Nursing home ordered to pay family 80,000 euros after elderly mother dies of 'neglect'
A court in Spain has ruled that the three children of 82-year-old be compensated by the managers of private facility
A court in Spain has ordered a private nursing home to compensate a family 80,116 euros, plus legal expenses and interest for the delay, following the death of their elderly mother - a resident of the nursing home - as a result of negligence and sepsis complications.
The court has upheld the ruling of another jurisdiction, which determined that the three children of 82-year-old María Álamo should be compensated by the managers of the San Ramón y San Luis nursing home in Mojados. The woman died of sepsis, which had been triggered by an ulcer infection in the sacrum. Her state progressively worsened due to lack of "care and attention" from the staff.
Prior to her death on 6 May 2016, María was admitted to the nursing home as she couldn't perform many daily tasks by herself. According to the court ruling, the nursing home did not provide the woman with the prescribed support in changing her body position to prevent the appearance of wounds. Therefore, the court stated that the patient had been neglected for five critical days despite the risk that she could suffer a serious ulcer. In addition, the nursing home staff did not refer her to a geriatric specialist as ordered by the doctor. The court considers that these negligences contributed to the ulcer progressing to the most serious level. An expert report has confirmed that this is what had directly led to the sepsis.
María's children said that they had to wait two years to access their mother's autopsy, despite it being essential to clarify the cause of death. Since 2017, they have filed numerous complaints with Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, the Valladolid health management department and the Castilla y León regional ministry of health, "denouncing the lack of delivery of the autopsy report and the total absence of a clear response". They describe the case as an example of the "abnormal functioning of the public health system", which "prolonged the family's suffering for years, generating uncertainty, indignation and a violation of their right to receive essential clinical information".
"A resounding message"
María Álamo's children did not only lose their mother due to "intolerable negligence" - they were also forced to fight for years to find out the truth about her death. "Justice has confirmed what we always knew. Our mother died of neglect. Today we feel that her memory is finally being honoured, even though nothing can give us back the waiting time or the added suffering," they say.
According to the family, the court in Valladolid has issued a resounding message "that negligence in the care of the elderly has consequences". "This ruling is another step towards dignifying the lives of the elderly and demanding that institutions respect the families' right to information and the truth," they said.
