Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit Claims Malnutrition, Improper Bed Sore Treatment, and Dehydration—Not Heart Attack—Caused 79-Year-Old Resident’s Wrongful Death
The children of a 79-year-old female nursing home resident who died in November 2007 are suing a nursing home for her wrongful death. Valeree Espinoza and David Vestal claim that while their mother Shirley Marion Renner died from lung ailments and a heart attack, her death was actually caused by the poor nursing care she received, which caused her health to deteriorate.
Their wrongful death complaint contends that nursing home neglect lead to Renner suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, and bed sores, which where poorly treated. The nursing home neglect lawsuit also claims she experienced emotional and physical pain, abandonment, desperation, anguish, helplessness, shock, spinal injuries, neck injuries, missing and broken teeth, bruises, fear of death, and eventually, death. She also may have been administered psychotropic medication that had an adverse affect on her ability to be lucid.
During the two years that Renner lived at the nursing home, her daughter says that her weight went from 110 pounds to around 92 pounds.
The nursing home where she was residing eventually changed ownership and soon after, her family moved her to a different facility. While the new nursing home owners claim that they did not take over supervision at the home until nearly a month after Renner was discharged, the plaintiffs’ attorney contends that the new nursing home owners had responsibility over the patients and their care when they took over the long-term care home.
Negligent Nursing Care
When nursing home workers fail to do their jobs correctly and a resident suffers as a result, the patient and his or her family may be entitled to nursing home neglect compensation. The reason that nursing homes exist is to make sure that a sick or elderly resident gets the specialized care that he or she needs. Abusing or neglecting a nursing home patient is a crime and a violation of his or her rights. Failure to treat bed sores, medication errors, poor diet, and failure to maintain a patient's hygiene are some examples of nursing home neglect that can lead to health complications and even the death of a patient.
Nursing home sued for wrongful death, Appealdemocrat.com, March 4, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Deadly Neglect, ReadersDigest.com
Nursing Home Overview, Medicare.gov
