Choking Deaths in Ventura County Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

Thousands of people die as a result of choking every year, according to the National Safety Council (NSC), and rates of choking deaths rise significantly for older adults in Ventura County once they reach the age of approximately 71 years old. In most choking death cases involving elderly nursing home residents, the choking death is linked to food. Yet it is important for families to know that, while a particular type of food may be the reason for a choking death, liability typically rests with the Ventura County nursing home or assisted living facility. These facilities have a duty to prevent choking deaths in residents, and when a choking death does occur, it may be possible to file a claim against the facility. An experienced Ventura County choking death lawyer can help.

Choking among the elderly can have different causes, but the NSC identifies the following as the most common causes of choking and suffocation:

• Medical conditions that make choking more likely;
• Being fed too quickly;
• Inappropriate foods served, or foods served in pieces that are too large;
• Failing to monitor or supervise an elderly resident while they are eating; and
• Allowing a resident to drink while eating.

Even when a nursing home staff member or nurse at a nursing home or assisted living facility is negligent in preventing a resident from choking, there are still often ways to prevent a choking death as long as the resident is being monitored properly. In other words, even when choking happens, it should never result in a nursing home or assisted living facility resident death.

According to the National Safety Council , there are clear warning signs that should alert staff members that a resident is choking, including “someone clutching their throat, coughing, gagging, wheezing, or passed out.” When a resident of a facility is observed choking, staff members should be properly trained in performing the Heimlich maneuver in order to prevent the resident from suffocating and ultimately dying as a result of the choking. The NSC explains that the Heimlich maneuver is appropriate for most people over the age of one. And even in circumstances where the Heimlich maneuver is not working, it may be possible to prevent a resident’s death by performing CPR. When a nursing home or assisted living facility staff members are not properly trained in performing the Heimlich maneuver and CPR, residents can die, and the facility can be liable.

Nobody should ever have to receive a call from a nursing home or assisted living facility to learn that their elderly loved one has died because of a preventable choking death. If your elderly parent or another loved one died in a nursing home or assisted living facility due to choking and suffocation, it is important to hold the facility accountable. One of the experienced Ventura County nursing home neglect attorneys at our firm can speak with you today about your options. Contact the Southern California Nursing Home Law Group to learn more about how we can assist you.