Collusion to Cover Up? Tennessee Nursing Home Accused of Wrongdoing In Suspicious Death
A string of errors led to the filing of a lawsuit on October 31, 2008 against the Health Center at Standifer Place in the tragic death of Robert Young. That suit seeks damages for wrongful death, mental anguish, and pain and suffering. A similar lawsuit was filed on November 3, 2008 against the Tennessee Department of Human Services and social worker Vickey Frierson, the individual handling Mr. Young's case for the "negligence" shown by the Department after Mr. Young's death
Robert A. Young, a 33 year old man suffering from cerebral palsy, was a resident at the Health Center at Standifer Place, a Chattanooga, Tennessee nursing home. He was believed to have suffered a seizure and fell, fracturing his skull. He was taken to Erlanger Hospital and died a week later on November 12, 2007. Due to the explanation of how Mr. Young's injuries were sustained, the Hamilton County Medical Examiner's Office did not perform an autopsy. Erlanger Hospital repeatedly tried to locate Mr. Young's family through Adult Protective Services, but Adult Protective Services failed to respond. Instead, the agency made arrangements for Mr. Young's burial in a pauper's grave in Ruth Cofer Cemetery.
Mr. Young's family, completely unaware of his injury and subsequent death, was not told of his death for more than a month. Each time someone called the facility to check on him, "Standifer Place told each person, on each call, that Mr. Young was OK, and to come see him". When family members finally found out about Mr. Young's death, they began pushing for answers. Allegedly, Vickey Frierson, Mr. Young's caseworker, callously asked, "What do you want me to do about it?"
The family continued to press for answers and asked Dr. Frank King to review Mr. Young's medical records. Dr. King recommended exhumation of the body after he could not find any documentation of seizure or any other incident that would have led to the skull fracture contained in those records. The court-ordered exhumation of Mr. Young's body occurred in May 2008 and the Medical Examiner determined that Mr. Young died of "blunt force trauma" to the head. A homicide investigation into Mr. Young's injuries and the circumstances surrounding the incident is ongoing.
