Charges Dismissed in Brentwood Nursing Home Neglect Case
Evansville Magistrate David Kiely announced Thursday morning that he was dismissing the charges of neglect against four nurses at the Brentwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Yesterday, after the prosecutors rested their case, Kiely went into deliberations; after an hour, Kiely said he needed more time to review the thousands of pages of evidence that was introduced during the prosecutor’s presentation of the case.
“I understand this is an inconvenience for you all, but this is an important decision, and I want to be sure I am right.”
What Really Happened at Brentwood
Back when this case was first reported by local media roughly a year ago, based off the reporting of the “facts” it appeared to be an open and shut ’slamdunk’ case. The death of 86 year old Morline Allen occurred less than three hours after she was transferred from Brentwood to St Mary’s Medical Center October 1, 2005. Allen was first admitted to Brentwood in April 2005 for several serious medical conditions, including congestive heart failure, renal failure, and diabetes.
Allen’s grandson reported that he discovered Allen’s skin had grown over her catheter. Officials at St Mary’s observed Allen was dehydrated when admitted to the hospital, and they had to clean Allen from a recent bowel movement.
Kiely dismissed the charges based upon the circumstantial evidence against the defendants. Allen’s medical chart was not updated as was required; the prosecutors alleged that since the charts didn’t document any care was given, that Allen didn’t received any care.
As the case progressed, the ‘facts’ became more confusing. I don’t know if the prosecutors really didn’t have a case, or if the defense did their job really well. Even though Allen’s grandson has a lawsuit pending, we may never know what happened at Brentwood Nursing Home.
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