Illinois Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit Filed After Resident Dies of Renal Failure and Sepsis Caused by Dehydration
The widow of a man who died of sepsis and renal failure as a result of dehydration is suing an East Moline nursing home for negligence leading to his death. Charles Mead died at age 79 in May 2007. He was a resident at Parkview Terrace.
He moved into the East Moline nursing home on May 14, 2007 after undergoing a medical procedure. Following his admission to the nursing residence, workers determined he was at risk for dehydration. It became the responsibility of staffers to monitor Charles’s fluid and food intake.
One week after he was admitted to the home, a nursing home worker noticed that the 79-year-old resident had medications running out of his mouth and that he appeared lethargic and nonresponsive. The staffer made a note to continue observing him.
Mary, who came to visit him that same morning, noted the same symptoms. It was then that a staffer called an ambulance so Charles could be taken to the emergency room.
According to Mary, the ER doctor told her that Charles’s dehydration was the worst case he had ever witnessed. Charles died 36 hours after being admitted to the hospital.
Following an investigation, the Illinois Department of Public Health found that Parkview Terrace workers neglected to record how much food and fluids Mead was taking each day, even though his care plan required that they monitor his meals. Two doctors that were interviewed about Charles’s case said that the elderly resident appeared to have become dehydrated over a period of several of days before he was taken to the hospital.
Dehydration
Dehydration occurs when a person loses more fluids than he or she takes into the body. The human body is made up of 2/3rds water. A person who is dehydrated does not have enough water left in the body for normal function.
While mild cases of dehydration are easily remedied and/or often go unnoticed, dehydration—especially for the sick or the elderly—can lead to broken bones, low blood pressure, lethargy, tooth decay, other illnesses and complications, and even death. Nursing home negligence or abuse, inadequate staffing, and inadequate training are common problems that can cause a resident to suffer from dehydration.
East Moline nursing home sued for negligence, Quad-City Times, November 13, 2008
Malnutrition And Dehydration Plague Nursing Home Residents, The Commonwealth Fund, June 7, 2000
Related Web Resources:
Dehydration, Medicine.net
Parkview Terrace, Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Report, Nursing Home Ratings.com
