Articles Posted in Nursing Negligence

The Orange County nursing home Tustin Care Center has received a citation and a fine of $50,000 by the California Department of Public Health after a resident choked to death during lunch. A state investigation concluded that the nursing home’s failure to adequately assess the patient’s growing inability to eat as the cause of death.

According to the state report, the elderly man had been growing weaker over time, but that the nursing facility allowed him to continue to eat regular meals. In March, while eating lunch with his wife, who was also a resident at the Tustin facility, when he had difficulty breathing. As the patient struggled to breath, an attendant was called over, who tried to clear the airway.

The man died at a local hospital later that same day, and an examination found that food was completely blocking his airway.