*A 94-year-old nonverbal man was left unsupervised in a whirlpool for nearly an hour, despite requiring round-the-clock care. Tragically, he suffered severe burns to the point where his skin melted off, ultimately leading to his death.
According to the Daily Mail, the incident occurred at the state-run Hopemont Hospital in Terra Alta, West Virginia, located in Preston County.
The man tragically boiled to death in a whirlpool bath due to staff negligence, as the hospital failed to address a $250 repair to a broken thermostat. Left unattended, he endured scalding 134-degree water for 47 minutes, resulting in his untimely demise.
Four nurses were dismissed from their positions after the January incident.
“Even if he screamed out in pain, he couldn’t be heard. His skin melted off,” said Mike Folio, legal director of Disability Rights West Virginia.
The hospital staff were aware of a malfunctioning thermostat a month before the death but took no action to repair it, according to Folio, Per Daily Mail, he told MetroNews: “This gentleman lost his life because someone didn’t step up and make a $250 repair.”
The man, who has not been named, had dementia and was a long-term patient at Hopemont Hospital.
“Imagine someone who is elderly, nonverbal and has dementia left unattended in scalding hot water,” said Folio.
“Even if he screamed out in pain, he couldn’t be heard because he was nonverbal.”
After his death, the West Virginia Department of Health Facilities said: “A thermostat on a water tank servicing one residential unit failed, resulting in unsafe water temperatures. Subsequently, one resident of the facility was treated for burns.”
Per Daily Mail, they added: “As a precautionary measure, patients are being taken to other units for bathing purposes while staff repair the issue. This is an isolated incident and no other patients are at risk.”
Folio told KDKA-TV: “Roughly 30 days prior to this episode, one of the RNs at Hopemont sent an internal email advising staff about concerns of hot water and specifically said that there is a fear that patients may get burned.”
Folio added: “This is truly the most egregious case I’ve seen.”
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