WINONA LAKE — A complaint requesting damages and a jury trial has been filed against Grace Village Health Care Facility, Winona Lake, claiming negligence and wrongful death after an elderly female patient died last year after falling 15 times while at the facility.

The complaint was filed May 16 with the Indiana Department of Insurance by the personal representative of the alleged victims’ estate. It alleges that Grace Village Health Care Facility, Inc., National Fellowship Brethren Retirement Homes Inc., Woodlawn Hospital and a Jeff Carroll are among those jointly responsible for “owning, operating, managing, administrating, overseeing, staffing,and/or rendering or supervising care and/or services to patients” at the facility with negligence and wrongful death.

The complaint states, “The defendants failed to comply with State and Federal regulations, and in doing so failed to meet the applicable standard of care required under the circumstances.”

The alleged victim became a patient of Grace Village in December 2015. The complaint states despite a known multiple fall history, a specific care plan addressing the victim’s high fall risk was not implemented until Jan. 13, 2016, after she had already fallen 11 times at Grace Village.

The complaint states the facility relied upon a personal alarm to keep the victim safe, however, the facility failed to ensure sufficient staffing were available to respond to the alarm in a timely fashion. They also allegedly failed to recommend the transfer of the victim to the a facility better equipped to properly take care of her and capable of protecting her from dangerous falls.

During the first two days after the victim had been admitted to Grace Village Health Care, she experienced four unwitnessed falls. The victim was found after the falls had occurred.

The victim continued to suffer from numerous witnessed and unwitnessed falls during her stay at Grace Village.

The complaints notes that during several of the falls, the victim attempted to alert nursing staff of her fall with her personal alarm, however, the alarm had not been properly monitored or had not been properly attached by staff, resulting in a failure to prevent numerous falls.

On Jan. 13, 2016, after the victim suffered from 11 falls, a high fall risk care plan was implemented.

Four additional falls were recorded occurring in the month following the implemented care plan. The victim continued to fall while unattended. Her personal alarm also continued to be attached improperly.

The complaint states the records revolving around the victim’s death that February were “disturbingly suspicious and lacking in detail.”

On Feb. 11, 2016, the victim was taken to the emergency room after a Grace Village nurse said the victim had become unresponsive after using the restroom.

After the patient was taken to the emergency room, the emergency department staff was informed by a Grace Village nurse that a fall had not occured. The emergency department physician, however, noted that the patient had a bump on the head and an abrasion that appeared new.

The victim died several days after being transferred to KCH. The victim’s cause of death was stated as “subdural hematoma,” occurring from the victim falling and striking her head.

The complaint attests that Grace Village has refused to accept responsibility for harm done to the victim.