Jonathan Rosenfeld's Nursing Homes Abuse Blog : Jonathan Rosenfeld's Nursing Homes Abuse Blog | Lawyer & Attorney : Strellis & Field Law Firm | Bed Sores, Senior Neglect, Elder Abuse, Sexual Abuse: Chicago, Illinois

An 87-year-old nursing home resident recently died from injuries sustained in a hit and run auto accident that occurred Friday night.  Several people in the area made 911 calls to the local police department that a car versus pedestrian crash occurred in front of the the Good Samaritan Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center where the woman was a resident.  

The woman's family claimed they recently convinced her to check into the nursing home due to declining health.  Nonetheless, her family believes her unhappiness at the facility lead her escape attempt.  "She was unhappy being in the nursing home.  I think she planned her escape well and anticipated going home," said her daughter Linda Meldrum.

While the circumstances leading to the woman's escape and death are under investigation, the woman's daughter points to under staffing as the predominate cause.  "There was a security  door in her room that she was able to disable at 87-years-old  They appear to be very short staffed at night. We were told there was a loud alarm going off but no one went looking to see what was going on"

The Good Samaritan Nursing facility released the following statement regarding the incident:

An unfortunate incident has taken place in which one of our residents was struck by an unidentified vehicle on Detroit Road during the evening of March 13, 2009. This was a "hit and run" incident where the driver left the scene. Good Samaritan urges anyone with any information regarding this incident to immediately report it to the Avon Police Department at 440-934-1234. Out of respect for the privacy of the resident and their family, we cannot share any further information, other than to note that all of the other residents of our health care center are safe. Good Samaritan appreciates the well-wishes and condolences of the community and hopes that the driver involved in this incident will be found quickly.

Read more about this case of elopement in an Ohio nursing home here.

Nursing Home Residents Who Elope

Nursing homes have a duty to protect their residents not just from harm from outside sources, but also from themselves.  In order to minimize the risk of residents eloping, facilities should take the following precautions:

• Install technology updates (such as automatic locks and alarms) to their facilities that to help contain residents with a propensity to wander.
• Train staff to identify residents who are likely to wander from the facility and how to search for missing residents.
• Provide adequate staffing levels to look after residents.  Many of the wandering incidents occur during 'off' hours when the facility is minimally staffed.
• Establish plans to help look for missing residents

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Wrestling legend Verne Gagne, a former professional wrestler, still has some of his moves that made for a successful career in college wrestling, professional wrestling and professional football.  Unfortunately, the wrestling moves have no place in an Alzheimer's unit at Friendship Village Nursing Home.  Recently, Gagne threw down his roommate, Helmut Gutman, resulting in a broken leg and closed-closed head injury.  Several days later, Gutman died from complications related to his injuries.

This incident demonstrates the necessity of nursing home staff to closely monitor Alzheimer's and dementia patients and potentially intervene if the residents pose harm to themselves or others.  It is common for many people suffering from late stage Alzheimer's to act violently and out of character as their disease progresses.  Nursing home employees should quickly intervene when they see a resident begin acting more aggressively and redirect the person even isolate them temporarily.

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Peanut butter tainted with salmonella has claimed the life of a 72-year-old resident at a Minnesota Nursing Home.  Consequently, the family of Shirley Mae Almer, have filed a food poisoning lawsuit against the manufacturer and distributer of the peanut butter in Hennepin District County in Minneapolis for her death.

The lawsuit names Peanut Corporation of America and King Nut Companies as the defendants in the matter.  Peanut Corporation manufactured the contaminated peanut butter over the past six months and King Nut distributed the peanut butter to institutions--including Almer's nursing home.

The lawsuit alleges that Almer died on December 21, 2008, during a temporary stay in a Brainard, Minnesota Nursing Home. The peanut butter lawsuit alleges that her death was caused by eating peanut butter contaminated with Salmonella typhimurium, the same strain of bacteria that has been connected to other illnesses and deaths after ingesting the peanut butter.

According to the complaint, the defendants failed to manufacture, package and transport their products safely, failed to supervise and train their employees effectively, did not maintain hygienic conditions for production of peanut butter, failed to test their final products before distributing them and did not take steps to prevent cross-contamination at the plant.

The Minnesota Department of Health found salmonella bacteria in an open 5 pound tub of peanut butter served at the Minnesota nursing home where Almer was residing, and other sealed containers of peanut butter manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America have been found to be contaminated with the same strain of bacteria, tracing the contamination back to the processing plant where the containers are sealed.

According to reports released on January 27, 2009, subsequent inspections by federal health officials have found evidence of Salmonella typhimurium at the plant, together with two other strains found on the floor of the facility and another strain in a different container of peanut butter produced by Peanut Corporation of America.

King Nut Companies distributed large tubs of peanut butter manufactured by Peanut Corp. to nursing homes, schools and other food service institutions in several states.

Peanut Corp. also sold peanut paste to nearly 100 different manufacturers of peanut butter crackers, cookies, ice cream, nutrition bars and other products containing peanut butter. To date, almost 400 products have been recalled that are believed to contain the contaminated peanut butter.

If you or a loved one have contracted salmonella after eating peanut butter served in a nursing home or institution, you may be entitled to a claim for damages against the peanut butter manufacturer and distributer of the products.  Also, depending on when the peanut butter was served, you may also have a claim against the nursing home or institution where the peanut butter was served.

You can read more abut the FDA's recall of contaminated peanut butter in nursing homes and other institutions here.

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