Napa Elder Care Facility Sued
I’m Ed Smith, a Napa Personal Injury Lawyer. Sometimes, finances, medical problems, or geography can make the care of elderly relatives challenging. In this situation, a professional nursing home can provide the care that elderly loved ones require. Unfortunately, nursing homes can fall short of expectations as nursing home abuse continues.
The Death of a Patient
Napa Valley Care Center, a skilled nursing facility, has a lawsuit filed against it by a daughter of a former patient. The daughter’s lawsuit alleges that nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect led to the death of her mother, a patient at Napa Valley Care Center. The patient suffered a stroke that led to a coma and, eventually, death. The defendants named in the lawsuit are Petunia Holdings and Plum Healthcare Group. The lawsuit alleges that the patient’s past medical history, significant for numerous risk factors for a cerebrovascular incident, suffered a stroke that could have been avoided had the nursing home adhered to their own rules and regulations. The daughter points out that the patient enjoyed a relatively high quality of life due to proper medical care despite her medical problems.
Negligence has Consequences
The patient experienced difficulty breathing and was admitted to Queen of the Valley Medical Center for treatment of her breathing problems. Once stabilized, the patient was discharged from the hospital to Napa Valley Care Center for her rehabilitation process. The center was supposed to help the patient take her medications, monitor her blood pressure, watch her breathing, and help her with her activities of daily living. Instead, the suit states that the patient was left gasping for air in the absence of her nebulizer and that the patient’s blood pressure readings weren’t documented anywhere. Furthermore, the patient was served cold food. When the daughter checked on her mother, her mother had lost ten pounds and had a large bruise on her leg, indicative of nursing home abuse or, possibly, a blood clot.
The Bruise and The Stroke
While the bruise could indicate physical abuse in the nursing home, it is also a common sign of a blood clot. In this case, the blood clot started in the leg and moved into the blood vessels of the brain, causing a stroke, a type of hypoxic brain injury. The physician who examined the patient stated that the nursing home waited too long to transfer the patient, leaving little hope for a successful treatment. For this reason, it is important for families to know how to pick a nursing home properly. The patient lapsed into a coma and the family withdrew life support two days later.
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Contact an Experienced Napa Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Napa Personal Injury Lawyer. Professional elder care facilities are held to high expectations. If you, or a loved one has suffered due to nursing home abuse or negligence, please call me at (707) 564-1900 for friendly, free advice. Calling from outside of the immediate area? Use my toll-free line at (800) 404-5400.
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