Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Tennessee Nursing Home

By Daniel Hawn

Published on December 30, 2005

The daughter of a man who died at a nursing home in Memphis, Tennessee has filed a lawsuit against the facility citing negligence, medical malpractice, and wrongful death.

Shirley Ray filed the lawsuit on behalf of the death of her father Thomas Harris.

Harris was a resident of the Saint Peter Villa nursing home when he died September 4th. He was taken to the facility approximately seven months prior after undergoing a stroke.

Ray claims that Harris' care appeared to be fine initially. However, she says that he later experienced a severe decrease in appetite and exhibited bed sores with maggots present.

A spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Memphis said that Saint Peter's was unaware of the lawsuit and could not discuss matters relating to specific patients due to privacy laws.

In their latest examination of the 180-bed nursing home, the Tennessee Department of Health reported that 7 percent of Saint Peter's patients suffered from pressure sores. Across the state and nation, the average amount of nursing home residents with pressure sores is 14 percent.

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