A nursing home abuse lawsuit was recently filed against Timber Ridge Health Care Center on behalf of a deceased former patient named Eleanor Corrado, a Florida resident. The Estate of Eleanor Corrado alleges in its claim that staff at the nursing home dropped the patient during a routine transfer from her wheelchair to the bed while using a Hoyer Lift. The dropping of the resident resulted in a broken femur and a broken pelvis, as well as a head injury. Sadly, Ms. Corrado was rushed to the hospital but died later that day. Her cause of death listed on her death certificate is, in part, related to the dropping incident. In addition to the facility licensee being sued for malpractice, the wrongful death lawsuit also names associated management companies.
How is a Hoyer Lift Supposed to Work?
If used correctly, a Hoyer Lift can safely transport frail patients from their wheelchair into the bed without injury. A patient is strapped and secured in the Hoyer Lift while sitting in their wheelchair, and then mechanically lifted into the bed, where they are gently lowered down. Once safely in bed, the patient is released from the Hoyer Lift chair without injury. Unfortunately, nursing home staff does not always perform the Hoyer Lift transfer correctly, and nursing home patients are dropped by the Hoyer Lift. This results in severe injury and usually nursing home negligence litigation, as it did in the above lawsuit. As nursing home abuse lawyers with a combined 50 years of experience, our attorneys have handled a number of Hoyer Lift injury lawsuits in the past. Typically, a Hoyer Lift injury arises out of nursing home negligence relating to:
- improper technique on the part of the nurse using the machine;
- faulty or outdated equipment supplied by the nursing home; or,
- a lack of training, policies and procedures regarding safe use of the Hoyer Lift.
Although the cause of the failure may be different, Hoyer Lift injuries are not supposed to happen inside nursing homes and hospitals. If your loved one was dropped by a Hoyer Lift, call our patient injury attorneys now to discuss your options.
Why Were the Management Companies Sued in this Nursing Home Wrongful Death Claim?
In nursing home wrongful death litigation, you may see multiple defendants being sued even though the injury happened at one nursing home facility. This is because nursing home owners play a corporate shell game of sorts with their business entities. A group of individuals may own a nursing home facility but shield their assets by operating the nursing home at a loss each year. They can siphon profits off of the facility into related companies that they own too, like a group-owned pharmacy, management company, therapy company, real estate owning entity, etc. The idea is, if you are able to obtain a $1 million verdict against the at-fault nursing home, it will not be collectable because of a minimal insurance policy and a lack of assets in the facility’s name. For this reason, nursing home abuse attorneys often name the controlling management companies in the lawsuit as well. It is the management company where we often find the truly negligent parties that made the executive decision to understaff the facility, provide cheap and faulty Hoyer Lift equipment, fail to provide appropriate Hoyer Lift transfer policies to staff, etc.
Injured by a Hoyer Lift Dropping Accident? Here is What to Do
If your family member was dropped by a Hoyer Lift in a hospital or nursing home, investigate the incident. Dropping a patient from a Hoyer Lift is an example of nursing home negligence and the at fault facility should be held accountable. To speak with our experienced nursing home abuse attorneys for your free consultation, call us now at 1-844-253-8919.
Source: https://www.law360.com/articles/883912/pa-nursing-home-sued-over-dropping-of-elderly-patient
