Family sues nursing home over death
August 16, 2008
By JESSICA MAYRER
Chronicle Staff Writer
On June 13, 2007, nursing home staff found 87-year-old Doris Rowe unconscious and bleeding from her head after a fall. She died a day later, from a cerebral hemorrhage - after her fourth documented fall during a 35-day stay at Evergreen Bozeman Health and Rehabilitation.
“They took 62 years of my life away from me in 12 hours,” her husband, George Rowe, said about the 103-bed nursing facility his family claims caused his wife’s death.
George Rowe and the couple’s three children filed a civil lawsuit in Gallatin County District Court on July 23, seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages in a claim that blames Doris Rowe’s death on inadequate and untrained staff.Evergreen’s lawyers, Jason Smith and Julie Lichte, refused to comment on the case, citing patient privacy concerns.
“We respect the privacy of the resident,” Smith said.
But in court documents, they’ve argued that the Rowe family has no right to a jury trial, and should be held to an arbitration agreement signed by George Rowe before admitting his wife into the home’s care.As it stands, a district court judge has said the Rowe case may go forward.
The lawsuit is the latest in a string of challenges for Evergreen Health and Rehabilitation in Montana.
The company manages 58 nursing facilities across the West, including several in Montana.
Common concernsStaffing shortages are a concern across the country for long-term care facilities.
Montana regularly identifies two nursing facilities at any given time as “special focus,” or having multiple red marks against them. Currently, of 92 facilities statewide, Evergreen Missoula and Evergreen Livingston have the most checks against them.
Harrington said more oversight and stricter staffing standards are necessary for senior care facilities, otherwise this scenario will continue playing out across the country.
“The public is in denial,” Harrington said. “They don’t think that they’ll ever have to go to a nursing home.”
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Abridged
SOURCE: The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
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