Maggots in elderly woman's bedsore trigger lawsuit

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By WSBT News1

Story Created: Mar 15, 2009 at 10:37 AM EST

Story Updated: Mar 15, 2009 at 10:37 AM EST

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The family of a 95-year-old woman, who doctors say had maggots crawling in her bedsore, is suing the nursing home where she stayed.

The lawsuit was filed against the Winchester Centre for Health and Rehabilitation this week in the Clark Circuit Court.

It says Lucy Hale suffered poor hygiene, bedsores with maggot infestation, malnutrition, weight loss and dehydration at the Winchester facility during her three-month stay last summer, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Hale had a bedsore when she was admitted to the Winchester facility, but it festered there despite a doctor's orders for daily treatment, the lawsuit says.

"With basic care and monitoring, there is no excuse for any nursing home resident to have maggots in a wound," Rick Circeo, the Lexington attorney representing Hale's family told the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Facility officials declined to comment.

In a separate action filed in Fayette Circuit Court, the family is suing the facilities where Hale was treated before she was transferred to the Winchester nursing home. That suit names Saint Joseph Health System Inc., Catholic Health Initiatives, Kenton Healthcare LLC and Kenton Healthcare/Lexington Ltd.

Winchester is also facing a lawsuit for the Jan. 31 death of a 54-year-old man that says nurses failed to assess and monitor William Baker's respiratory condition during his six-day stay at the nursing home.

Winchester has faced several state and federal sanctions in the past two years.

In January, the facility was threatened with the loss of Medicare and Medicaid funding before the state found it in compliance Feb. 7.

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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com

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