A Buffalo, New York nursing home where an 82-year-old woman was beaten to death by another resident has been fined the maximum amount of $10,000 by the New York State Health Department. She mistakenly wandered unsupervised into a male patient’s room in the dementia unit at Emerald South Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The man reacted violently believing an intruder was breaking into his house. The woman suffered a broken neck, several broken ribs, a broken nose, facial fractures and a collapsed lung in the attack. She died three days later in the hospital.
An inspection conducted by the New York State Health Department cited four issues that resulted in the $10,000 fine:
- Residents did not receive adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
- The nursing home did not notify authorities within 24 hours of the incident.
- Emerald did not notify the family or legal counsel of the male patient before he was transferred out of the unit for evaluation.
- There was no documentation of an admission agreement signed by the male resident or a responsible party.
The man was not criminally charged for the death because he lacked the mental capacity to form criminal intent and was not mentally fit to stand trial.
A wrongful death lawsuit by the family claims that the the woman had other physical interactions with residents. In the months prior to her death, she was punched, pushed into a table and had coffee poured on her. The suit also alleges various injuries from seven falls at Emerald, which was another reason that she should have been better supervised by the staff.