Subsantial Settlement in Nursing Home Case

Milwaukee personal injury attorney Jeffrey Pitman of Pitman, Kalkhoff & Sicula S.C. settled a nursing home neglect case on behalf of an 82-year-old New Berlin woman who suffered a significant injury to her lower leg while at Mitchell Manor, a Milwaukee area nursing home.

The resident was admitted to Mitchell Manor with fragile, thin skin and was high risk for injury. Her physician ordered that she wear fleece boots at all times to protect her legs.

On February 19, 2004, two nurses aides transferred the resident causing a degloving injury to her leg. Ten inches of her skin and underlying tissue of her right calf region was torn off her leg from top to bottom. The aides acknowledged the resident didn’t have her fleece boots on and the boots should have been put on before the transfer. Staff of the nursing home and physicians agreed that if she had the fleece boots on, the injury wouldnt have occurred.

The resident required multiple surgeries, including a skin graft, to treat and close the injured lower leg. It took years for the original injury, infectious complications and the graft harvest site to heal.

Attorney Pitmans investigation into the injury revealed that the nurses involved in the transfer had previously been repeatedly disciplined, including for causing a similar injury to another resident. One of the aides had provided false information about her identity and there was no record that the facility had verified the aide was eligible for employment. It was determined that this aide was not eligible for employment when hired. Additionally, there was testimony that this aide should have been fired prior to the date of injury.

Testimony and records also showed that on the date of injury, the floor upon which the injury occurred was short a nurse aide.

The lawsuit alleged that Mitchell consciously disregarded the rights of residents of Mitchell Manor.

PKSD – Ph: 414-333-3333 .