Family sues Ohio nursing home after coroner rules resident’s death a homicide

The family of an 84-year-old Forest Hills Healthcare Center resident has filed a wrongful death lawsuit after the Hamilton County Coroner amended his death certificate to list physical elder abuse as the cause of death and homicide as the manner. The case centers on allegations that Robert E. Meyer was bruised, malnourished and not properly protected before he died in September 2025.

Why it matters: - The lawsuit puts Ohio nursing home care, abuse reporting requirements and end-of-life oversight under scrutiny. - The amended death certificate makes the case more serious by turning a disputed natural-death certification into a homicide finding. - The complaint could shape accountability for the nursing home, hospice and other providers involved in Meyer’s final days.

What happened: - Robert E. Meyer, 84, died on Sept. 6, 2025, two days after he was transferred to hospice care. - Meyer’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, case A-2604779. - Trial lawyer Jeffrey M. Heller filed the suit for Meyer’s daughter, Tammy Maham, and his estate. - The lawsuit names Forest Hills Healthcare Center, its corporate owners and operators, treating physicians, a hospice provider, a medical transport company and a funeral home. - The Hamilton County Coroner later amended Meyer’s death certificate to list physical elder abuse as the cause of death and homicide as the manner. - No criminal charges have been filed.

The details: - Meyer was admitted to the Anderson Township facility in July 2025 while bedbound and dependent on others for daily care. - The complaint alleges Meyer lost about 30 pounds in the following weeks, developed severe malnutrition and lived with unmanaged pain. - Emergency records cited in the lawsuit say Meyer called 911 from the facility at least four times. - One call allegedly reported that staff were “not taking care of” him. - Meyer was discharged from Mercy Health Anderson Hospital on Sept. 1, 2025, with no documented injuries to his neck or chest. - The complaint alleges a nurse documented bruising on Meyer’s neck within hours of his return to the nursing home. - The lawsuit says the injury was not meaningfully investigated or reported to authorities as suspected abuse, as Ohio law requires. - Meyer’s hospice doctor initially certified the death as natural and attributed it to malnutrition. - The doctor also permitted burial without notifying the Medical Examiner for an autopsy, according to the complaint. - After the family requested further investigation, Meyer’s body was exhumed. - The autopsy found severe contusions of the neck and upper chest, internal bleeding extending to the spine, a fractured sternum, rib fractures on both sides of the chest and severe protein and calorie malnutrition. - The coroner’s report said the injuries appeared less than 24 hours after Meyer was discharged from a hospital where no injury was present. - The amended death certificate lists a nursing home as the place of injury.

Between the lines: - The shift from a natural-death certification to a homicide ruling suggests the initial review may have missed or minimized signs of trauma. - The lawsuit argues that the failure to report and investigate before burial may have made it harder to determine who caused Meyer’s injuries. - The case also raises questions about how multiple providers coordinate when a vulnerable resident deteriorates quickly.

What's next: - The wrongful death case will move forward in Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. - The complaint asserts wrongful death, nursing home residents’ rights violations, medical negligence, failure to report suspected abuse or neglect, and reckless and willful misconduct. - The family is seeking answers about what happened to Meyer in the final days of his life. - Any criminal investigation, if one advances, could proceed separately from the civil case.

The bottom line: - A coroner’s homicide ruling has turned Meyer’s death into a major civil case over possible elder abuse and failures in care and reporting.