Fifth Minnesota Nursing Home Resident Burned by Portable Heater
A fifth Minnesota nursing home resident has been burned by a portable heater. In all five instances, the nursing home facility was found to be negligent by the State of Minnesota.
In January 2010, a hospice resident at Benedictine Health Center in Duluth, Minnesota suffered second degree burns after the calf of her leg rested on the heating element of a portable heater. The resident died that day, but her death was not attributed to her wounds.
Also in January 2010, a resident at Redeemer Health and Rehab, a nursing home facility in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was burned after physically contacting a radiator. He was taken to the hospital with second and third degree burns and died approximately four weeks later.
In December 2009, a Gracepointe Cross Gables West nursing home resident burned three fingers on a heat register located one inch from his bed,
In January 2009, a Alzheimer's resident at Golden Living Center - Meadow Lane suffered first and second degree burns after lying on top of a radiator at the facility. She died nine days later, but her death was not attributed to her injuries.
In November 2009, a dementia resident at Emmanuel Nursing Home in Litchfield, Minnesota was discovered with her leg hanging over the edge of her bed. The leg had contacted electric heat register and the blisters on her left foot "nearly doubled the height of the foot".
