Nursing Home Mistreatment: Answers Hard to Find for Family of the Victim

By Kosieradzki Smith Law Firm / June 27, 2017

Recently, Fox Nine Minneapolis-St. Paul filed a disturbing report on the mistreatment of an elderly nursing home resident. Mary Wittman, who was a patient at the Koronis Manor assisted living facility in Paynesville, had just completed her hip surgery at the St. Cloud Hospital. The hospital was located approximately 45 minutes north of the Koronis Manor. To get her home, she was strapped into a medical transport van for the 36-mile trip south. That is when everything went wrong.

When Ms. Wittman arrived back at her assisted living facility, she was extremely agitated and covered in blood. As her daughter explained, her injuries looked like they were caused by a “wild animal”. According to the report, Ms. Wittman’s severe agitation lasted throughout the entirety of the ride and it continued once she was back in her own facility. Tragically, two weeks later, she passed away.

There are Many Red Flags, But Few Answers
What should have been a 45-minute ride from St. Cloud Hospital to Koronis Manor took more than two hours. The driver of the medical transport vehicle told Fox Nine investigators that the reason for this was because Mary Wittman’s safety belts became detached several different times. Notably, there was no other medical personnel present in the vehicle other than the driver; this was true despite the fact that the facility knew that Ms. Wittman would likely have a very hard time with the trip. Further, Ms. Wittman’s daughter, who would have been able and willing to travel in the van herself in order to help her mother, was not notified of her release from the hospital until it was too late.  

Our Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Explains the Problem to Fox Nine  

Despite all of the issues and red flags in the case, the Minnesota Department of Health has declined to conduct an on-site investigation. Indeed, state regulators have failed to interview anyone involved in this case at all, from the hospital staff to the driver of the medical transport van. This total lack of oversight is a growing problem. Mark R. Kosieradzki a partner at our firm, and one of Minnesota’s top nursing home abuse attorneys, was quoted in the story. As Mr. Kosieradzki explained to the Fox Nine reporters, Minnesota’s health and safety officials are failing vulnerable adults and the elderly in the state: “We hand them the evidence, they still don’t want to investigate or reopen a claim. What it tells me is we’ve got a culture there that just really doesn’t care.”

Was Your Loved One a Victim of Nursing Home Abuse?
We can help. At Kosieradzki Smith Law Firm, we fight hard to protect the rights of vulnerable adults and the elderly, to ensure that they get the respect and care they deserve. We will hold all parties accountable for their actions. To get immediate assistance, please call us today at (763) 225-2695 to schedule your free initial legal consultation. From our office in Plymouth, we serve clients throughout the Twin Cities metro area.