Suit seeks $2M from nursing home in death of man, 99

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – The estate of a 99-year-old man who died in a Junction City nursing home seeks $2.3 million in a negligence lawsuit against the facility.

The lawsuit filed in Lane County says Esbert James Pickering fell out of bed and broke his hip two days after moving into Avamere Rehabilitation. It asserts the injury caused his death less than a month later in April 2017.

Lawrence Lopardo, general counsel for Avamere, told The Register-Guard newspaper on Thursday that privacy laws prevent him from commenting on anything involving a patient.

The lawsuit says nursing home employees knew about Pickering’s tendency to fall and failed to take appropriate precautions, such as placing alarm-equipped floor mats on both sides of his bed.

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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com