Family of woman who died after falling at nursing home sues for wrongful death
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A family member of a woman who died in 2022 more than a month after she fell at a nursing home in Miller County has sued the facility for wrongful death and negligence.
A petition filed Tuesday in Miller County by Brenda James — the daughter of Ursula Hill — alleges the Miller County Nursing Home District in Tuscumbia did not have proper staffing levels and employees were not trained properly to deal with a “catastrophic injury.”
The lawsuit claims that Hill slipped on feces that was on the floor of a room that was not properly cleaned on Feb. 25, 2022. Hill was told she had a broken bone in her left leg on March 1, 2022, and was brought to Lake Regional Hospital on March 12, the petition states.
She was diagnosed at the hospital with a fractured left fibular and a swollen ankle, court documents say. She died on April 5, 2022.
The death certificate – which is partially shown in court documents – lists three causes of death, including complication from diabetes, complication from dementia and a significant condition of a left fibula fracture.
A summons was issued for the Miller County Nursing Home District on Tuesday.
ABC 17 News has reached out to the Miller County Nursing Home District on Wednesday afternoon.