Articles Posted in Nursing Home Negligence

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The names of the individuals in this nursing home lawsuit were made confidential. Mr. Roe, a nursing home resident with a history of criminal sexual violence, became friendly with a fellow resident, an 82-year-old woman, Ms. Doe, who suffered from dementia. The staff at the nursing home, Maple Farm Nursing Home, were concerned about Doe and Roe being together. The situation was discussed with the County Office of Aging, which agreed to keep Doe and Roe separated.

Nevertheless, the nursing home chose not to do so. Early one morning, Mr. Roe went to Ms. Doe’s room and sexually assaulted her. The police were summoned to the nursing home and Roe admitted to the assault.

Ms. Doe, through a representative, sued the nursing home, its parent company and Mr. Doe ,alleging liability for the sexual assault.

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Minnie Pearson was admitted to Carrington Place of St. Charles, a nursing home, after she suffered a stroke. She was in her mid to late 70s when she was admitted. About a month after her admission, a nursing aide, Heather Clark, administered another patient’s hydralazine medicine to Pearson and Pearson became unresponsive and hypotensive.

The nursing home staff tried resuscitation and then called 911. However, Pearson died several months later. She was survived by her four adult children. Hydralazine is known as a vasodilator that works by relaxing the muscles in the patient’s blood vessels to help dilate or widen them. Administration of this drug lowers blood pressure and allows the blood to flow more freely through the patient’s veins and arteries. Hydralazine is used to treat high blood pressure or hypertension.

Pearson did not need this medication.

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Rhonda Stephan, as the personal representative of the estate of Bobby Gene Hicks, appealed an order by the trial court granting a motion to compel arbitration that was filed by Millennium Nursing and Rehab Center Inc. Stephan contended that Bobby Hicks, her father, died in 2015 while he was a resident at Millennium Nursing and Rehab Center, which is a skilled-nursing facility owned and operated by Millennium.

While Hicks was hospitalized at Crestwood Medical Center, Stephan signed all of the paperwork arranging for her father to be discharged from the hospital and then transferred to the rehab center at Millennium Nursing. However, she did not hold a power of attorney for healthcare or any other actual legal authority to act on behalf of her dad or to enter into a contract in his name.

Hicks did not sign any of the paperwork. However, he is named as a party to the contracts included within that paperwork.

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Carolyn Cauffiel was 75 and had a history of pneumonia. She was admitted to the Heartland Rehabilitation and Care Center for a five-month period.

While she was there, she complained of breathing problems. An attending nursing home nurse came to assist her but did not auscultate her lung sounds. Auscultate is a Latin verb to listen to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope. Auscultation is done for the purposes of examining the circulatory and respiratory systems (heart and breath sounds), as well as listening to the gastrointestinal system for sounds.

The nurse then told her colleague that Cauffiel’s lungs were clear and that she was “faking it” (breathing problems).

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The Illinois Appellate Court has affirmed a request for a new trial in the wrongful death case against a nursing home where a doctor failed to recognize and diagnose the symptoms of a pulmonary embolism.

The case arose from Mary Sikora’s request for a new trial. She claimed that the nursing home doctor did not realize that the symptoms experienced by her late husband, Chris Sikora, were caused by a pulmonary embolism, not bacterial pneumonia.

The Illinois Appellate Court was split on whether a Golden Rule argument asking the jurors to view the situation from the perspective of the defendant was merely “technically improper” or should be treated as “never appropriate.”

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The state appellate court in Nebraska held that a lawsuit against a nursing home arising out of a patient’s fall from bed required expert testimony to prove causation and was not subject to the common-knowledge exception.

In this case, Musa Gwelo suffered from multiple myeloma, chronic pain, depression, and tachycardia. She was admitted to Life Care Center of Elkhorn and fell out of bed just hours after her admission. She died less than one week later.

Her estate sued the nursing home and its affiliates for her wrongful death. The defendants moved successfully for summary judgment.

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Jean Purdie was admitted to Towne Manor West Nursing Home for short-term rehabilitation services in April 2015. At the time of her admission, she suffered from hemiparesis, diabetes and hypertension. She was unable to move herself in bed.

She developed a deep tissue injury on her sacrum during her first month in this facility. Her condition deteriorated. She developed additional skin injuries, including a pressure ulcer on her right heel and abrasions to her face, arms and thigh. Purdie died in September 2015 and was survived by several adult children.

The Purdie estate sued the nursing home alleging that it chose not to adopt protocols for pressure sore prevention, failed to adequately rotate Purdie to prevent her from developing pressure sores, provide sufficient nutrition and skin assessments, and treat her pressure sores.

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Harry Cohoon was diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer and was recovering at Victoria Healthcare Center while he underwent treatment from various injuries he had suffered.

For 19 days, he did well at the healthcare center. On the 20th day of his residency there, he was observed having difficulty swallowing thin liquids. After evaluation, his diet was changed.

His niece, Donna Cochrum sued the healthcare center contending that the change was not properly communicated to the residency kitchen staff. Consequently, that night he was served a dinner that did not conform to his new diet.

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Ms. Doe was in her 60s when she was admitted to the Roe Skilled Nursing Facility after undergoing hip replacement surgery.

She asked for assistance with transferring herself from her bed or chair to the bathroom. A certified nursing assistant who had never worked with her before answered her call. Before Ms. Doe moved to a seated position, the nursing assistant dropped her legs over the bed. This caused her to suffer a broken right femur.

The nursing home’s staff chose not to evaluate Ms. Doe despite her pain after her fall. Ms. Doe was transferred to a nearby hospital that evening where she received the diagnosis of a fractured right femur.

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The Supreme Court of Rhode Island has held that the release of a master or principal or employer from liability also releases a servant or employee from potential legal liability.

In this case, Michelle Hall sued Tavares Pediatric Center Inc., an assisted living facility, alleging liability for injuries her daughter suffered while being care for there. Before trial, the parties settled. The plaintiff signed a joint tortfeasor release that exempted Tavares agents and employees. The court then dismissed the case.

Later, Hall sued two nurses who provided care to her daughter at the same Tavares Pediatric Center. The nurses moved for summary judgment on the basis that under state law, they and Tavares were a single tortfeasor and, therefore, Tavares released the nurses. The trial court agreed and an appeal was taken.

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