October 9, 2025 
KBD Attorneys 
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Ohio Nursing Home Faces Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Resident Dies from Infected Bedsore
A nursing home in Ohio is facing a wrongful death lawsuit after a 72-year-old resident died from complications of an infected bedsore — raising new concerns about systemic neglect and the ongoing failure of some long-term care facilities to meet even the most basic standards of patient care. According to court filings, the man had been admitted to Arbors at Sylvania, a Toledo-area nursing home, in August 2024 following multiple hospitalizations. His family had trusted the facility to help him recover from pneumonia and a urinary tract infection. Instead, the lawsuit alleges, the nursing home’s staff neglected his most fundamental medical needs — allowing a minor pressure sore to develop into a large, infected wound that ultimately led to his death.
Allegations of Severe Neglect and Poor Hygiene
The lawsuit describes a pattern of neglect that would be deeply troubling in any healthcare setting. Staff reportedly placed the resident in adult diapers but failed to assist him with toileting, allegedly telling him to soil himself instead. They are accused of leaving him in soiled garments for extended periods, which caused painful skin irritation and worsened his developing pressure ulcers.
Despite clear warning signs, staff allegedly did not reposition him regularly — a standard and critical practice in preventing bedsores for immobile residents. The complaint claims that this lack of monitoring allowed what began as a minor sore to progress into a stage 4 bedsore on his tailbone — the most severe level, where tissue damage extends through muscle and down to the bone.
By October 2024, the man required professional wound care. Just weeks later, he was hospitalized for sepsis, a life-threatening bloodstream infection. He passed away in January 2025. An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was a polymicrobial infection stemming from the bedsore, meaning multiple types of bacteria had invaded the wound.
A Disturbing Pattern Across Multiple Facilities
The case has drawn additional scrutiny because it follows a similar death at another nursing home owned by the same company. In July 2024, another 72-year-old resident died at Arbors at Oregon, also located in Lucas County, after developing a severe bedsore that the coroner later described as the result of “months of neglect.” That death was officially ruled a homicide caused by medical neglect.
The lawsuit against Arbors at Sylvania cites the earlier case as evidence of a broader, systemic problem within the company’s network of facilities. The complaint alleges that the corporate owners — which include Arbors at Ohio, Ark Opco Group, Prestige Healthcare, and several related management and property entities — maintain policies and practices that “deprive residents of their dignity and appropriate nursing care.”
According to the suit, this includes a pattern of downplaying the severity of bedsores to residents’ families, sometimes referring to large, infected wounds as “abrasions” or “skin tears.” The complaint argues that these misrepresentations delay family intervention and conceal the true extent of neglect.
Systemic Issues in Nursing Home Care
This tragic case highlights an ongoing issue that advocates for elder safety have warned about for years: chronic understaffing and inadequate oversight in nursing homes. When facilities are short-staffed, residents who rely on caregivers for mobility assistance, hygiene, and wound care often suffer the most.
Pressure ulcers — commonly known as bedsores — are almost entirely preventable with proper care. Regular repositioning, clean bedding, adequate nutrition, and early medical attention can stop them from forming or worsening. When these safeguards are ignored, the consequences can be fatal.
Unfortunately, lawsuits like this are not isolated. Across the country, courts have repeatedly found that for-profit nursing home chains sometimes prioritize cost-cutting over resident safety, leading to reduced staffing levels and poor supervision. When such business practices spread across multiple facilities, neglect becomes systemic rather than accidental.
Calls for Accountability and Reform
The lawsuit against Arbors at Sylvania seeks damages for wrongful death and negligence, arguing that the nursing home and its parent companies violated both state and federal standards of care. The case also calls for greater accountability from corporate operators who profit from government-funded elder care while failing to protect residents.
Elder advocacy groups are watching the case closely, viewing it as part of a larger pattern of neglect within certain nursing home systems. They stress that families often discover the truth about mistreatment only after a loved one’s condition has drastically worsened — or, tragically, after a death has occurred.
At Ketterer, Browne & Davani , LLC, we’ve reported on similar cases in which residents suffered fatal infections from untreated bedsores. These incidents underscore the urgent need for transparency, oversight, and enforcement in the long-term care industry. Families should not have to rely on lawsuits to ensure their loved ones receive basic human care.
Protecting the Dignity of Nursing Home Residents
Every nursing home resident deserves to live with dignity and compassion. That means being clean, repositioned, and cared for — not ignored. When facilities fail to meet those simple obligations, the results can be catastrophic.
At KBD Attorneys, our nursing home neglect lawyers investigate cases of wrongful death, bedsores, sepsis, malnutrition, and chronic understaffing. We work to hold negligent facilities and their corporate owners accountable, ensuring that families can find both justice and closure.
If you suspect that your loved one suffered neglect in an Ohio nursing home — or anywhere in the United States — you don’t have to face it alone.
Call KBD Attorneys at (443) 731-0267 or visit kbdattorneys.com to schedule a free, confidential consultation.
Neglect in long-term care isn’t just a violation of law — it’s a betrayal of trust. And when that betrayal leads to tragedy, accountability must follow.
