A wrongful death lawsuit was brought against McDowell Nursing & Rehabilitation in Charleston, West Virginia for the injuries and death of James Allen.  Claudia Ross, daughter of James Allen, claims her father suffered serious injuries due to deprived care, neglect and abuse.  She states that her father was a patient at the nursing home from November 9, 2010 until December 6, 2010. During his stay, he suffered uncontrolled high glucose, severe dehydration and urinary tract infections. The lawsuit, which was filed in Kanawha Circuit Court, alleges that Allen suffered serious injuries “from a pattern of poor care, neglect and abuse” on the part of the nursing home staff.

The suit (Case number: 13-C-18) claims that negligent care by the nursing home and its staff caused Allen’s physical condition to deteriorate and contributed to his death. In addition, Ross alleges that the nursing home did not train its employees properly and failed to exercise the degree of care required or expected of reasonable healthcare providers.

Some of the most common signs that a nursing home may be negligent include, but not limited to.

• Low nursing staff level
• Inattentive care providers
• Indifferent care providers
• Incompetent care providers
• High staff member turnover rates
• Residents with poor hygiene (more…)

Our Buckfire & Buckfire P.C nursing home attorneys have significant experience in representing families who have lost a loved one in a Michigan nursing home fire. These wrongful death lawsuits are filed on behalf of the family members and seek compensation against the responsible nursing home for the death of their loved one. These lawsuits not only seek compensation for the tragic loss of the resident in Michigan nursing home fire, but also serve as a notice to the nursing home that they need to improve on supervision and fire drills (as far as what  a resident should do if a fire does take place).

 On average, U.S. fire departments respond to an estimated 2,810 nursing home structure fires annually.  These fires cause an annual average of 1.6 deaths, and about 130 injuries in elderly residents, according to U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA) National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) annual fire department experience survey. Often these fires were caused by cooking, however fires that started with mattresses or bedding material or electrical wire or cable insulation caused a disproportionate share of the casualties and injuries as well among nursing home residents.

 Nursing home fires often force residents out into the cold, bitter weather in only nightclothes.  Many nursing home residents, especially those unable to walk independently are often seriously injured or even die due to smoke inhalation.  The elderly are 2.5 times more likely to die in a fire. Senior population is increasingly on the rise, nursing homes need to be held responsible for their residents.  Fires often cause physical, emotional and social impact on elderly who have experienced them.

 The death rate per thousand non-confined fires was almost sixteen times as high when automatic extinguishing equipment was not present.  Most fires can be contained upon starting with the proper equipment.  If you suspect the nursing care facility was at fault and failed to contain a fire which resulted in the death of your loved one, the nursing care facility could have been negligent. (more…)

Our Michigan nursing home attorneys at Buckfire & Buckfire P. C have significant experience in representing families for the loss of a loved one due to neglect in a nursing home facility, assisted living facility, or hospital.  These cases arise when a loved one’s death was caused by neglect at a nursing home or assisted living facility.  Anguished family members seek cases against the responsible party, the negligent nursing home.  Family members of nursing home residents seek these lawsuits due to the many emotions they feel after the loss of a loved one due to neglect.  These emotions include anger, sorrow, and feelings of betrayal from the nursing home facility that the entrusted to care for their family member

Our qualified nursing home neglect attorneys file wrongful death lawsuits for family members who have lost a loved one in a nursing home. The nursing home doctors and responsible staff will be sought for compensation in the death of their loved one. Their negligence in their care of the resident caused a premature and unfortunate death. These lawsuits will seek compensation for the tragic death of the Michigan resident, and also serve as notice to the nursing home that they need to improve their patient care to other residents.

Nursing Home Deaths Due to Neglect 

Wrongful death lawsuits for nursing home deaths arise from a number of different types of abuse and neglect. These include, but not limited to:

• Bedsores and pressure sores causing sepsis

• Nursing home infections

• Medication mistakes and errors

• Doctor’s errors

• Dehydration and malnutrition

• Falls from beds, chairs, and toilets causing death

• Choking and asphyxiation leading to death

• Strangulation and bed rail entanglement causing death

• Wandering away from the nursing home causing death to the resident (more…)

Buckfire & Buckfire P.C nursing home wrongful death attorneys are experienced with representing resident’s families who pursue lawsuits for the loss of their loved one due to wandering from a nursing home during a Michigan winter.  This act is very dangerous and occurs when a resident walks away from supervision without being noticed and enters into an unsupervised, unfamiliar and dangerous area.  When wandering occurs during the winter months it can result in death due to hypothermia. The elderly are often victims of cold-related illness resulting in death.  During the winter seasons from 1989-2011, a total of 407 hypothermia deaths have occurred and 182 were people age 65 and older.

Hypothermia is defined as a drop in body temperature to less than 94.1 degrees Fahrenheit as a result of exposure to cold weather.  Without immediate efforts to reverse the body’s core temperature, loss and restore it to safer levels, hypothermia can quickly lead to a dangerous loss of physical and mental abilities, unconsciousness and death.  Hypothermia is most dangerous during Michigan winters; the winter season is defined as October 1 to March 31 each year.  Most hypothermia deaths occur during the months of January and December; however, deaths due to hypothermia have been reported from September through May.

Claims for death from wandering during freezing cold weather will be brought against the responsible nursing home or assisted living facility.  Our experienced nursing home wrongful death attorneys have an in-depth understanding of lawsuits involving wandering cases against Michigan nursing homes or assisted living facilities. (more…)

Our Michigan nursing home neglect lawyers investigate cases on behalf of the families of nursing home residents who died from choking on food or pills at the nursing home.  When nursing homes fail to provide necessary care, the results can be catastrophic.  

With proper precautions, these nursing home choking deaths are entirely preventable. The nursing home staff is required to perform proper assessments, therapy, food preparation, and resident observation should all be taken into consideration when preparing meals for residents.  A wrongful death lawsuit can be sought when a resident dies from a choking death.

Risk Factors From Choking on Food 

Many risk factors can contribute to nursing home patients choking injuries.  Below are a few common reasons why residents choke on food or medication:

• History of stroke affecting swallowing and facial muscles
• Muscle weakness affecting swallowing
• Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia which can lead to choking
• Other medical conditions that affect the resident’s ability to chew and swallow food and drink or take oral pills and medication

Assessment of Choking on Food 

Patient’s risk for choking or asphyxiation can properly be assessed by a nursing home’s medical team in several different ways.  The medical staff should perform the following measures for residents who have a history of choking on food and residents with medical conditions that pre-dispose them to choking problems:

• An x-ray or barium swallow
• A visual examination of the esophagus (endoscopy) by a physician
• A swallowing study by a speech therapist
• Observations of the resident eating and drinking by a speech therapist or physician

Nursing homes need to take necessary precautions to prevent choking death from occurring in residents who are determined to be a risk for choking on food due to a medical condition or swallowing disorder. These precautions include a special diet, like soft foods, with food prepared in a way that would eliminate the possibility of choking, assistance with eating, and observation by a trained staff member during meals.  It may also be necessary to crush medications that pose a risk of choking. (more…)