Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against New York Nursing Home
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of a 73-year-old resident diagnosed with COPD, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart conditions. The lawsuit claims that a New York nursing home’s staff were negligent and failed to provide adequate care, including failure to implement an emergency response when the resident was exhibiting life threatening symptoms.
In the days before the resident’s death, the daughter, who visited often, says that she noticed that her father’s health seemed to be declining. She described him as being lethargic and with raspy breathing.
She complained on multiple occasions to the staff and the executive director about her father needing personal care—once about being covered with vomit. The executive director is reported to have told the daughter that there was no need for her to file grievances to the state’s health department because one of his staff had a family member working there and such a grievance would be “lost.”
On the day the resident died, the daughter found her father alone in his room, gasping for air, drenched in sweat, and with an oxygen tube dangling from his nose. She says she called for help, but no staff member came to the resident’s assistance. The daughter then called “911” but when the paramedics arrived, they had difficulty reviving the resident, so they transported him to the hospital where he died several days later.
The Department of Health investigated the resident’s death and cited the facility for violations in three areas regulated by federal law—nursing staff did not provide CPR, follow the physician’s medication orders regarding a change in condition, or provide proper respiratory care.
The nursing home denies any neglect.
Compliance Perspective
Failure of a nursing home to investigate complaints of negligence and lack of resident care, and failure by nursing home staff to know and follow full code CPR orders or physician’s medication orders regarding changes in condition, and failure to provide appropriate care of respiratory devices, may be considered neglect and the provision of substandard quality of care, resulting in the violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding provision of CPR, following physicians’ medication orders, caring for respiratory devices, and investigating complaints of negligence and abuse.
- Train staff to know the code status of all residents, to be aware of physicians’ orders regarding changes in a resident’s condition, and how to properly care for residents’ respiratory devices.
- Periodically audit residents’ records to determine if the appropriate code status is indicated, and that nursing staff are aware of the code status of every resident in their care. Periodically audit all devices used by residents to ensure compliance with the plan of care, with standards of practice, and with manufacturer recommendations for their use. Review the grievance log to ensure that all reported concerns have been addressed and resolved.
