Memory Care UTI Lawsuit Settles Before Trial
Rachel J was a 91-year-old great grandparent who entered a Memory Care Facility after being diagnosed with dementia. Rachel J was easy going and spent most of her days relaxing in an electric mobility wheelchair. Memory Care staff enjoyed Rachel J’s peaceful nature, that they rarely noticed her sitting in the same position on a stained mobility chair cushion.
Rachel J would forget to use her call light to request assistance, due to her memory impairment. Memory Care staff would forget to check in on Rachel for hours at a time, because the facility was understaffed. As a result, Rachel J was left in soiled diapers, resulting in her suffering from a Urinary Tract Infection – or UTI for short.
Despite showing symptoms of infection, Rachel J’s UTI went untreated for several weeks. Rachel J also developed multiple coin sized bedsores on her sacral area. On December 26, 2021, the J family went in to visit Rachel J and found her unresponsive in her reclining chair. Emergency Medial Responders were called, and immediately transported Rachel J by ambulance to Hospital. The Emergency Room Physician diagnosed Rachel J with septic shock and started treating her with a heavy course of antibiotics. It was clear that the UTI had developed, and was ignored, for days.
A Sharp Decline After a Urinary Tract Infection Takes Hold
After several agonizing days in the hospital, the medical team informed the family that Rachel J’s organs were failing from the infection, and there were no other treatments that would reverse her conditions. On January 2, 2022, Rachel J passed away on hospice care at the hospital due to urosepsis and organ failure. Memory Care Facility offered their condolences to the family, only after asking if they were okay with donating Rachel J’s infamous electric wheelchair for other residents to use.
UTI’s Can Be Deadly in an Elderly Patient Population
Urinary Tract Infections are easily dismissed as a minor condition. UTI’s in a healthy young person may be a simple infection that goes away on its own. Unfortunately, UTI’s in the elderly are life threatening and cause confusion in the elderly. For those who are in late adulthood and suffer from a memory disorder – like Rachel J – UTI’s can easily grow out of control and cause severe delirium.
Memory Care Facilities are designed to accommodate those with memory disorders to prevent infections and injuries from occurring. Although UTI’s are not always preventable, signs and symptoms of infection must be responded to by Memory Care staff. Unfortunately, in Rachel J’s case, Memory Care Facility was neglectful in both recognizing and treating Rachel J’s conditions, which directly resulted in her wrongful death.
UTI Memory Care Case Settlement
The attorneys are Senior Justice Law Firm were able to successfully settle Rachel J’s case for a confidential settlement amount, largely due to the fact that Memory Care failed to timely respond to Rachel J’s symptoms which indicated a severe infection. This memory care lawsuit brought closure, and justice, to Rachel’s surviving family members in the J family.
If your loved one suffered from an untreated infection while at a Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, Rehabilitation Center, or Hospital, Senior Justice Law Firm may be able to help. Please call our intake line for a free consultation at 888-375-9998.
*The names of persons and facilities involved have been changed.
