considering the thoroughness of the decedent's assessments and care plan," Robin wrote in a Feb. 29, 2024, filing.

It wasn't just pressure ulcers, McAllister said.

Serrapica suffered six falls during his time at South Shore. The family said they found him in soiled diapers, without any pants on or wearing a different patient's clothes.

At the time of his admission to South Shore, Serrapica weighed 145 pounds. But weeks before his death, Serrapica's weight dropped to 106 pounds, records show.

Serrapica died on Dec. 26, 2019, at age 69, a month after his final admission at South Shore. The death certificate lists cardiopulmonary arrest due to coronary artery disease.

Matthew Serrapica said he tried to get his father admitted to the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook but that he died before he could move in.

"There isn't an amount you could offer me if I could have him back in my life, even for just a day." he said. "All the money in the world wouldn't be enough."