Many Texas families have elderly loved ones who need care that they cannot directly provide. When this occurs, they turn to nursing homes and long-term care facilities. While most of these facilities provide excellent care, some do not and may even give cause for a claim of nursing home negligence. One recent case out of state accuses staff members of leaving a terminally ill woman on the floor of her unit for over six hours.
The investigation revealed a very serious incident of alleged neglect. Officials say that someone helped a 91-year-old female resident to the toilet around 8:30 p.m. on the evening in question. The worker who did so left her there and told another staff member to assist the woman when she finished. Reports and a camera placed in the resident’s room say that no one came to help the woman for over six hours. When workers finally came to her aid, she was allegedly on the floor.
The daughter of the woman says this is not the first time that staff had left her mother alone on the floor, and the woman calls for help on the video recording. Investigators say that, in this most recent incident, two staff members who had been told that the woman would need assistance can be seen on other surveillance cameras in the nursing home taking cell phone photos for an hour and a half. After the investigation by the state attorney general’s office, one of the staff members faced arrest and charges of neglect of a disabled adult.
This is reportedly not the first incident at this particular facility. It may make sense for affected families to file a personal injury claim over nursing home negligence as a way of holding responsible parties accountable. Those here in Texas who find themselves in a similar situation can reach out to an attorney with knowledge of these types of cases to determine the best way to proceed.