Family sues Boynton nursing home after finding multiple bed sores on loved one

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - A Boynton Beach nursing home is being sued after a family says the facility neglected to take care of their loved one.

The lawsuit filed against Hamlin Place Rehabilitation Center says 74-year-old Annie Lou Jefferson was found with multiple bed sores all over her body.

Her family has been in a legal battle with the center ever since she died four years ago.

Jefferson's daughter, Boynton Beach resident Maxine Chavis, fears that despite a change in administration and medical staff, other elderly residents could be at risk.

"She was my best friend," said Chavis. "I catch myself breaking down sometimes."

Chavis says her mother became severely ill and she had no choice but to put her into a nursing care facility.

She chose Hamlin Place off Hypoluxo Road because it wasn't far from her house. She would go see her mother every day, but says she never knew the suffering her mother endured.

"She said 'Maxine I wanna leave.' I would say, 'when things get better, I am going to bring you home,' " recalled Chavis.

It wasn't until her mother was taken to the hospital, after nursing home staff found her unresponsive, that she realized why her mother was aching to leave the facility.

"They were calling her names, she wasn't responding, and that's when I discovered the sores on her buttocks," said Chavis.

Chavis took pictures while her mother was being treated at the hospital for dehydration. She says the sores were discovered by a hospital nurse after her mother was admitted.

Bandages were placed over open wounds the size of grapefruits.

In the lawsuit, Chavis claims the wounds were a result of neglect by the medical staff at Hamlin Place.

"I was so disturbed, and she had a big sore on the back of her head," said Chavis.

Hamlin Place responded to the allegations saying, "When the patient returned after spending 11 days in the the hospital, the patient had additional health concerns upon that second admission. These concerns were treated appropriately by our nursing staff and the patient's physicians."

When asked about the bed sores, Hamlin Place said it could not release that medical information.

Chavis hopes the darkness that her family has endured will shed light.

"I believe my mother would still be alive if she would have been treated with love, honor and respect," said Chavis.

Chavis says her mother did suffer from other ailments, including diabetes. The lawsuit doesn't say how she died, but the family believes her bed sores led to other health problems that contributed to her death.