West Hartford Woman's Death Caused By Nursing Home Mistake: Lawsuit

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The estate of a 77-year-old West Hartford woman who died at a local rehabilitation center last September has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the facility.

The plaintiff alleges confusion over whether the woman had a "do not resuscitate order" led to treatment delays after Judith Englehart of West Hartford stopped breathing in September 2023 and later died at the facility.

The named plaintiff in the lawsuit — which was filed Monday, March 25, in Hartford Superior Court — is Sherri Englehart-Shea, daughter of Judith Englehart and administrator of her estate.

The named defendants in the case are Harborside Connecticut Limited Partnership, which at the time was doing business as "The Reservoir," a long- and short-term healthcare facility at 1 Emily Way, West Hartford.

Also named is the nursing supervisor on duty who the plaintiffs claimed erroneously believed Englehart was admitted under "do not resuscitate" orders.

According to the complaint filed in court, Englehart suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and required oxygen to breathe.

Following a hospital stay, Englehart was admitted to "The Reservoir" on Aug. 28, 2023, for short-term rehabilitation.

The lawsuit states Englehart said she wished to be treated as "a full code patient" at the "The Reservoir," meaning all efforts to resuscitate were to be made should she stop breathing, including cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

The request was backed up by what was evident on Englehart's patient instruction form that was filed on Sept. 1, 2023, reads the lawsuit.

At 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2023, a nurse aide noticed Englehart was unresponsive and notified a licensed practical nurse on duty, according to the complaint.

The nurse aide then notified the nursing supervisor, who is the named defendant, of the situation, according to the suit.

When the nursing supervisor entered the room, she erroneously informed the nurse and nurse aide that Englehart had a "do not resuscitate" order in place, according to the complaint.

The defendant then called 911 and West Hartford police and fire responders arrived at the site, the suit claims.

According to the complaint, when the responders asked for the "do not resuscitate" order from the nursing supervisor, the document she provided was a "do not resuscitate" order for the woman sharing the same room as Englehart, not Englehart's "full code" status paperwork.

Responders began life-saving actions on Englehart, but she died at 10:07 a.m. that morning, according to the suit.

The lawsuit alleges the delay in CPR due to the apparent error led to Englehart's death, which also resulted in "great pain, anguish, and emotional distress."

The lawsuit is seeking damages above $15,000 and the defendants have a response date of May 7.

The plaintiffs are being represented by the law firm of RisCassi & Davis, which has offices in Hartford, Avon and Middletown.

It appears there may have been a change in ownership at the location since the fatality there.

Attorney John Houlihan of ResCassi & Davis said Thursday who is, actually, liable for the situation is something being worked on by his firm.

He said the people working there now are the same team working there today.

"It's the same people running it, for all intents and purposes," Houlihan said.

According to Houlihan, police and fire responders were quickly able to ascertain the status of Englhart's treatment requests, something those on duty there could not.

"It's just a head-scratcher, it really is," Houlihan said.

Nora Madore, the administrator of the current healthcare facility at 1 Emily Way, did not comment much on the situation on Thursday morning.

She said, however, the site was no longer called "The Reservoir" and, instead, had a new name before hanging up the phone.

According to the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, that name is "Autumn Lake at West Hartford," with Autumn Lake Healthcare being a chain of short- and long-term healthcare sites.