Choking: Facility Not Liable For Developmentally Disabled Resident’s Death.

Choking: Facility Not Liable For Developmentally Disabled Resident’s Death.

Legal Eagle Eye Newsletter for the Nursing Profession

September 2018

The facility had a policy that residents were not allowed to go into the kitchen by themselves. The facility’s staff knew this resident had a propensity to steal food and try to eat it too quickly. However, she was basically an independent resident for whom the standard of care did not mandate constant one-on-one supervision. COURT OF APPEALS OF MISSISSIPPI August 21, 2018

A fifty-three year-old woman who lived in a facility serving developmentally disabled individuals died right after she choked on some cheese she stole from the kitchen and ate very quickly while she hid from staff in a bathroom.

The Court of Appeals of Mississippi upheld a judgment of no negligence in favor of the facility. At trial the judge reviewed video surveillance footage from the facility and heard conflicting testimony from medical experts on both sides. It was clear that the patient snuck into the kitchen, came out with something and then went into a bathroom. Soon only her legs could be seen on the floor extending out the bathroom doorway. A staff member noticed and responded very quickly.

However, regardless of whether a facility policy was violated by her not being stopped before going into the kitchen unescorted, the standard of care for a resident who was independent did not require constant one-on-one supervision. Harper v. Center, __ So. 3d __, 2018 WL 3989234 (Miss. App., August 21, 2018).