It is the type of story that fills many families with concerns when they contemplate an upcoming move by an elderly family member to an assisted living facility, or as they think about a loved one who is already living in a nursing home or residential care unit.
To say that nursing homes in New Jersey and across the country are uniformly problematic places would certainly be an incorrect statement. Thousands of homes offer competent and compassionate care to residents and feature modern facilities and well-trained staff members.
There is certainly a caveat to that general reality, though, and it is this: Underperforming facilities do exist, and instances of nursing home neglect and abuse are far from singular occurrences in assisted living units across the United States.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed last month in Camden Superior Court underscores that reality. The nine-count complaint was filed by the estate of an 85-year-old female resident of a nursing home in Morris County who died shortly after she was allegedly accosted, choked and slammed to the ground by a male resident at the facility in late 2010.
The complaint states that the male resident was known to be violent and that the staff was aware that the female resident was being harassed by him. On the day of the fatal incident, staff members allegedly directed the woman to another area of the facility. The man simply followed her there.
Following the attack, the woman was not taken to a hospital immediately. It wasn’t until the following morning, following her complaints of a headache, that she was admitted to a local medical facility. She died there from internal bleeding and a brain hemorrhage.
The lawsuit charges the home, its owners, administrator and unnamed staff members with gross neglect, fraud for misrepresenting the home’s ability to adequately care for patients, and gross negligence for lax patient monitoring and supervision.
If your parent or other loved one has been injured as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, please contact Breslin & Breslin for a free consultation.
Source: NorthJersey.com., “Clifton woman sues Morris County facility over aunt’s death,” Denisa R. Superville, Sept. 24, 2012
- Many causes can directly contribute to the wrongful death of a loved one, including on-the-job accidents, medical malpractice, motor vehicle negligence and, as seen in this post, nursing home neglect. Please visit our New Jersey Wrongful Death page for information regarding our firm and the zealous advocacy we provide on behalf of families bringing wrongful death claims
