When a nursing home in New Mexico provides substandard care to a patient, the outcome may unfortunately be fatal for that patient. One woman in a nearby state recently lost her life due to the alleged negligence of the nursing home in which she had been placed. A nursing home abuse lawsuit has since been filed against this nursing home.
According to the lawsuit, the woman was transported to the restroom and placed on a toilet. Then, staff allegedly left the woman unattended. After the woman had used the bathroom and waited for a period of time reportedly deemed unreasonable, she tried to utilize her call device in order to summon the staff. According to the complaint, the woman did not think anyone would come to help her, so she got up by herself.
While trying to get up, the woman allegedly fell and struck her head. She then fell to the floor, and as she tried to break her fall with her hands, she ended up fracturing both wrists. Staff members are said to have then scolded the woman for trying to get up by herself and hit her in the head using a showerhead. According to the lawsuit, the woman was then put to bed, after which she was eventually transported to the hospital for an X-ray, which showed that she had suffered brain trauma. She later died at age 74.
The lawsuit filed against the nursing home alleges nursing home abuse, battery and assault, negligence, and wrongful death. When a person in New Mexico is hurt and killed due to the carelessness of a nursing home’s staff, the surviving family members have the right to seek to hold the nursing home accountable through the legal system. A liability claim that is successfully fought may lead to a monetary damage award that could be used to cover medical costs and other losses tied to the documented incident of abuse or neglect.
Source: fresnobee.com, “Fresno County nursing home neglected elderly woman, the lawsuit claims”, Razi Syed, June 21, 2016
