Lawsuit filed against Springfield nursing home for death of resident

A lawsuit for nearly $1 million was filed against a Springfield assisted living facility after the death of a resident in 2017.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Lane County Circuit Court by Zandra Heisler, the daughter and personal representative for the estate of Norma "Jeanette" Lawrence, a woman who died while in the care of Sweet Briar Villa, 6135 E St., Springfield.

The lawsuit alleges negligence, personal injury, survival action and wrongful death by RSL Springfield, LLC, doing business as Sweet Briar Villa, and its parent company Radiant Companies Inc.

The lawsuit seeks up to $950,000 and demands a jury trial.

According to the lawsuit, Lawrence was a resident at the Springfield facility from 2014 until the time of her death in November 2017. The woman suffered from dementia, short-term memory loss and was unable to verbally express her needs. In late October 2017, the lawsuit states, the staff at the facility noted a change in Lawrence's urine that was indicative of the development of a urinary tract infection. The change was reported the staff supervisors, the lawsuit states, but no action was taken. At the end of October, Lawrence's daughter Heisler and Lawrence's husband told staff, on separate occasions, her mother appeared sick and had symptoms of respiratory illness. No action was taken by staff, the lawsuit alleges.

On Nov. 4, 2017, Lawrence's family members told staff was cold to the touch and nonresponsive. Her temperature allegedly dropped from 93.7 degrees to 91.7 degrees within minutes, the lawsuit states. Lawrence was not taken to the hospital, the lawsuit alleges, and staff instead tried to warm her up with blankets.

Lawrence's temperature dropped to 86.7 degrees before she was taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with sepsis from a urinary tract infection. Lawrence died Nov. 7, 2017. The cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest due to sepsis, the lawsuit states.

According to the state's department of human services website, Sweet Briar received two violations for failing to assess and intervene in a resident's condition change. According to the state, Sweet Briar called 911 to transport Lawrence -- identified in state records only as "Resident #1" -- an hour after Lawrence's temperature was "low enough to signify hypothermia." The state ultimately found that the facility's failure to timely assess and intervene when Resident #1 suffered a significant change in condition is a violation of resident rights, is considered neglect of care, and constitutes abuse. Sweet Briar was fined $15,000, state records show.

When reached by phone Monday, Sweet Briar's Executive Director Ivy Lizsow said she knew nothing of the allegations because she and the rest of Sweet Briar's current management team were not there when Lawrence was a resident. A message sent to the parent company, Radiant Senior Living in Portland, was not returned.

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