Nursing Home Resident Found Dead
Posted by
Rick PattersonJune 18, 2007 4:28 PMOn April 17, 2004, 74-year-old Julia McCauley died at the hands of the care takers that she put her trust in. The facility, Life Care Centers of America Inc., was charged with manslaughter, abuse, neglect and making a false Medicaid Claim in connection with the elderly resident's death.
They now face what amounts to a slap on the hand:
A maximum of $16,000 in fines:
$1,000 on the manslaughter charge,
$5,000 on the abuse and neglect charge; and
$10,000 on the Medicaid fraud charge.
Julia's body was found in her overturned wheelchair at the bottom of the front stairway of the nursing home facility in Acton. Since 1999, a physician had ordered Julia McCauley to wear a device known as WanderGuard. The device is designed to set off an alarm should the elderly resident wander towards any door in the facility. In the event she did approach a door it would automatically lock to protect her.
Although the staff are required to check the devise on a daily basis, records show that it had been more than two months since the need for the devise had been transcribed on her chart. As a result of daily errors that went on for months, Julia was able to go through the doors and down the stairs to her death.
If you need more information on injuries related to this subject matter, please refer to our section on Wrongful Death.