Family of Ohio Nursing Home Resident Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Coroner Rules Death a Homicide

Family of Ohio Nursing Home Resident Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Meyer, 84, died two days after entering hospice; a second autopsy led the coroner to amend his death certificate to list physical elder abuse as the cause

CLEVELAND, OH, UNITED STATES, September 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The family of Robert E. Meyer, an 84-year-old Forest Hills Healthcare Center resident whose death the Hamilton County Coroner has ruled a homicide caused by physical elder abuse, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas (Case #: A-2604779). Trial Lawyer Jeffrey M. Heller of Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy Co., LPA, filed the suit on behalf of Meyer’s daughter, Tammy Maham, and his estate. It names the nursing home and its corporate owners and operators, treating physicians, a hospice provider, a medical transport company, and a funeral home.

According to the lawsuit, Meyer was bedbound and dependent on others for daily care when he was admitted to the Anderson Township facility in July 2025. In the weeks that followed, the complaint alleges, he lost about 30 pounds, developed severe malnutrition, and endured unmanaged pain. According to emergency records cited in the lawsuit, he called 911 from the facility at least four times, including once to report that staff were “not taking care of” him.

According to the lawsuit, Meyer was discharged from Mercy Health Anderson Hospital on September 1, 2025, with no documented injuries to his neck or chest. The complaint alleges that within hours of his return to the nursing home, a nurse documented bruising on his neck, and that the injury was never meaningfully investigated or reported to authorities as suspected abuse, as Ohio law requires.

Meyer died on September 6, 2025, two days after he was transferred to hospice care. According to the lawsuit, the hospice doctor certified his death as natural, attributed to malnutrition, and permitted him to be buried without notifying the Medical Examiner for an autopsy.

The family requested further investigation into Meyer’s death. His body was subsequently exhumed, and the autopsy that followed found severe contusions of his neck and upper chest with internal bleeding extending to his spine, a fractured sternum, rib fractures on both sides of his chest, and severe protein and calorie malnutrition. The coroner’s report describes injuries “appearing less than 24 hours after being discharged from a hospital where no injury was present.”

The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office then amended Meyer’s death certificate. It now lists physical elder abuse as the cause of his death, homicide as the manner, and a nursing home as the place of injury. No criminal charges have been filed.

“Robert Meyer called 911 from the nursing home more than once and said he wasn’t being taken care of,” said trial lawyer Jeffrey Heller. “His death was initially certified as natural. After the family requested further investigation, the coroner’s office amended the death certificate to homicide. We filed this lawsuit on behalf of the Meyer family to determine what happened to him.”

The lawsuit asserts claims for wrongful death, violations of Ohio’s nursing home residents’ rights law, medical negligence, failure to report suspected abuse or neglect, and reckless and willful misconduct. It alleges that the failures to investigate and report Meyer’s injuries before his burial compromised the ability to determine who caused them. The allegations contained in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.

About Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy
Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy has represented injured Ohioans since 1928. The firm’s track record of success during the past nine decades has made them the top personal injury law firm in Ohio. The firm handles incredibly complex cases and pursues accountability against some of the largest and most powerful corporations, hospitals, manufacturers, and trucking and aviation companies in the world. Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy is also dedicated to promoting a culture of giving, and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation has recognized it as a regional leader in community outreach and involvement.

To learn more, visit our website.

Cassandra Baucher
Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy
+1 216-694-5250
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