Ohio nursing home faces lawsuit after resident dies following violent attack

by News Release

CINCINNATI, Ohio — An Ohio family has filed a lawsuit against a Cincinnati nursing home, alleging negligence and wrongful death following the death of their loved one, Dolores Niederhelman, allegedly as a result of an attack by another resident.

According to the law firm representing the family, Dolores Niederhelman died four days after allegedly being attacked, with both of her shoulders broken, by another resident at the nursing home. The lawsuit claims that the nursing home failed to send her to the hospital after the attack and that she declined over the following days until she was comatose, eventually dying shortly after being finally sent to the hospital.

The physical assault was reportedly captured on the facility’s surveillance camera, which was placed in Ms. Niederhelman’s room. The lawsuit alleges that the facility not only failed to properly examine Dolores following the attack but also did not inform her family members about what occurred.

The lawsuit, pursued by Michael Hill Trial Law on behalf of Dolores Niederhelman’s family, targets the Three Rivers Healthcare Center, part of the Communicare Family of Companies, one of the largest nursing home chains in Ohio and the United States.

According to the lawsuit, Ms. Niederhelman, who had a history of Alzheimer’s dementia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hypothyroidism, became a resident of Three Rivers Healthcare Center on March 5, 2021. She was placed in a secured unit for behaviors on September 16, 2021, due to her vulnerability and cognitive impairment.

The lawsuit details the events of January 26, 2023, when the video monitoring system recorded a female resident allegedly attacking Ms. Niederhelman in her room, leaving her on the floor distressed. The lawsuit claims that the nursing staff failed to adequately respond to the situation, including failing to contact Ms. Niederhelman’s family members until twelve hours after the assault, failing to accurately describe the incident to authorities, and failing to provide proper medical treatment to Ms. Niederhelman.

Ms. Niederhelman was eventually sent to the hospital, where it was revealed that both of her shoulders were fractured as a result of the attack. However, she continued to decline due to complications from the fractures and developed infections, ultimately succumbing to her injuries on January 30, 2023.

The lawsuit alleges negligence, wrongful death, and violations of nursing home resident rights laws against Three Rivers Healthcare Center, citing chronic understaffing and systemic failures in providing proper care and treatment to residents.

“Our firm is deeply committed to seeking justice for the family of Dolores Niederhelman. The nursing home’s failure to protect its residents and their subsequent mishandling of the situation, from not evaluating the victim after the attack to misleading the family about the nature of her injuries, is utterly unacceptable. This kind of negligence not only violates the trust families place in these facilities but also endangers the lives of the most vulnerable members of our society. We will continue to pursue accountability for these egregious actions to ensure something like this does not happen again,” says trial attorney Michael Hill.

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Ohio nursing home faces lawsuit after resident dies following violent attack