Toronto woman suing long term care home for negligence

A Toronto woman has launched A lawsuit against a long term care home. She maintains the home failed her vulnerable mother, and negligence contributed to her shocking decline. She hopes this story will prevent what happened to her mother from happening to others. I am fighting for my mother, for her memory, for her dignity. But I’m also fighting for the ones that don’t have anyone, Trudy Crock says. Her mother, Joan Chapman, was her best friend. She was devastated when her mother’s worsening dementia left her no choice but to move her from her retirement home into this long term care home, the Isabel and Arthur Macon Manor near Young and Davisville. Yeah, these videos were taken of her mother a few days before going into the home. Do you want me to turn up your heat? No. It’s good. It’s good. It’s good. Fine right now. This was taken at the end of September. Croc’s mother entered the home just over a week later. Now look at the change in her mommy. Are you OK? This was taken November 2nd. She has been in the long term care home for just three weeks. Her daughter was horrified. I’m seeing her disappear. I’m seeing her disappear. From the time my mother went in, she was never the same again, never the same again. She never ate solid food again. The mother that I knew was gone, Crock says. She raised her concerns with the long term care home, but they told her it was the progression of the disease and the shock of the move. Crock couldn’t believe that explained the almost instant precipitous decline. Is there nothing we can do? She’s tormented. She did nothing but shake. Her teeth would rattle. Six months later, the home suggested a consult with a geriatric psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Hospital. That’s when it was discovered some medications were mistakenly stopped. When Croc’s mother was admitted to the long term care home, including one that was to curb the progression of dementia, the other for anxiety, she was free falling. I cannot even imagine the fear. She must have felt It would have been a living hell for her. This report from investigators with the Ministry of Long Term Care found that the protocols that are supposed to ensure Joan Chapman received all her medications when she was admitted were not followed. Where were the safety checks? Where were they? Croc says. She couldn’t move her mother. There was nowhere else to take her. Joan Chapman died in September 2023, two years after moving into the home. She was 89. Why are you sharing this story, Trudy? First and foremost, I’m doing it for my mother. She suffered so much. How many others? My mother can’t be the only one. We tried to find out how many other cases there could be, like Trudy Croc’s mother’s, But the Ministry of Long Term Care told City News it does not keep track of individual resident medical incidents. We asked the long term care home for comment. In this statement, it extended its sympathies to the family but said it could not discuss the case due to privacy concerns. Trudy Croc is suing the home for negligence. The claim is for $1.6 million.