I guess the ruling is good for patients and families in that it offers another option for remedy in case of malpractice.

However, I haven't seen much attention given to the reasons why there is a shortage of nursing or care homes in the first place.  I'm almost sure the main reason is bottom-line.  Any healthcare,  or for that matter, nonprofit organization, needs to clear at least 2 cents on the revenue dollar on the bottom-line to stay in operation.

They adjust expenses to stay within that parameter.  Revenue sources are primarily from Medicaid, and are thus not elastic due to regulatory issues.  So they'll run minimal as much as possible, like on staffing level and skill mix, maintenance of facilties, technology, etc.

As long as revenues are limited, there will never be relief to the shortage.