World War II Veteran Died, Nurses Laughed: Video

ATLANTA, GA — A World War II veteran died calling for help in an Atlanta nursing home as nurses around him laughed and failed to help him, according to a hidden-camera video. The 2014 video was obtained by WXIA-TV in an effort that was fought by the nursing home company all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court.

In the video, 89-year-old James Dempsey of Woodstock can be heard and seen calling for help six times, pressing a call button and gasping for air before eventually losing consciousness. A nurse arrived eight minutes later, according to WXIA.

Nurses at Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation can be heard laughing in the video, which appears to contradict testimony from the nurses in a lawsuit filed by Dempsey's family. His family members have declined public comment, citing the settlement reached in the lawsuit.

Two nurses lost their licenses after the television station won the court battle to unseal the video that was secretly recorded by Dempsey's family, WSB TV reports. The video shows the World War II veteran repeatedly calling for help, saying he can't breathe. It also shows the nurses failing to take life-saving measures and laughing as they try to start an oxygen machine.

In a video deposition also obtained by WXIA, former nursing supervisor Wanda Nuckles tells an attorney that she rushed to Dempsey's room when a nurse alerted her he had stopped breathing. The video, captured by a hidden camera placed by Dempsey's family, shows no one doing CPR when Nuckles entered the room and that she did not immediately start performing the procedure.

Watch the extended deposition, obtained by WXIA, at the bottom of this story, including testimony after Nuckles was shown the hidden video.

State records show nursing home staff found Dempsey unresponsive at 5:28 a.m., the station reported. It took almost an hour for the staff to call 911 at 6:25 a.m., their report says.

In the video obtained by WXIA-TV , the nurses can be heard laughing as they have trouble getting Dempsey's oxygen machine working.

In a statement to WXIA, Sava Senior Care, the company that owns Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation, wrote they are "saddened by the events, which occurred more than three years ago." The statement says the company has "new leadership and the leadership team and the staff have worked very diligently to improve quality care and the quality of life for our residents."

Photo via Pixabay