An elderly nursing home resident appears to have fallen from a window early Monday at a skilled care center. Shortly after 6 a.m. Monday, police responded to the call. A patient had died, but not inside the facility. A preliminary autopsy shows that the 81-year-old resident, who was housed in a secure unit, suffered a neck fracture.

A form supplied by the state, after an inspection of the facility, contains five pages outlining safety code violations in the special care unit, mainly fire doors that wouldn't open properly when fire alarms were tested. There was no mention of any issue with windows, but police say it is appears as though the resident attempted to crawl out the window.

According to the website medicare.gov, the facility ranks one star on a five-star quality rating in terms of health inspections. The site says the facility ranks 'much below average.' For more, read the story.

 

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Robert W. Carter, Jr. is a Virginia attorney whose law practice is dedicated to protecting the rights of the victims of nursing home and assisted living neglect and abuse in Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk, Lynchburg, Danville, Charlottesville, and across Virginia.