Recently, a family in another state filed civil claims against those they believe are responsible for the death of their loved one. They claim she was sent home from a nursing home and left to fend for herself due to an alleged failure to pay. The victim’s loved ones assert that the facility and home health company contracted to check in on her after her release are guilty of neglect and wrongful death. While this case may not have occurred in New Mexico, it certainly is one some may want to watch play out in court.
According to reports, in Dec. 2018, the victim — a 59-year-old female — received notice that she was being evicted from the long-term care facility at which she lived for a year and a half, due to lack of payment. A month later, she was transported via ambulance to her home. This individual was completely dependent on the help of others to care for herself but was left alone. A few weeks later, she was found sitting on her couch, covered in various bodily fluids, with several infections and a significant pressure ulcer. She was transported to a hospital for care and then to a hospice facility where she died at the end of Feb. 2019.
How did this happen? How could she be evicted for failure to pay when she was a Medicaid patient, and Medicaid was paying for her care? How could she be released without being placed in the care of friends or family when the medical staff knew she could not care for herself? Why was she not checked on by the home health care agency assigned to her case? The victim’s children want answers to these and many other questions that they have about this matter.
The defendants are likely to deny wrongdoing and either fight the allegations or choose to settle out of court. Regardless, legal counsel for the victim’s loved ones is certainly going to try to get them the answers to their questions, justice for their mother, and compensation for their losses. Those in New Mexico who have lost loved ones due to neglect by nursing home staff can expect their legal counsel to do the same. This can be done by filing wrongful death and any other applicable claims against those believed responsible for their losses in civil court.