Case Summary: Inured, Support Systems And Services

The plaintiff, Cynthia Holderfield filed this case on behalf of her sister and legal ward, Elise Ann Wasson, a disabled adult. The complaint alleges that as a result of the insured’s neglect, Elise sustained significant and permanent injuries following a fall on January 17, 2016, while she was a resident at one of our insured’s Community Integrated Living Arrangement homes. The plaintiff further alleges that the insured neglected Elise when it failed to take the necessary precautions to prevent her from falling.

II. DETAILED CASE SUMMARY
A. Summary of Facts

The insured, Support Systems and Services, was established in 1993 and began with a few CILA’s. It now serves over sixty individuals and currently provides services in St. Clair,
Steele was in the living room completing the Communication book for the house, when she heard Elise fall. She went to the kitchen and found Elise on the floor. Noticing no marks or blood, she sat Elise up and asked her if she was okay, to which Elise responded in the affirmative. Jasmyn assisted then Elise to her room and gave her water to drink. She left Elise in her chair, completed an incident report and contacted another DSP, Myeshia Pate, and informed her of the incident.

Jasmyn then stood Elise at the sink, washed her and dressed her for bed. She assisted Elise as she walked to her bed, helped her into bed and checked her every thirty minutes. Elise got up once at 8 p.m. and Jasmyn helped her use the bathroom. The records for the 11 p.m. through 9 a.m. shift indicate that Elise slept through the night and that there were no occurrences. Further, the 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. shift on January 18 reported nothing unusual.

Latoya Dandury, the DSP who worked the 2:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift on January 18, 2016, noticed that Elise was slumped in her chair, was talking slow and had a “funny look” in her eyes. Latoya reported her observations to her supervisor, Rolanda Reynolds and Nurse Sahuri. Her supervisor instructed her to have Elise taken to the hospital
However, the OIG did have a recommendation that the insured “address” Jasmyn’s failure to report the incident to her supervisor and the nurse and “take the steps necessary to ensure this does not occur again.”

According to the insured’s records, Elise did have difficulties with her balance on prior occasions. In fact, the insured documented a total of fourteen days since she moved into Lynnwood when Elise fell or had episodes of leaning while walking. The insured informed us that urinary tract infections in individuals with Down syndrome could cause disturbances in the individuals balance and that Elise did have a UTI on some of the occasions when she had difficulties with her