For many, nursing homes are a way to care for elderly loved ones when they are no longer able to care for themselves. An illness could render a loved one in this condition, as could an injury that makes it hard to them to take care of themselves. This is why so many turn to nursing homes to ensure that loved ones are getting the care and medical attention they need. Sometimes that care goes horribly wrong, as one family discovered prior to filing suit against a Pennsylvania nursing home.
Most nursing home patients’ time in nursing homes are characterized by a positive and helpful experience. However, for one family, the care of a nursing home went terribly wrong when an elderly woman was allegedly dropped, injured and ultimately passed away due to her injuries. According to reports, the woman was being lifted from a chair to her bed by a machine called a Hoyer. At some point while being hoisted, it is claimed that she fell from the machine, onto the floor where she was seriously injured. She later succumbed to her injuries at a near-by hospital.
The family is now seeking injuries for her wrongful nursing home death. The cause of death is listed as cardio respiratory arrest, complications of a hip and pelvic fracture, and a fall from a lift device, according to the same report. It also alleges that the nursing home facility did not keep standards of federal and state regulation, and this directly led to the woman’s fall and death. The claim seeks damages related to medical expenses and pain and suffering in her nursing home death.
This instance of alleged nursing home neglect isn’t unheard of. There have been many instances in which nursing home failed to comply with state regulation or safety standards. The measures are in place to ensure patient safety. If they are repeatedly ignored, it can lead to a tragedy like this one, a woman fell from a lift machine.
Source: law360.com, “Pa. nursing home sued over dropping of elderly patient,” Y Peter. Kang, January 23, 2017