William Eadie, Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

09/25/2026

"Nobody answered my mom's call light. She tried to make it to the bathroom herself and fell."

This is how a lot of nursing home falls happen. Not from frailty, but from a person who needed help and waited longer than they could reasonably wait.

Having quick call light response times helps present falls and makes sure your loved one is getting the help they need. The response time is also one of the things you can measure yourself on your next visit:

• Press the call light while you're in the room and watch the clock; do it again on a different day and at a different hour. Document it and keep track so you have facts! One measurement isn't a pattern, but if it happens repeatedly at different times, it is.
• Ask what the facilities average call light response time is. If they don’t track it, dig deeper and find out why.
• Do the staff offer bathroom assistance on a set schedule or do they wait to be called for assistance? Residents who are checked on regularly are the ones who don't end up on the floor!

Our Family Safety Guidebook covers what to look for on a visit and what to do with what you find. Let us know in the comments if you'd like a copy, printed or digital, and we'll take care of it.

09/18/2026

"If my dad fell tonight, how long would it take someone to notice?"

It's a question that tends to show up around two in the morning, when you're lying awake thinking about someone who is alone in a room far away and there's nothing useful you can do about it at that hour.

The answer depends on how often someone is scheduled to look in on him; overnight is when facilities run their thinnest staffing. There are three things worth asking during daylight hours:
• Ask how often staff are supposed to check on residents overnight, and whether that interval is different for someone who has already been identified as a fall risk.
• Ask where those checks get documented, and whether it's something you would be able to review if you asked.
• Ask how many aides are covering the hall at three in the morning compared to three in the afternoon. The gap between those two numbers is usually the answer to your question.

It's Falls Prevention Awareness Month, but the overnight hours don't observe it any differently than the rest of the year.

09/11/2026

Today, we remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and honor the courage of the first responders, volunteers, recovery workers, and countless others who stepped forward to help.

For many, that service did not end when the immediate crisis was over. Years later, some continue to live with serious medical conditions tied to their work at Ground Zero and the surrounding areas, including respiratory illness, cancer, and neurological conditions such as dementia.

Twenty-five years later, we remember those we lost, those who answered the call, and those who continue to carry the effects of that day.

We remember. We honor. We do not forget.

09/10/2026

"My mom has a fall risk score. I have never seen it."

Most families never do, and it usually isn't because anyone is hiding anything. It's that nobody thinks to bring it up, and there's no reason you would know to ask about a document you've never heard of.

Every resident is supposed to be assessed for fall risk when they move in, and reassessed whenever something changes. That assessment is meant to drive an actual plan, so if your mother is rated a high fall risk, there should be specific things the staff is doing differently because of it. Three things worth asking:

• Ask to see the most recent fall risk assessment and when it was last updated, since a rating from admission two years ago tells you very little about where she stands today.
• Ask what specifically changed in their care plan as a result of that rating, because a score that doesn't lead to different care isn't doing anything for them.
• Ask whether they were reassessed after their last hospital stay, medication change, or noticeable decline, since those are the moments that should prompt another look.

If you'd like our Family Safety Guidebook, which walks through this and the other questions worth asking, just say so in the comments and let us know whether you'd rather have a printed copy or a digital one.

September is Falls Prevention Awareness Month, though that assessment sitting in their chart matters just as much in March.

09/07/2026

Labor Day is a good reminder that not all hard work happens at a job. For many families, it also looks like taking care of a loved one, asking questions, keeping track of appointments, following up with staff, and making sure someone you care about is getting what they need. That work matters too!

So today, enjoy the long weekend if you can, give yourself some credit for everything you handle, and make a little time for yourself.

Happy Labor Day from all of us at Eadie Law!

➡️ Read our full Labor Day message. Link in the comments.

09/04/2026

An 83-year-old woman with advanced Alzheimer’s walked out of her memory care facility through a door investigators believe was not properly secured. Staff found her nearly two hours later covered in ant bites. She died two weeks later. Her cause of death has not yet been determined.

