Motion Picture & Television Fund Fined $80,000 for Nursing Home Death

8:32 AM PST 2/23/2012 by THR Staff

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The family of 90-year-old Carrie Delay, who died after falling down a stairwell at the organization's facility in Woodland Hills, Calif., prevails in a wrongful death lawsuit.

The Motion Picture & Television Fund has been slapped with an $80,000 fine for failure to prevent the death of a patient at a nursing home operated by the organization, The Los Angeles Times reported.

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After conducting an investigation, the California Department of Public Health issued a statement Wednesday declaring that the Woodland Hills facility "failed to ensure an environment free of accident hazards with adequate supervision, leading to the death of a patient."

Carrie Delay, a 90-year-old resident of the home who was bound to a wheelchair and suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died in October 2010 after falling down a stairwell at tthe facility. Delay's family sued the Motion Picture & Television Fund for wrongful death, bringing the case to Los Angeles Superior Court and claiming the fund had not properly monitored Delay.

"The MPTF takes patient safety very seriously and deeply regrets the incident," Bob Beitcher, chief executive at the Motion Picture & Television Fund, said in a statement. "The citation...refers to an investigation completed in December, 2010. Since then we have taken additional extensive measures to ensure the safety of our patients and the quality of care that they receive."

Improvements to the nursing home include more staff training, enforcing audits and recruiting an outsider to consult on safety, according to the LAT. The fund recently backtracked on its decision to close the facility and corresponding hospital and is welcoming new residents.