The pressure ulcer that opened over Sam Frank Ray’s tailbone exposed raw bone to bacteria over several weeks, according to the lawsuit. Medical experts consider bedsores a highly preventable class of injury — the standard protocol to avoid them is repositioning an immobilized patient once every two hours. Lawyers for Ray’s family allege that Arbors at Sylvania staff left him in the same position through 33 eight-hour shifts, failing to turn him or take him to the toilet, instead directing him to use adult diapers and await changing. That practice, the lawsuit alleges, likely increased Ray’s risk of infection.
Ray’s family was unaware of the severity of his condition until he was hospitalized as the infection spiraled out of control, Hill said. The lawsuit, filed late last year, is pending in court. The Arbors at Sylvania is part of a larger chain of nursing homes in Ohio that has drawn scrutiny from state regulators and faces multiple civil suits over resident deaths and injuries. State inspectors have levied fines against Arbors facilities for violations including failure to prevent bedsores, failure to provide adequate nutrition and hydration, and failure to properly supervise residents.
The cases underscore a pattern in which basic, low-cost preventive care — a two-hour repositioning schedule — is not provided, allowing a manageable condition to progress into a fatal infection. The Ohio Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have both cited Arbors facilities for deficiencies that regulators describe as posing immediate jeopardy to resident health and safety.