A woman recently filed a lawsuit against a Putnam County health care facility, alleging that staff’s negligence led to her mother’s fatal nursing home fall injury.

The plaintiff, Penny W., alleges that the negligence of Teays Valley Center and its employees directly caused her late mother Frances B.’s untimely death by way of a significant nursing home fall injury.

According to the nursing home lawsuit, Frances became a patient at Teays Valley Center, a rehabilitation center for generalized weakness and medical attention in Putnam County, on July 24, 2017. However, in the space of several months, Frances allegedly suffered a number of injuries, leading to serious health complications.

The lawsuit claims that her cause of death was the buildup of complications from nursing home fall injury after injury, falling out of bed. Prior to Frances’s passing, she allegedly suffered from a large left frontal hematoma, garbled speech, ataxia, and pneumonia, among other injuries.

Because of the severity of complications associated with her nursing home fall injury, the lawsuit claims, Frances died on Aug. 13, 2017.

Frances’s daughter, Penny, has now turned to litigation in the wake of her mother’s death, alleging that the nursing home filed to exercise “reasonable care” and providing a safe environment for their patients. More specifically, the lawsuit claims that the nursing home failed to enact rules and policies sufficient to ensure their safety, which would have prevented Frances’s fatal nursing home fall injury.

Nursing Home Neglect

This is not the first lawsuit to be filed over allegations of nursing home neglect or abuse. Nursing home neglect has become a serious problem in the United States. A growing number of families of elders are choosing to file lawsuits after they discover that their loved one has been the victim of nursing home neglect.

Millions of Americans over the age of 60 are neglected or otherwise abused at nursing home and other facilities. Given that a huge amount of elder abuse cases never get reported to the authorities, the exact numbers aren’t known.

One of the most prominent signs of nursing home neglect is declining health or physical suffering. This is because elder neglect can often lead to physical injuries or medical issues when they are not properly and consistently cared for. For instance, a nursing home fall injury could indicate that a facility is not giving adequate care. Other injuries caused by nursing home neglect can often include bed sores, pressure sores, fractures, malnutrition, dehydration, and frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Filing a Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit

If you believe someone you love has been harmed through negligence such as a nursing home fall injury, you may be able to file a nursing home neglect lawsuit. It can be difficult to figure out what to do in response to these serious issues, and consulting a lawyer with experience in this area can help.

While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by nursing home neglect, or bring a loved one back to life, it can help to alleviate the burden caused by medical expenses.

The Nursing Home Fall Injury is Case No. 3:18-cv-00941, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of the Huntington Division of West Virginia.