A Pleasant Hills nursing home that has been repeatedly cited for understaffing is now facing a second wrongful death lawsuit.
The family of Kelly Morris of Madrid, who died in 2022 at the age of 58 just five days after entering Park Ridge Specialty Care Nursing Home, is suing the home, two of its staff members, and the home's parent company, Care Inc. are. initiative. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for wrongful death, medical malpractice, and negligence in hiring, employment, and supervision of employees.
The Park Ridge facility was cited for understaffing in October 2021, January 2022, August 2022, September 2023 and February 2024, in addition to dozens of other violations.
The Morris family claims Kelly Morris died during a temporary hospital stay intended to provide post-amputation rehabilitation services.
The lawsuit, filed in Polk County District Court, alleges that Morris was admitted to his home on Aug. 19, 2022, and experienced difficulty breathing just four days later, on the night of Aug. 23.
John Mandela, a certified nursing assistant who was with Kelly at the time, is said to have become concerned when he noticed Kelly was gasping for breath. Mandela reportedly left the room and called registered nurse Patricia Egbuna for help, telling her that Kelly was feeling short of breath.
Egbuna responded by saying she needed to finish her medication rounds and that Mandela should seek help from Charity Tucker, a certified registered nurse practitioner, or another CNA, according to the complaint.
So Mandela asked Tucker for help. Tucker reportedly told Mandela that he would assess Kelly's condition once he finished caring for the other residents.
During that time, Kelly was left alone with severe breathing problems, fell out of bed and went into cardiac arrest, according to the complaint.
Staff had to search for crash carts
When Mandela returned to the room, he found Kelly lying on the floor, according to the complaint. Tucker later responded to a call for help, but at that point Kelly's breathing was shallow and no pulse could be detected. Tucker then began chest compressions and instructed a staff member to call 911, the suit alleges.
After 30 compressions, Tucker stopped and left the room to find a crash cart containing a defibrillator and other medical equipment for use in medical emergencies. “Inexplicably, none of the CNAs who arrived at Kelly's room to assist knew where the crash cart was located in the event of an emergency,” the complaint alleges.
After Mr Tucker left the room, Mr Mandela reportedly attempted chest compressions. But the lawsuit alleges that Kelly Morris' “inaccurate, ineffective, and dangerous techniques were captured on video, and that Kelly Morris was not provided with adequate assistance or care within the standard of care.” There is no room for doubt.'' CNA Mandela stood performing chest compressions with one hand while trying to use the phone with the other. ”
Pleasant Hill police officers eventually arrived and took over chest compressions while Tucker searched the crash cart, police said. “Video evidence shows at least six people standing in the hallway who made no attempt to help Kelly Morris,” the complaint alleges. “Video evidence shows Park Ridge staff gave inconsistent answers regarding Kelly Morris' downtime and pre-cardiac arrest condition.”
Paramedics arrived at the home and transported Kelly to Iowa Methodist Medical Center at 10:25 p.m., more than an hour after Kelly first showed signs of difficulty breathing.
Morris died the next day at a hospital “as a result of significant delays” in evaluating and treating his condition at Park Ridge, the lawsuit alleges.
Complaint substantiated and violation noted
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing accused Park Ridge of failing to provide Morris with adequate medical care, according to state records. In the year before Morris' death, the home was inspected by DIAL at least five times, “resulting in numerous state and federal citations,” the complaint alleges.
State records show medical examiners visited Park Ridge on Aug. 11, 2022, just 13 days before Kelly's death. While there, they substantiated eight complaints against the home.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for Morris' “extreme pain and suffering” and for “grossly negligent medical care” provided by Park Ridge.
In response to the lawsuit, Care Initiatives pointed out that Mr. Morris signed a hospitalization agreement in which he agreed that negligent care claims would be resolved through private arbitration rather than litigation in court. I'm asking for a rejection.
Even if Mr. Morris did not read the arbitration agreement, the company argues, “that does not automatically invalidate the arbitration agreement.” The Iowa Supreme Court has held that failure to read an arbitration agreement before signing it does not invalidate the arbitration agreement. ”
Ms. Morris' family argues that Ms. Parkridge's own records suggest that Ms. Morris had little time to review the documents, stating that the documents had been written “only a short time after they were first opened for inspection.” It was electronically signed by Morris “11 seconds later.''
The family also claims that the entire arbitration agreement is invalid because Mr. Morris died within the 30-day revocation period specified in the agreement. Care Initiative countered that “the clear language of the arbitration agreement signed by Morris indicates that it will take effect immediately upon signing.” “Just because a party has the option to cancel a document during the first 30 days does not mean the document is invalid for the first 30 days.”
In addition to Park Ridge and Care Initiative, Egbuna and Tucker are also named as defendants.
The Morris lawsuit is one of two lawsuits against Park Ridge.
The lawsuit filed by the Morris family is the second of two wrongful death lawsuits filed against Park Ridge and Care Initiative in recent months.
The other lawsuit was filed by the family of Nuan Bun Sisamas, who was a resident of Park Ridge for more than two years before his death at age 72 in June 2022.
The family alleges that on June 20, 2022, at approximately 8:45 a.m., a certified nursing assistant and a nurse, respectively, discovered that Ms. Sisamas' general condition and vital signs were deteriorating. Her blood sugar levels, which were normally over 100, dropped to a dangerously low 39, and her blood pressure also dropped, according to the complaint. In addition, she appeared to be wheezing and having difficulty breathing, and her oxygen saturation had fallen to 89%, below the critical level of 90%.
Around 9am, Mr Sissamas' condition reportedly worsened and his eyes rolled back. “MS. Mr. Sisamas' condition was serious enough for a layman to know to call 911,” the complaint states.
At approximately 10:43 a.m., advanced registered nurse Chelsea Schreiber examined Sisamouse again and left her to deteriorate for another six hours before calling EMS, according to the complaint. During that time, Parkridge did not call 911 to help Sisamas, but did call 911 to report that the home's caretaker, Kelsey Anderson, had found a methamphetamine pipe in the building, according to the complaint. It is said that he reported it to.
Shortly after 1 p.m., staff contacted Sisamas' daughter and informed her of her mother's condition. The daughter asked the staff to send her mother to the hospital immediately. Within minutes, Schreiber ordered certified nurse Desiree Major to call 911 and take Sisamaus to the emergency room, according to the complaint. But the suit says no ambulance was called for the next 90 minutes, and paramedics arrived at Park Ridge at 3 p.m.
Sisamas was taken to MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines, where he was pronounced dead at 4:24 p.m. after resuscitation efforts failed.
The Iowa Office of Inspector General and Appeals subsequently accused Parkridge of numerous violations, including failing to seek emergency medical treatment in a timely manner. In its response to the Sisamas lawsuit, Care Initiatives said the state inspector general's findings were not relevant to the case and were not admissible.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants are guilty of medical malpractice, elder abuse and negligence.
Earlier this year, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported that Care Initiative Inc., which says it does not comment on pending litigation, faces at least 10 wrongful death claims related to its Iowa nursing homes. Ta.
In 2022, a wrongful death claim against Park Ridge and Care Initiative over the death of Josephine Moorman was dismissed with no indication whether a settlement had been reached.
No trial date has yet been scheduled for either the Sissamas or Morris cases.
