The Providence St. Joseph Care Center in Spokane, Wash., is being sued by the family of a woman who fell in a construction zone and subsequently died, according to an article on The Spokesman-Review website.
The 85-year-old woman walked past an empty nurses station, through an unlocked door, and fell into a construction pit inside the facility.
The woman suffered a traumatic brain injury and subdural hematoma from the fall, according to court records. In the three weeks before she died, she could rarely recognize her daughter and suffered nightmares.
According to the lawsuit, the Washington Department of Health and Social Services had inspected St. Joseph’s on Feb. 13, and noted in a 58-page report that the center had three doors leading to construction areas that, in violation of state safety codes, were left unlocked.
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