A man has sued an Overland Park nursing home two years after his wife fell from her bed at the facility and died.

Catch up quick: John Miller is suing both Advanced Health Care, 4700 Indian Creek Parkway, and the doctor who admitted her, Neal Erickson, for negligence.

• His lawyers contend that the facility did not do enough to prevent his wife, Betty Miller, from falling out of bed.
• Betty Miller, 87, sustained a dislocated shoulder and a broken bone in her upper arm and died several days after her fall.
• Representatives for Advanced Health Care of Overland Park did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this story.

What happened: According to the lawsuit filed in Johnson County District Court last month, Betty Miller fell out of her bed at Advanced Health Care late at night on Dec. 1, 2020.

• The lawsuit contends Betty Miller was last checked on by staff at roughly 11 p.m. on the night of Dec. 1 before she fell.
• Nursing home staff did not find out about the fall until 7:30 a.m. the next day.

Even after Miller complained of shoulder pain, she was not transported to a hospital for another day after her fall.

• On Dec. 3, it was determined that she had a dislocated shoulder and a broken bone in her upper arm.
• According to the lawsuit, Miller died five days later as a result of her injuries.

Their case: Ben Friesen, an attorney representing John Miller, said Miller is suing for negligence because the nursing home staff was aware of Betty Miller’s history of falling.

• The lawsuit contends that Advanced Health Care had noted in its records that Miller had been known to “frequently slide down in bed or chair, requiring frequent repositioning with maximum assistance.”

Bottom line: Friesen said the nursing home could have prevented her death by ordering Betty Miller a bed with a shorter distance to the ground, providing padding for the floor and checking on her more frequently.

In their own words: “There are things that the facility needs to put in place to number one, reduce the chance of a bad fall, and then number two, lessen the impact of a bed fall if one occurs,” Friesen said. “None of those things were provided for (Betty Miller).”

What happens next

The lawsuit against Advanced Health Care of Overland Park was filed on Nov. 16.

• Friesen said the nursing home now has the opportunity to respond to their petition, but there has been no response filed yet.
• Friesen said if the case goes to trial, a trial date could be set roughly a year or two from now.