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$295,000 Settlement Against Skilled Nursing Facility for Death of Elderly Man Due to Fall Caused by Untreated Urinary Tract Infection

An elderly man went to live at an Oakland nursing home (skilled nursing facility). He was forced to wear an unnecessary urinary catheter for months, then forced to wear adult diapers (for the convenience of staff, so that they didn’t have to help him to the toilet). He was repeatedly left sitting in bed in wet diapers when his call bells went unanswered. The nursing home did not put him on a bowel or bladder retraining program because they did not have the staff to implement that. He became dehydrated because he was not provided enough to drink. As a result of dehydration and being left in wet diapers, he developed a urinary tract infection which the facility ignored. As a result of the urinary tract infection, he became confused and fell in his room, hitting his head on the bed. He was taking blood thinning medication at the time of his fall, and bled to death before the nursing home could call 911. The family retained Felicia Curran to sue the nursing home. The nursing home was uninsured and threatening to file for bankruptcy. After extensive litigation, the owners of the nursing home paid $295,000 to the family of the elderly man.

The State Bar of California
ACCTLA
Consumer Attorneys of California