Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
A Vietnam War veteran was bitten more than 100 times all over his body by ants while laying in his bed suffering from cancer in a nursing home on the campus of an Atlanta Veteran Affairs hospital just days before he passed away.
The Air Force veteran’s daughter was visiting him at the Eagle’s Nest Community Living Center, a nursing home for veterans on the Atlanta VA Medical Center campus, where he was being treated for cancer, when she noticed her father’s hands were swollen and his body was covered with red bumps.
The woman said she alerted a medical center staffer to her father’s new ailments. The staff allegedly told the woman that they thought the man was dead because the ants were all over him.
The man died just days later.
The Atlanta VA Hospital released a statement in response to the man’s case describing the actions they had taken including stripping all the bedrooms and inspecting them for ants, removing all open food containers, hiring a pest control company to do an inspection and purchasing plastic containers for the resident’s snacks.
“The Atlanta VA Health Care System leadership team has been notified that ants were found in our Community Living Center and impacting patients. CLC staff immediately cared for the Veterans and took action to ensure no other CLC residents were impacted. We would like to express our heartfelt remorse and apology to the Veterans’ families and have reached out to them to offer appropriate assistance,” the statement read.
After the incident, the woman said that the health center workers bathed her father and cleaned his room, but the next day, the ants came back. He was then moved to a new room where he would later die, according to reports.
“Atlanta VA Health Care System always strives to provide Veterans with the very best health care available. When we don’t meet that standard, we hold ourselves accountable. That’s why we have initiated a fact finding on the nursing and environmental care processes to ensure we are providing safe and effective care,” the Atlanta VA Hospital statement concluded.
An infestation of any kind (ants, bed bugs, lice, cockroaches, rats, etc.) is a very strong indicator that a nursing home or assisted living facility is not taking the proper steps to make sure that their facility is clean and free from pests and contagious parasites. Moreover, this is a sign that the nursing home or assisted living facility is falling below the standard of care that they are required to provide to their residents. If your loved one is the victim of an insect infestation in a nursing home or assisted living facility, our Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys at Whittel & Melton urge you to speak with us as soon as possible.
Nursing home abuse or neglect is a serious issue that affects thousands of residents. Indications of nursing home abuse or neglect include:
- Malnutrition and dehydration
- Bedsores and pressure ulcers
- Soiled clothing or bedding
- Generally unsanitary conditions
If you have a loved one who is living under poor conditions in a nursing home, you need to take immediate action. When neglect or abuse is prolonged, serious and fatal consequences are possible.
The best way to prevent nursing home abuse and neglect is by visiting your loved one on a regular basis. Frequent visits will help you become familiar with the daily conditions of the facility. You will also get to know the staff and gain a better understanding of day to day operations. The more involved you become, the lower the chances of injury or death to your loved one.
We understand that it is not possible to spend every moment in the presence of our loved ones, which is why many people turn to trusting medical professionals to care for their elderly family members in the first place. When nursing homes or assisted living facilities fail to provide the standard of care your loved one deserves, you may be entitled to take legal action. Our Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys at Whittel & Melton are here to review your case completely free of charge and help you determine the best way to proceed.
Do not delay in contacting us for a complimentary case review. We help injury victims and their families in Brooksville, Tampa, Bushnell, Gainesville, New Port Richey, Ocala, Orlando, Dade City, Miami, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Inverness, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Tavares, Bartow, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville and throughout the state of Florida.