MARYSVILLE — An Edmonds lawyer has filed a second wrongful-death lawsuit against the Marysville Care Center, alleging that another patient received inadequate care that proved fatal.
Norman Mallang was admitted to the nursing home in December 2012. A short time later he became dehydrated and malnourished, and his diabetic symptoms and high blood pressure worsened, according to the lawsuit filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Mallang, 85, lost his ability to move without help. The lawsuit alleges that staff ignored his calls for assistance, and Mallang fell numerous times when he tried to reach the bathroom on his own. He ended up with broken vertebrae, court papers said. He also developed bed sores and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a hard-to-treat infection perhaps best known by the acronym MRSA.
The lawsuit alleges the nursing home was negligent and didn’t provide adequate care to Mallang, including insufficient nutrition and fluids.
The elderly man was admitted to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett in acute pain and underwent a procedure to fix the vertebral fracture. He never fully recovered and died Feb. 21, 2013, at Josephine Sunset Home in Stanwood.
Mallang was relatively active and independent prior to being admitted to the Marysville nursing home, Edmonds attorney Brian Leonard said. He represents Mallang’s family in the lawsuit.
“He goes in and in short order, he gets a host of injuries that appears to be caused by neglect,” Leonard said. “It is one of those raise-the-eyebrow things once again.”
Brandon Dravis, executive director of the Marysville Care Center, said that due to patient privacy laws, the organization is unable to discuss any legal issues involving Mallang’s care.
“As always, we will continue to focus on providing compassionate health care services to our residents,” he said in a statement.
The company provided a similar statement to The Herald in response to a wrongful death lawsuit filed last year. In court papers, the nursing home’s lawyers denied allegations that staff were negligent in the care of Violet Riddle, 74.
Riddle was admitted to the nursing home in October 2012 for occupational and physical therapy. A week later she was transported to the hospital for treatment of acute dehydration, according to the lawsuit. Riddle was returned to the Marysville center and died 11 days later.
Her family had a strong suspicion that her death was “very wrong and very avoidable,” Leonard said.
He filed the lawsuit on behalf of Riddle’s family and alleges that Riddle became acutely dehydrated and experienced agitation, hallucinations and confusion.
Leonard claims that the nursing home staff failed to establish a care plan to meet Riddle’s hydration needs.
Riddle was regularly seen by her doctor, who may be at fault for any injuries, the nursing home’s lawyers wrote in answer to the lawsuit.
Riddle was survived by her husband of 55 years and three children. She worked for the Bell-Atlantic Phone Company for 30 years, retiring in 1994.
Mallang was survived by his four children. In his obituary, his family wrote that Mallang was proud of the time he spent in the U.S. Marine Corps. He worked at the Everett Fish Company for more than 40 years.
His family praised the staff at Josephine Sunset Home for a “loving and caring environment.
“The faculty and staff gave Dad a place to heal as much as he was able,” they wrote in the obituary.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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