Brent Adams & Associates Blog

Nursing Home Neglect Fractures Woman's Surgically Repaired Hip

A woman from North Platte has filed suit against the North Platte Care Centre, now known as Premier Estates, alleging that her 65-year-old aunt sustained personal injuries that caused her to permanently be confined to a wheelchair after employees dropped her onto the floor.

Melody Lucero filed suit on behalf of Hazel Earll, a mentally retarded woman who was undergoing rehabilitation at the nursing home. The suit names the nursing home and its parent companies, The Boyle Company Inc. and Davbo Co. LLC., Timothy, David, Stanley and Patrick, Richard and Marcia Boyle, and Pamela Barr, a nurse practitioner for Internal Medicine Associates of North Platte, as defendants.

According to the suit, on November 20, 2006, Earll underwent a surgical procedure at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in order to totally replace her right hip. After the surgery, she showed progress during rehab of the hip at GPRMC and was able to bear weight on her right side, the suit side.

On November 22, Earll was transferred from GPRMC to North Platte Care Centre in order to undergo further rehab. According to the suit, two days later, on November 24, while Earll was being transferred by employees to the bathroom, the employees dropped her, causing her to suffer personal injuries to her right elbow, the right side of her forehead, and her cervical spine in addition to fracturing her newly replaced right hip.

According to the suit, Earll’s right hip incision contracted an infection and on November 29, an appointment was made for her by the staff to see Barr at Internal Medicine Associates.

The suit says that on November 30, Lucero requested that Earll be transferred to the emergency room at GPRMC because of extreme distress due to pain. The suit says that x-rays showed that her hip had been fractured in three places.

The suit alleges negligence on the part of North Platte Care Centre for failure to meet their obligation to care for Earll, conscious disregard for the rights and safety of Earll, hiring and employing nursing staff that was unqualified and untrained, and being chronically understaffed.