BY: LITIGATION DESK | BocaNewsNow.com
DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2023 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities are supposed to protect patients and create plans to prevent critical injuries — including falls. But that didn’t happen at Abbey Delray, according to a lawsuit just filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.
According to the suit reviewed by BocaNewsNow.com, Marlene Schwartz sustained critical and inoperable injuries after she fell in the facility located at 2000 Lawson Blvd. in Delray Beach. Marlene’s husband is now serving as her full-time caregiver. The following is from the complaint filed by Ms. Schwartz’s attorney.
“At approximately 9:25 p.m. on January 8, 2023, Marlene Schwartz suffered a fall at Abbey Delray in her room. She was found lying on the floor on her back in front of her bed. 19. Marlene Schwartz complained of back pain and was assisted to her wheelchair and taken to a nursing station for observation. Shortly after midnight on January 9, 2023, Marlene Schwartz was transferred to the local hospital, Delay Medical Center, where she was evaluated and diagnosed with an inoperable pelvic fracture. On January 13, 2023, Marlene Schwartz was discharged from Delay Medical Center and transferred to Heartland Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center of Boca Raton for continued rehab.
On March 7, 2023, Marlene Schwartz was discharged from Heartland Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center of Boca Raton and sent home where she received occasional home health care until the end of May 2023.
At all times material hereto, Lifespace Communities, Inc. d/b/a Abbey Delray held itself out to the public, including Marlene Schwartz and Burton Schwartz, as a nursing home that owed a duty to provide reasonable nursing home care and services within the applicable nursing standards of care.
Defendant Lifespace Communities, Inc. d/b/a Abbey Delay violated the nursing standards of care and provided negligent care to Marlene Schwartz as follows: Failure to prevent the avoidable fall of Marlene Schwartz; Failure to develop and implement a comprehensive care plan for risk of falls within the standard of care for fall prevention; Failure to implement appropriate fall interventions individualized to Marlene Schwartz’s personal risk factors; Failure to recognize that a call light intervention is wholly inappropriate for a resident with known cognitive impairment and dementia; Failure to provide adequate supervision to prevent avoidable accidents; Failure to complete a comprehensive formal fall risk assessment upon admission; and Failure to act reasonably under the circumstances.”
The suit seeks in excess of $50,000 which is the statutory minimum for filing in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. Lifespace Communities, which owns Abbey Delray, has not responded to the suit. The Schwartz family is represented by Attorney Michelle DeLong at Keller Melchiorre & Walsh, PLLC in Jupiter.