According to her family’s lawsuit, the facility did not call an ambulance or notify the family. Help was only called after one daughter arrived for a visit and demanded it, 36 hours later.

That is the part families should pay attention to.

A memory care unit exists because residents with dementia may wander, become disoriented, or be unable to protect themselves. If a resident known to wander can disappear for nearly two hours, the system failed somewhere.

And when that resident is found injured, there should not be a 36-hour delay in getting emergency help or notifying the family.

For Ohio families, ask:
• How quickly would staff know if my loved one was missing?
• What happens when a door alarm goes off?
• How often are residents checked overnight?
• When will I be called after an incident?
• Can I see the facility’s memory care policies?

Families should not have to discover serious safety failures by accident.

👉 Full story from WCBD News 2 and our free Family Safety Guidebook in comments.

08/31/2026

A Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a Central Ohio long-term care facility has now been linked to multiple cases.

Legionnaires’ is a serious form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria, which can grow in building water systems and spread through tiny droplets from showers, faucets, and other water sources.

Nursing home residents are especially vulnerable because many are older or have underlying medical conditions.

If you have a loved one in a facility, ask:
• Have there been any Legionnaires’ cases?
• Has the water system been tested?
• Does the facility have a Legionella prevention plan?
• What steps are being taken to protect residents?

Also watch for fever, cough, shortness of breath, or new confusion.

Families cannot control a facility’s plumbing or water-management practices. They can ask questions, stay alert, and push for answers when something does not seem right.

👉 Full NBC4 story in comments.

08/21/2026

Happy National Senior Citizens Day!

Today is a great reason to check in on the seniors in our lives. Make the call. Stop by with lunch. Spend a little extra time together. Those small moments can mean a lot.

And if you have a loved one in a nursing home or assisted living community, there is one more thing worth doing: help the people caring for them get to know who they are beyond their care needs.

Our team at Eadie Law created a free “𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗲” 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 to make that easy. It is a simple way to share the things that make your loved one 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, their interests, routines, favorite things, and what brings them comfort.

You can find it in this week’s newsletter, along with our Free Family Safety Guide and other resources for families.

Take a look at the link in the comments.

Some families will send a card. Some will call. Some will stop by with lunch. All of it counts, and I hope you get the chance to spend some time with the seniors in your life.

08/14/2026

🌧️ Rain keeps falling across Ohio, and families with a loved one in a nursing home are watching the forecast differently than everyone else. If you have someone in care, take a moment to check in with the facility and make sure you understand their flood and emergency safety plan.

Most families have never been told what happens if water reaches the building, but there is an answer, and it is written down. Every nursing home is required under federal regulations (42 CFR 483.73) to maintain an emergency preparedness plan that includes evacuation, sheltering in place, and care for residents who cannot move on their own. Facilities must also have a way to share that plan with families.

What you can do:
• Ask the administrator to walk you through the facility’s flood plan
• Ask where residents would go if evacuation becomes necessary
• Confirm they have your current phone number and a backup contact
• Ask whether medications and medical records travel with your loved one

A quick call can help keep everyone prepared, connected, and protected. Stay safe out there!

08/06/2026

An Ohio resident with lung cancer, brain lesions, early-stage dementia, and PTSD was discharged from his long-term care facility without his wife being told. She found out when a hospital called to say he had been left there, according to 10 Investigates.

In the vast majority of cases, a facility asking a resident to leave has to give a 30-day notice, and the resident has a right to a hearing, according to Central Ohio Ombudsman Leilani Pelletier.

His wife said neither happened. She filed a complaint with the Ohio Department of Health, which inspected the Arbors at Delaware in February 2026 and cited the facility for being out of compliance with federal nursing home regulations.

A discharge is a facility decision. Someone chose the timing, arranged the transport, and picked the destination. The notice requirement exists because every part of that decision sits with the facility while the consequences land on the family.

Before anything goes wrong:
• Ask for the discharge and transfer policy in writing at move-in.
• Ask what written notice you would receive if a discharge were ever proposed.
• Save your regional long-term care ombudsman's number. The service is free and anyone can call.

👉 Full 10TV - WBNS report in comments.