A lawsuit filed Monday morning in Kearney County District Court alleges that poor care at a
Minden nursing home resulted in a patient's death.

Gary Brown said "Kearney County Health Services'" negligence claimed his mother's life. Now he's suing the county, which runs the nursing home. NTV News also discovered that the facility ranks "much below average" according to the federal government.

"Pride in Caring" is Kearney County Health Service's logo. Yet, Gary Brown believes it's a lack of caring that led to his mother's death. According to court documents, Erna Brown entered the nursing home in March 2007. Less than six months later, she fell and fractured her left
hip. Just two months later, she fell again and fractured her right hip. Her son alleges the county caused her fall and fracture, because  "The county provided only one staff member to assist Mrs brown on December 4, and that staff member left Mrs. Brown unattended." She
returned to the nursing home after surgery, with a risk of infection near the incision. The lawsuit
states that Brown told staff she was in severe pain and was nauseous, but "staff failed to
investigate her complaints." The lawsuit goes on to say staff waited a week to tell her doctor
about a large ulcer and "as a direct and proximate result of the negligence," Mrs. Brown died on
January 28, 2008.

Maren Lynn Chaloupka, the attorney representing Gary Brown, said, "Mrs. Brown was a loving wife and mother and she suffered and she lost her dignity because of poor decision making and misplaced priorities on the part of those who run the nursing home."

NTV News contacted county officials, who declined to comment on the case.

The CEO of Kearney County Health Services issued a written statement which read "We strongly deny these allegations. Our position is that proper care was rendered to Mrs. Brown as is the care rendered to all our residents. We would also like to point out that Mrs. Brown's husband, Harold Brown, has been a resident of the nursing home since March 19, 2007 and is currently a resident of Kearney County Health Services Long Term Care."

Chaloupka responded, "This case is not about Mr. Brown, it's about Mrs. Brown and HIPPA applies to him and he has the right to privacy. The second thing I would say generally is that any nursing home administrator would be familiar with the phenomenon of transfer trauma in which moving an elderly and frail resident can be more harmful to them than leaving them there."

An on-line search shows that just three weeks ago, Health and Human Services rated this facility as "much below average" and cited several repeat violations. The findings land Kearney County Health Services on a national watch list.

"Those who are in charge of operating nursing home hold the dignity of their patients in
their hands. Their decisions, their priorities can either protect patients or ignore them," said Chaloupka.

Brown is seeking monetary damages. The amount, though, is not specified in the lawsuit.

Reporter's Notes by Jessica Phinney:

The Nursing Home Association argues that ratings rely too heavily on inspections and not enough on staffing or on quality.

In his statement, Meis said he is aware that a claim was made, but has not yet been served papers.