Ohio Nursing Home Choking Death Lawyer
Here at Eadie Law, we focus on handling cases involving residents’ choking accidents or deaths in nursing homes.
Nursing home residents should never choke or suffocate in nursing homes – choking and suffocation deaths in nursing homes are preventable. Unfortunately, more than half of the people who die from choking each year are above the age of 74, as per the National Safety Council.
We are dedicated to uncovering the truth and seeking justice for families who have lost loved ones to preventable choking incidents in nursing homes.
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Ways for Preventing Elder Choking in Nursing Homes
When a person begins to choke, nursing home staff only have minutes to act. This is why it is so important to prevent choking before it occurs.
However, when it does occur, nursing home staff must be prepared to recognize the signs of choking and act immediately. Without immediate action, death by choking is certain.
No nursing home resident should ever be at risk of choking or suffocating while under their care.
Ways for Preventing Elder Choking in Nursing Homes
- Assess the patient for choking risks
- Conduct medical treatment to measure how well residents swallow
- Provide safe-to-eat, choking-free diets
- Have clear communication about policies and procedures for diet
- Have enough staff to carry out the policy
- Communicate the patient’s needs and treatment plan with the people who need to know it
- Staff must have training about choking hazards and risks
- Make sure to have protocols for managing choking emergencies
- Keep a Dechoker handy, a life-saving tool for clearing obstructions in the airways
Choking Signs and Behaviors
Coughing or Gagging
A persistent cough or gagging sound could indicate that someone is choking
Hand Signals and Panic
They may frantically point to their throat or mouth and appear panicked
Sudden Inability to Talk
A sudden loss of speech could signal that a person is unable to breathe
Grabbing the Throat
A person choking may grab their throat with their hand, indicating a blockage
Wheezing
A high-pitched whistling sound while breathing, especially during exhalation
Passing Out
If someone loses consciousness, their airway could be blocked
Cyanosis
A bluish discoloration of the lips, fingers, or toes indicates a lack of oxygen
Others Signs
A choking victim may be unable to make any sound and appear distressed
Are Resident Choking Deaths a Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect?
Nursing homes must provide a safe environment for their residents. Duties of any nursing home facility to avoid elder choking include:
- Providing a choking-free environment and training staff to react immediately if a resident shows any signs of choking.
- Providing foods that the resident can tolerate. Most residents who are at risk of choking have very specific dietary restrictions put in place by their physicians, and nursing homes need to provide nutrition that meets the restrictions.
- Closely monitoring residents, especially residents at an increased risk of choking.
- Overseeing and supervising medication intake, mealtime, and assisting residents who need help eating.
Therefore, if the above responsibilities are taken seriously to ensure the well-being of every resident, there is no other justification for a nursing home resident to ever die from choking.
Guidance Every Step of the Way
With a personalized approach to each case, our team offers guidance and support beyond legal advice.
Investigation
Analysis to understand the extent and cause of injuries
Honesty
Open dialogue to address your fears and concerns
Advocacy
Improving safety standards across all of Ohio
Frequently Asked Questions
When a nursing home resident shows signs of choking, staff should act immediately. The nursing home staff should be knowledgeable of the signs and preventative measures.
Many elderly and disabled people have problems swallowing which could result in choking, and aspiration. Choking aspiration is food or fluid entering the lungs.
According to an article on WebMD, aspiration is more common in those who have difficulty swallowing. Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, affects up to 15 million people in the US. It could be a passing phase or a symptom of something more serious.
The inability to swallow can be caused by a variety of conditions. A study published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information describes the various manifestations of Presbyphagia, which refers to age-related changes in the swallowing process:
- Lack of muscle strength, complicating the bolus propulsion
- Diminished lingual pressure, obstructing bolus driving
- Halting of the bolus whilst swallowing, leading to difficult cleansing of residues
- Decline of taste and smell, making it more difficult to initiate swallowing
- Difficulty in controlling bolus from the anticipatory phase
- Entering of the bolus into the lower airway
- Lack of teeth and the wearing, or not, of complete dentures, influencing chewing
Other common conditions that affect swallowing include:
- Dementia
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Neurological Disorders
- Stroke and Other Brain Injuries
- Aging
- Cancer
- Wearing Dentures
It’s important for nursing home staff to be knowledgeable of these choking factors and capable of preventing choking incidents. Failure to do so should hold nursing homes accountable for any resulting damages.
According to data in Statista, the likelihood of one dying from choking on food is around 1 in 2,659 in the United States.
In the same data, it is reported that around 5,325 choking deaths happened in 2021. Choking deaths are more common in the elderly, with food being the most common cause.
Given the frequency of choking deaths among the elderly, nursing homes should prioritize creating a choking-free environment for their residents.
A person with dementia or brain injury may have trouble recognizing food in the mouth. They may also not recall how to swallow. It is also common for patients to become confused about the order of how to eat food. This results in them attempting to swallow food before chewing it. Holding food in their mouths or “pocketing” without swallowing it is another prevalent issue with dementia patients.
Dementia is caused by a number of disorders that affect memory, behavior, thinking, the ability to perform activities of daily living. It is more of a category of disorders than a specific disease.
More than 5 million people in the United States are affected by some form of dementia.
In an 18-month study including 323 nursing home patients with advanced dementia, 86% of them showed signs of eating problems, such as difficulty swallowing or digesting food, unwillingness to eat or drink, possible dehydration, and consistently reduced oral intake.
