The latest example of a St. Charles, Missouri nursing home cutting staffing to increase its profit has resulted in one of its residents catching fire and dying.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch article (Click here to read it!) details how NHC Healthcare St. Charles resident Donna Chapman was left alone to smoke without any protective covering despite requirements in her care plan that she be supervised and covered.  When staff members found her she was in flames and suffered severe burns that ultimately cost her her life.

No doubt the nursing home will call this a tragic accident that no one could foresee happening. But frankly, and that is just another nursing home industry lie. This tragedy happened because the nursing home was not doing its job. This tragedy happened because the nursing home industry craves it profits over the safety and protection of its residents.

I have been handling cases against the nursing home industry for 16 years and have seen many horrific events like this. It is our mission at the Terry law firm to expose not just what happens in these events but WHY these events happen.  The nursing home never wants to talk about WHY residents are killed and injured in its facility because almost every single time, the answer comes down to a lack of staffing and a lack of training all because the owners of the facility want to maximize their profit.

Donna Chapman deserved better.  She had earned the right to be treated as a valuable person, not just a commodity or another “head in the bed” as the nursing home industry callously refers to its residents.  Donna Chatman’s family deserves to know what really happened and WHY it happened.  Sadly, as detailed in the article, it appears that the NHC facility has already started it’s a cover-up. That is unacceptable and must not be allowed.

Our prayers and condolences go to Donna Chapman’s family.

If you have a loved one who has been seriously injured or died as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect, please feel free to call the Terry Law Firm at (314) 878-9797.

Attorney David Terry has written a book that you can receive for free by calling us or going to www.MissouriNursingHomeBook.com.