Medical malpractice

A Massachusetts nursing home will face a medical malpractice suit for allegedly failing to diagnose one of its resident’s bacterial infections leading to his death, an appeals court ruled recently.

The case against Sutton Hill Center was originally tossed by the state’s medical malpractice advisory panel of doctors. However, an appeals court has revived it, agreeing that the North Andover facility’s inability to pinpoint resident Edward Cahill’s outward infection symptoms may have led to his 2013 death from inflammation of the bowels, Law360 reported.

“The failure of the Sutton Hill staff to diagnose C. diff colitis allowed it to progress to the point where significant damage was done to Cahill’s colon, and that the untreated colitis was a substantial contributing cause of Cahill’s death,” the appeals court wrote in its opinion.

Officials at Sutton Hill Center did not immediately respond to a McKnight’s request for comment Thursday, and a spokeswoman for its parent company, Genesis HealthCare, did not have a comment Thursday night.

Eileen Moalli — Cahill’s daughter and the administrator of his estate — originally brought the suit. She claims Sutton Hill allegedly failed to inform the family that it was placing the 87-year-old in a room with someone who had C. diff, or mention infection protocols. In repeated visits, Moalli said she never saw staffers using gowns or gloves.

Under Massachusetts state law, if the advisory panel of doctors rejects a claim, plaintiffs are required to post a $6,000 bond, Law360 wrote, and the administrator’s failure to do so meant the case was dismissed.

The appeals court’s decision bumped the case to a higher court, to be heard before a jury.