Nursing home not liable in wrongful death suit

David Baugher//May 8, 2024//

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David Baugher//May 8, 2024//

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A dispute over the cause of death for a resident at a nursing home has resulted in a defense verdict for the facility.

“In the autopsy, there was a presumptive diagnosis of something called abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) which is very rare,” said defense attorney Philip Willman of Brown & James.

Instead, Willman argued that patient Cathy Kiesling passed away in 2020 from a different cause such as stroke, cardiac arrhythmia or similar malady.

The plaintiff’s pathologist apparently linked the allegation of ACS, which involves an increase in abdominal pressure that cuts off blood supply to organs, to constipation which had caused the buildup of a significant amount of fecal matter in the woman’s intestines.

Willman contended that the condition was not typically associated with constipation.

“They claimed that we didn’t appropriately monitor her bowel movements,” he said. “We disputed that as well because there was evidence the nurses were marking down when she was continent of bowel and incontinent of bowel.”

The suit against UFM Operations, LLC was brought by the decedent’s son, Sean Boren.

Willman said that jurors, who eventually returned a defense verdict, told him there was a lack of evidence to support a contention of ACS.

Nathan Davis, then with Rossiter & Boock, was listed as representing the plaintiff. He did not return a request for comment.

Defense verdict

Wrongful death