Cases

Ostrom v. Manorcare Health Servs., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4106 (D. Mich. 2007)

Plaintiff, an Alzheimer’s patient, exited the nursing home on March 22, 2004 through an unlocked door. He was chased by staff as he went into a courtyard. In the courtyard, he tripped over a light post and suffered injury. He was found unresponsive and bleeding from the head. At the hospital he was diagnosed with a severe head injury, was placed on a feeding tube and later returned to a nursing home where he remained without improvement. Plaintiff’s sued for ordinary negligence. He alleged a failure to provide him with the proper standard of care by failing to perform a risk assessment for falls, wandering and elopement, failing to implement a detailed plan of care, and failing to provide the facilities, services and staff to keep him safe. Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that the claims sounded in malpractice and that Plaintiff failed to file an affidavit of merit. The Court found that Plaintiff’s late-filed claim alleging inadequate staffing would involve medical judgment, but that general risks, such as not securing the courtyard and making it safe would not. The fact that Plaintiff had Alzheimer’s does not by itself transform a negligence case into a malpractice case.

Published by
David McGuffey

Recent Posts

2025 Spousal Impoverishment Standards

On November 15, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services posted the 2025 spousal…

3 days ago

Social Security Disability versus Veteran’s Disability

The word disability doesn't have the same meaning in all contexts. If you have a…

2 weeks ago

Social Security Announces 2.5 Percent Benefit Increase for 2025

On October 10, 2024, the Social Security Administration announced that Americans will increase a 2.5…

1 month ago

Getting Organized

Many people think that estate planning is just having documents prepared. They have a lawyer…

1 month ago

Beneficiary who accepted inheritance under Will could not bring action for tortious interference

In Chambers v. Edwards, 365 Ga. App. 482 (2022), William Chambers sued his sister, Kathy…

2 months ago

Medicaid’s payment of medical bills does not bar recovery from negligent party

When an injured party sues someone who negligently injured him or her, one form of…

2 months ago