Articles Posted in Assisted Living Facilities

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James Owen, 89, lived in the John Knox Village Care Center. He fell while using the bathroom, suffering a fractured cervical vertebra, and died within two weeks. He was survived by his older sister.

The Owens estate and Owen’s sister sued the nursing home, alleging it chose not to provide residents with 24-hour oversight, properly train its personnel and adequately assist Owen while he used the bathroom.

Owen’s sister and the estate argued that the nursing home’s conduct amounted to complete indifference or conscious disregard for Owen’s safety, warranting punitive damages.

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Ms. Doe was a resident of an assisted living facility. She was an elderly woman who suffered from severe dementia. While residing at this facility, Ms. Doe experienced several falls.

A month after suffering fractures from one of the falls, she passed away. The family brought a lawsuit against the assisted living facility for choosing not to perform timely fall risk assessments of its residents, including Ms. Doe.

The case settled before trial for $250,000.

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Mary Benton, 98, lived at the Agape Senior Assisted Living Facility. She suffered from mild dementia that required assistance with her day-to-day activities.

During her time at the assisted living facility, her condition deteriorated, and she was hospitalized for dehydration, infections and low blood pressure.  In addition, she fell on two occasions, the last of which resulted in a broken hip.

Benton was not a candidate for surgery and was later transferred to her friend’s home where she unfortunately passed away. She was survived by her son.

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Elaine Jenkins was admitted to the transitional care unit of Vibra Hospital of Charleston. While she was there, she suffered from debilitating injuries, which led to her permanent decline in her health.

Jenkins’s estate sued Vibra Hospital and its administrator, alleging negligence, negligence per se, breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation, violation of the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act, wrongful death and survivorship.

The Jenkins estate also argued that among other things, the defendants chose not to conduct adequate assessments, respond to changes in Jenkins’s mental status, and also failed to notify her family members after she suffered a number of different incidents at this facility.

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Viola Sickel had a history of falls. She was admitted to The Bridges at Warwick, a skilled nursing facility.  She was then transferred to its secure memory unit. While she was standing at the sink in her bathroom, the aide who had been spotting her left her room suddenly.

Sickel then fell and struck her head, suffering severe injuries that led to her untimely death.

Sickel’s estate sued The Bridges of Warwick nursing home, alleging that it chose not to implement an effective fall prevention strategy. It also was alleged that the nursing home failed to properly supervise Sickel while she was standing at the sink in the bathroom, failed to tell Sickel that the aide was leaving and that she was being left alone.

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Sarah Fortner suffered from dementia, osteoporosis, and had other health problems. She lived at the Carolina Gardens at Lexington Assisted Living Facilities. Over a 5-year period, she fell several times. She suffered various injuries including a fractured arm, a skin tear, a forehead hematoma and a fractured femur. After her last fall, she passed away.

The family and the estate of Fortner sued the facility’s licensees, owners, managers and operators, alleging negligence; negligence per se; negligent hiring, training and supervision; and breach of fiduciary duty.

The Fortner estate claimed that the defendants had chosen not to prevent Fortner’s falls or determine the root cause of these falls. In addition, the lawsuit alleged that the defendant nursing home owners, operators, managers had failed to provide supervised care and properly train its staff.

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Kathleen Menard, 97, was a resident in an assisted living facility. While she was in an outside courtyard at her assisted living facility on an extremely hot day, she fell off her motorized scooter and landed behind some trees.

She was found unconscious about four hours later and transferred to a hospital for treatment of heat-related illness, including a third-degree sunburn. Menard died within two months. She was survived by her adult son and daughter.

Menard’s children, on behalf of her estate, sued the assisted living facility and its owner alleging that it chose not to ensure her safety by, among other things, checking on her while she was outside, installing security cameras in the courtyard and trimming the trees in the courtyard to ensure staff members had a full view of residents who were outside of the facility.

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Doe, 62, suffered from developmental delays and schizophrenia and lived at Roe Residential Care Facility. While Doe was there, he suffered a vicious beating from his roommate, resulting in a fractured left femur, four broken bones, a broken left clavicle and a collapsed lung. There were other injuries as well.

Doe remained in the hospital’s intensive care unit for two weeks after this occurrence. He was later transferred to a skilled nursing facility for two months.

Doe sued the residential care facility alleging that it knew or should have known that Doe’s roommate was not an appropriate candidate for admission due to the roommate’s tendencies toward violence. Doe further claimed that the defendant residential care facility, Roe Facility, chose not to follow the applicable regulations for its admission and retention of the roommate.

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Louise Reese, 100, lived at Harbison Hall Assisted Living. While an employee of the facility was helping her get up from the commode, she dropped her to the floor. Reese suffered bilateral femur fractures.  Without further examination, the employee of the facility put her back in her bed and covered her up with bed sheets and blankets.

When a hospice aide arrived to see Reese, she found her moaning in pain. The aide also discovered severe swelling and bruising around Reese’s knees and lower thighs. X-rays revealed the femur fractures in both legs. Although Reese was transported to a hospital for care and treatment, she unfortunately died the next day.

Reese’s estate sued Harbison Hall alleging that its employee chose not to protect the patient while moving her from the commode to a wheelchair. It was also alleged that the employee failed to call for help when she dropped Reese and failed to evaluate her. There was also an allegation that the assisted living facility and its employees decided not to report the fall to Reese’s family. The lawsuit also alleged inadequate staff training. It may be obvious, but it seems likely that the nursing aide or employee elected to hide her condition under the bed clothes after she dropped Reese to the floor and elected not to tell anyone about the fall, which undoubtedly severely injured the fragile 100-year-old woman.

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Tho Nguyen, 43, suffered from a traumatic brain injury and quadriplegia. He lived in a private home and received services from a non-profit corporation that provided community-based care to persons with disabilities.

Nguyen’s sister, who was his guardian, learned that he suffered a bruise on his left side, allegedly coming from an incident in which a caregiver pulled him from his wheelchair and kicked him while he was lying on the ground. Nguyen’s sister, on his behalf, sued the community-based care center alleging negligent hiring, supervision and retention of the aide who, plaintiff asserted, was previously named in a domestic dispute.

The defendant denied the incident ever took place but still settled the case.

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