Eadie Hills Files Lawsuit Against Huntington Woods Care and Rehabilitation Center for Dorothy Hogle’s Wrongful Death

When Dorothy Hogle was admitted to the care of Huntington Woods Care and Rehabilitation Center, she was an 86-year-old woman who suffered from dementia and incontinence. Her family selected Huntington Woods because of their claims to offer skilled and attentive nursing care. In fact, on their website, the facility declares that they make residents “feel comfortable, cared for and most importantly, empowered to live a meaningful life”—precisely the type of environment Dorothy could expect to receive the advanced levels of care that she needed. And yet, we allege that, despite the staff of Huntington Woods being aware of Dorothy’s needs, the patient instead was met with shocking levels of neglect and reckless behavior that led directly to her untimely death.

Dorothy was admitted to Huntington Woods on July 3, 2021. At that time, we allege that the staff was made well-aware of her needs. These included assistance with the tasks of daily living, turning and positioning Dorothy to prevent bedsores or other skin breakdowns, providing her with ample nutrition and hydration, and keeping the patient clean and dry. Although Dorothy certainly needed plenty of assistance, we believe that the staff at Huntington Woods was made fully aware of these needs and declared themselves fully capable of meeting them.

When Dorothy entered the facility, she did not have any bedsores—although she was at risk for developing them. To prevent bedsores, a patient needs to be turned and rotated regularly and needs to maintain proper nutrition. From the beginning of her stay, we allege Dorothy was not eating and drinking properly—a situation of which the staff was aware. Nonetheless, we believe that Huntington Woods staff did not properly monitor her weight or keep her adequately nourished.

As a result of this alleged negligence and recklessness, Dorothy soon began to suffer from pressure injuries. On September 8, 2021—just over two months after entering the facility—Dorothy developed a stage 3 pressure ulcer on her right elbow. From there, she developed further pressure injuries, including a stage 3 pressure ulcer on her coccyx and a stage 2 pressure ulcer on her right hip.

Because Huntington Woods is a for-profit facility, we allege that it was in their best financial interest to systemically understaff the rehabilitation center and that they hired accordingly. As a result of this shortage, it is our belief that the facility’s staff was unable to keep up with Dorothy’s needs, including failure to provide her with adequate food and water, failure to turn and reposition her, and failure to keep her clean, resulting in her occasionally being covered in urine and feces. We allege that these failures led directly to Dorothy’s untimely and wholly preventable death, which occurred on December 3, 2021, exactly five months after she was first admitted to Huntington Woods.

At Eadie Hill, we are proud to bring a lawsuit against Huntington Woods and its parent companies on behalf of Dorothy’s family. In seeking justice for Dorothy, we hope to provide her family with some small measure of restitution and to prevent for-profit facilities from causing more needless pain, suffering, and death.

Courses of Action

The lawsuit filed by Eadie Hill against Huntington Woods Care and Rehabilitation Center and its parent companies alleges the following courses of action:

1. Medical Negligence and Recklessness. The complaint alleges that the defendants failed to meet their duty to provide proper care and treatment to Dorothy. Failures include choosing to provide inadequate observation, supervision, and monitoring; understaffing and undertraining staff; choosing to violate orders relating to Dorothy’s care; and numerous other instances of negligence and recklessness. The complaint further alleges that this negligence was the direct and proximate cause of Dorothy’s injuries.
2. Wrongful Death. The complaint alleges that the injuries Dorothy suffered as a result of the defendants’ negligence and recklessness caused her untimely and wrongful death. It also alleges that Dorothy’s loved ones suffered damages from the mental anguish and grief that resulted from Dorothy’s death and that they also suffered from the loss of her society and companionship.
3. Nursing Home Residents Rights Violation. The complaint alleges that the defendants violated Dorothy’s rights as a resident of their facility. The rights violated include the right to a safe and clean living environment; the right to be free from physical, verbal, mental, and emotional abuse; the right to adequate and appropriate medical treatment and nursing care; and the right to participate in decisions that affect her life. The complaint alleges that these violations are evidence of negligence and conscious disregard of Dorothy’s rights and safety.

Eadie Hill’s Commitment to Justice

At Eadie Hill, we are committed to seeking justice for victims of for-profit nursing and rehabilitation facilities. With for-profit healthcare facilities, the largest source of revenue is patient intake and the largest costs come from staffing. Therefore, it is in the best interests of these facilities to take on more patients than they can responsibly accommodate. At the same time, in order to maximize profits, these enterprises often systematically understaff their facilities. When this happens, patients needlessly suffer and die.

At Eadie Hill, it is our mission to bring justice to the victims of these profit-seeking facilities.

About Huntington Woods Care and Rehabilitation Center

According to Huntington Woods’ website, the facility is committed to a philosophy called “Person Centered Care.” This means that they aim to “empower individuals to direct their own care and give meaning to their lives” and that they tailor their care to meet each resident’s individual needs and preferences.

However, a quick peek underneath the hood reveals that Huntington Woods is anything but a place where residents are “comfortable, safe, and in the best hands that [the county] has to offer.” According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Huntington Woods repeatedly falls short of this standard. This is most evident when it comes to staffing, which the CMS rates as “much below average,” awarding the facility their lowest “one-star” rating.

This conclusion is echoed in the testimony of people who have worked at the facility. On Indeed, for example, one employee called the place “extremely toxic and short-staffed,” adding that the “management is terrible” and is “never willing to help with anything on any occasion.” Another former employee called the facility a “pathetic place to work,” noting that the staff is “rude” and “disrespectful” and that employees “don’t care about the patients at all.”

Huntington Woods Care and Rehabilitation Center
AKA Westchester Health Care, Inc.

27705 Westchester Pkwy
Westlake, OH 44145

Foundations Health, LLC

c/o Registered Agent:
Ohio Agent Solutions, Inc.
2500 Country Club Blvd.
Suite 255
North Olmsted, OH 44070

Elixir III, LLC

c/o Registered Agent:
Dinsmore Agent Co.
191 W. Nationwide Blvd.
Suite 300
Columbus OH 43215