Wrongful Death Lawsuit Says Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Led to 72-Year-Old Patient Dying of Dehydration, Pneumonia, and Kidney Failure
The son of a 72-year-old nursing home resident is suing Golden LivingCenter-Greeley home for his father’s wrongful death. Kevin Cole’s lawsuit, filed in federal court, is seeking at least $75,000 because he says severe thirst, due to nursing home abuse and neglect, was the cause of Dean Cole’s death in January 2007.
Dean was admitted to the nursing home in December 2006 because he was suffering from dementia and required full-time nursing care. The 72-year-old had only been at the home for 3 weeks when his brain and kidneys shut down.
A state Department of Health probe found the nursing home to be “in neglect” of Dean. While staff workers reportedly noted that the elderly patient wouldn’t eat or take his medicines (he didn't eat 15 out of 24 meals that were served to him), nutritional supplements that the nursing home’s dietary manager recommended for Dean were never ordered.
Staff members were about to send Dean to a hospital behavioral unit, after he became combative and agitated, when he fell into a coma. On January 21, 2007, Dean died of severe dehydration, kidney failure, and pneumonia.
Kevin Cole’s wrongful death lawsuit says that because nursing staff members abused and neglected Dean, he lost 20 pounds and 10 liters of water during his brief stay at the home. Kevin is also accusing the nursing home of failing to tell doctors about his father's drastic weight loss.
Feeding Patients with Dementia
According to Dr Susan Aldridge, it is not uncommon for dementia patients to have feeding problems, which is why they may need the help of nursing home workers to make sure they get the nutrition they need. Failure to properly feed and hydrate a nursing home resident can be detrimental to his or her health.
Stillwater nursing home sued over man's death, Star Tribune, December 30, 2008
Son Claims Dad Died of Thirst in Nursing Home, MSNBC.com, January 2, 2009
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