When a family helped move their mother to a respected nursing home, they expected her to live the best life possible.
As a Holocaust survivor, the woman’s family believed she deserved peace and happiness and expected nothing less from her caregivers.
Unfortunately, within months at the facility, a case of medical negligence cut her heroic life short. When her family sought justice, firm partner Evan Jones was ready to help.
Surviving a Concentration Camp, Only to Starve at a Georgia Nursing Home
Our client’s mother was in her 70s and showed early stages of dementia. She was unable to feed herself or drink water independently, and she experienced medical conditions commonly found in nursing homes. Despite these complications, her life expectancy and outlook remained normal.
By moving their mother into the nursing home, family members expected the caregivers would responsibly support her basic needs. In fact, Georgia law requires nursing home facilities to respect the dignity of its residents.
Having suffered starvation and the horrors of concentration camps, our client never dreamed their mother would face extreme starvation – again. Unfortunately, malnutrition and dehydration cut her life short, and we contested the nursing home was directly responsible.
The Problem: Understaffed Facility
Once we began digging into details, we identified the nursing home facility left her in bed without proper food or hydration.
Malnutrition and underfeeding resulted in skin breakdowns. Without basic care, her quality of life deteriorated quickly.
Former employees affirmed they did not have enough staff to feed her regularly, and often her food would be untouched because she could not feed herself.
Additionally, there was not enough staff to turn and reposition her regularly, which led to the pressure injuries.
Initially, her family had difficulty identifying signs of neglect, and the nursing home denied any wrongdoing. They insisted staff gave her adequate care and claimed she was eating and drinking.
Her symptoms, however, told a different story, and we suspected the facility was lying. Having seen similar cases, we believed the nursing home chronically understaffed its facility.
The Goal: Investigative Proof
To make our case, we knew we had to speak with numerous former employees. We hired a private investigator to locate the employees entrusted to care for our client’s mother — we needed their voices to reveal the truth.
Their testimonies helped illustrate the medical negligence and disrespectful conditions our client’s mother suffered. Chronically understaffed, the facility left the woman unfed, dehydrated, and without bed rotation, all so they could save money and increase profits. We further concluded the facility did not properly dispense her medications.
We now had what we needed to prove our case.
The Result: Nursing Home Proved Negligent, Unacceptable
Evan filed suit and began preparing the case for trial. He proved the nursing home was negligent, the conditions unacceptable, and that dehydration and malnutrition led to significant skin breakdown, stage IV decubitus ulcers and the woman’s untimely and tragic death.
Evan secured a significant confidential settlement for the family. While no amount of money can ease their suffering, the family can now move toward healing and honor their mother’s legacy.
The Takeaway: Your Rights Matter
No loved one should ever suffer at a nursing home facility. If you believe your family member has experienced medical negligence, call us today at (706) 354-4000.
Our attorneys will guide you and help you understand your rights. We will pursue the justice you deserve.
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