A local man has filed a lawsuit against a Boca Raton nursing home, claiming the facility neglected his care so badly, he left the facility only needing more medication and surgery.
Ross Bayer, 66, says he broke both of his feet in a landscaping accident more than seven months ago.
The injuries were serious enough that he needed to have surgery on his left foot. Bayer said he needed about two months of physical therapy. He also needed his surgery wounds covered with a fresh bandage everyday.
He decided to stay at Whitehall Nursing Home in Boca Raton to receive that care.
Only two weeks later, Bayer left the program at his own will, worried that staying any longer would hurt his condition, he said.
Bayer said he would have to ‘beg’ for his dressings to be changed as his doctor recommended.
“They did not do that. They changed them once a week,” Bayer said.
The neglect to change that bandage more frequently caused an infection in his foot, Bayer said, requiring him to undergo more surgery and take more medication.
“Horrendous pain. Horrendous pain,” Bayer described.
His wife, Donna, agreed. “It was horrible. He would have gotten better care at home.”
Bayer eventually called his wife to get him out of the facility, though she was caring for her sick parents out of state.
“I called her at 3 o' clock in the morning and said Donna, get me out of here,” Bayer said.
Once he was out of Whitehall, he wanted access to his medical charts, looking for answers as to why he did not receive the level of care he expected.
Bayer never got those documents, according to his attorney Michael Brevda, a Nursing Home Abuse Attorney at the Senior Justice law firm.
“The Bayer family came to me because they were having a hard time getting medical records from the Whitehall Nursing Home,” Brevda said.
Brevda said he made his own requests for those documents on Bayer’s behalf. Months later, he said he has not been provided the documents.
“As a result, we have to file the lawsuit. We have no other recourse.”
The lawsuit alleges neglect and improper staffing.
“From 9 o’clock to 5 in the morning, there wouldn’t be a soul on the floor,” Bayer said.
They are also suing for failure to provide the medical records.
Whitehall has not responded to a request for comment.
