Lawsuit says elderly care center resident in Utah died after wheelchair tipped

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Even though Thaes Webb Jr. was 90 years old, the elderly Utah man was still sharp.

Despite his advanced age, Webb was still working as a certified public accountant. But because of a heart condition he had recently been treated for, and because his wife was in the early stages of dementia, Webb decided to move into an assisted living center.

“He could take care of himself but needed help taking care of his wife and wanted to be close to her, so he moved in with her,” said attorney Peter Mifflin with Robert J. DeBry & Associates.

Just 18 days after moving into the Utah facility, Webb was being transported by the facility’s executive director to a local hospital for a routine checkup for his heart. His wheelchair tipped over as the van made a left turn less than two minutes after leaving the assisted living home.

Webb’s head hit the wheelchair ramp on the floor. He died not long after arriving at a local hospital.

Webb’s family has since filed a lawsuit against the individuals and companies running Twin Oaks Assisted Living and Memory Care, 654 E. 3300 South, saying it was apparent that Webb was not properly secured in the van.

But Mifflin said the incident also highlights a bigger problem regarding the oversight of assisted living facilities that all Utahns should be concerned about.

“Our government has correctly created laws to regulate this industry,” he said. “The problem is when those rules are violated, there’s not a big enough bite to incentivize a change in behavior, and I think that’s a matter of public concern.”

Webb’s injury and subsequent death resulted in a $1,300 fine for Twin Oaks by the state, which Mifflin believes is not enough of a penalty to convince a company to make any changes that might be necessary.

Twin Oaks was fined $1,300 on Aug. 19, and a four-month conditional license — which is the equivalent of being put on probation — was issued, according to state records. The fine, according to the records, was for four “class I deficiencies,” which included “one for not treating residents with dignity/respect; one for not having enough staff on duty to meet the needs of the residents, one for not having qualified staff to meet resident needs (lack of training) and one for not having a staff person on the secured unit at all times. In addition, a higher number than average of class II deficiencies were cited.”

Twin Oaks was fined an additional $1,250 on Oct. 24, according to state records, and was allowed to continue operating with a “conditional license.”

“That is not a lot of money that is likely to change behavior. Because how long does it take (a company) to have that additional profit by breaking the rules?” Mifflin said.

Mifflin says it is his belief, based in part on other reports by the media, that the state views the assisted living care industry as a thankless job, but one that is necessary. Because of that, he surmises that the state doesn’t want to be overly aggressive in enforcing some regulations or come down too hard on facilities to the point of breaking them.

But he believes that “at some point, the penalty for not following the rules needs to be substantially high enough that it is cheaper for them to follow the rules and provide good care and the minimum levels of staffing (rather) than to financially incentivize breaking those rules.”

Please read Pat Reavy’s complete article at KSL.com.