Elder Law

Nursing Home Negligence Leads to Wheelchair Accident

By Levin & Perconti

A basic part of almost all nursing home care is the guarantee that staff members will ensure that the most vulnerable residents be given near constant supervision to prevent harm. Many patients in these facilities decided to begin living there precisely because they had conditions which required close monitoring to ensure their safety. Yet, despite the simplicity of the task, day in and day out many nursing home staff members fail to follow through and give inadequate supervision, leaving vulnerable residents alone.

That is what happened last week at a nursing home in Scranton. The Times-Tribune reported on the serious accident at the Jewish House, involving 81-year old resident Elizabeth LaCoste.

After watching a musical performance with several other residents away from the facility, Mrs. LaCoste was left outside the performance center in her wheelchair. The sidewalk where she was left was slanted, with one side pitching downward toward a side street. Without nursing home staff to assist her, Mrs. LaCoste's chair eventually started traveling down the slope. Eventually, her wheelchair rushed all the way to the bottom, popped over the curb, and threw the helpless nursing home resident into the middle of the hard, paved road.

The careless nursing home staff incident resulted in Mrs. LaCoste breaking her collarbone, suffering head injuries, bruises, and abrasions. She died a month after the accident.

Our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti sympathize with the friends and family of Mrs. LaCoste and understand their outrage at the treatment of their loved one. Elopement occurs all too often at these facilities, where residents are ignored for too long or in too risky situations, resulting in harmful accidents like this. If you know of similar problems at a nursing home near your, please contact our offices to learn what can be done to stop it.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on August 08, 2010 (boomark / email).