In Chicago, some nursing home patients need assistance doing very basic activities like using the restroom and eating their food. These patients require extra care and attention, and when they do not receive the assistance they need, the consequences may be devastating for patients and their families.
For example, a patient died last December in a nursing home located in Connecticut due to neglect. The patient, who suffered from dementia, was not being monitored properly. He had wandered into an area that he should not have been allowed to enter on his own. The patient found some food that had been left sitting out. The patient then grabbed the food and tried to eat it.
This wouldn’t necessarily be a significant problem for some patients, but the man had a very strict diet. He was only allowed to eat pureed foods. Because the food the man had grabbed was not pureed, he choked and suffered severe complications. The man’s injuries from the choking incident were fatal. He died from his injuries one week after the accident.
The man’s death was investigated and officials from the state Department of Public Health released a report of the man’s death last week. Officials concluded that the man’s death was the result of nursing home neglect because the patient should have never been able to access the food.
Nursing home workers did attempt to save the man after they discovered the patient had choked. However, after performing the Heimlich maneuver and CPR, the patient still was not breathing. He was taken to a local hospital for additional medical treatment. By the time the man arrived at the hospital, though, his injuries were too severe. The man suffered a brain injury and was put on life-support. The patient died after he was taken off of life-support.
Source: The Hartford Courant, “Another cognitively impaired patient dies after choking in nursing home,” Josh Kovner, March 15, 2013
- Our firm provides counsel to nursing home residents and their families who have been harmed by nursing home abuse and neglect. To learn more about protecting medical negligence victims’ rights, please visit our Chicago nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers page.
