A nursing home has been fined $50,000 by state health officials in the choking death of a nursing home resident.
The
unidentified man died in March after choking on his lunch, according to
an inspection report from the stateDepartment of Public Health.
The report says staff noticed the man had been growing weaker, but the
facility still allowed him to eat regular meals on his own.
On
the day of his death, the report says the man was eating soup with rice
when he called for his wife, who was also a patient. The man struggled
to breathe, and a nurse started the Heimlich maneuver but could not
dislodge the food.
The man died later that day in a hospital. An
autopsy found food completely blocking his trachea. The state report
concludes that the nursing home failed to assess his ability to eat,
which was a direct cause of his death. For more, read the story.
________________________________________________________________
Robert W. Carter, Jr. is a
Virginia attorney whose law practice is dedicated to protecting the
rights of the victims of nursing home and assisted living neglect and
abuse in Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk, Lynchburg,
Danville, Charlottesville, and across Virginia.
