Nursing Home Resident Assaults Neighbor

Case Overview

This case takes place in Michigan and involves a patient who died while in the care of an assisted living facility. The patient was accepted as a resident after suffering a severe fall in her home, which resulted in a fracture of both hips. One night, a few weeks after the patient entered the facility, an employee of the facility saw the call light in the patient’s room and went to investigate. The patient was found on the floor with another resident in the room. The other resident was housed in the room directly adjacent from the decedent’s, and was known to be aggressive and violent due to dementia. In fact, the resident had made repeated threats to the decedent in the days leading up to the incident. No one witnessed an altercation between the two residents, however the injuries suffered by the decedent are believed to be consistent with an assault.