Allegations of nursing home abuse can be devastating. Nursing homes are supposed to be the places where those who cannot take care of themselves any longer have a safe, secure environment in which they will be monitored and their needs met. It can be a heart-wrenching decision to make the decision about a loved one going into a nursing home, so the expectation is that their new home will do things that are in the best interests of that person.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out this way. One New Jersey family was recently awarded more than $13 million as a result of the medical neglect that an 87-year-old patient endured before her death more than four years ago.
The woman was at her home when she suffered a fall and dislocated her shoulder. She went to the hospital, where she spent three days. After that, she was sent to a nursing home. However, her condition was not monitored and her health began a precipitous decline.
According to the family, she received many unnecessary medical treatments, lost 20 pounds, and had a massive bedsore. According to records, staff at the nursing home only turned the woman 10 times out of the nearly 300 shifts that took place during the woman’s stay. She died at the nursing home about 100 days after she left the hospital.
Fortunately, the family has now been awarded compensation as a result of the woman’s treatment. Nobody should have to go through what the woman did before her death, and this decision sends a message to that effect.
Source: The Jersey Journal, “Jury awards $13.2M to family of Jersey City woman who accused nursing home of negligence,” Terrence T. McDonald, May 16, 2014