Paraplegic Former Resident Sues Texarkana Nursing Home, Alleging Aides Broke Her Kneecap and a Brace Caused a Stage 4 Wound

A former resident of The Cottages at Texarkana, an Arkansas nursing home, has sued the facility’s operator, owner, management company, and administrator, alleging that aides broke her kneecap while moving her from her bed to her wheelchair — and that the brace used to treat the fracture then caused a Stage 4 pressure injury that left her Achilles tendon exposed. The lawsuit was filed September 30 in Miller County Circuit Court, Texarkana Today reported.

Key Facts

• Barbara Hawkins, who is in her late 60s, is paraplegic from an earlier spinal fracture and cannot move or feel her legs, according to the complaint as reported by Texarkana Today. She lived at The Cottages from October 2024 until July 2025.
• On December 18, 2024, certified nursing assistants were transferring her between her bed and wheelchair when her foot became caught in the chair, the complaint says. One or more aides then “forcefully jerked and twisted” her, causing immediate pain in her right leg and knee, according to the lawsuit.
• An X-ray the next day showed a displaced fracture of her right kneecap. She was hospitalized for eight days at Christus St. Michael Health System in Texarkana, Texas, where surgeons treated the fracture with a leg immobilizer and brace rather than surgery because of her poor bone quality and other health problems, the complaint says.
• After she returned to the nursing home on December 27, 2024, the lawsuit says, the brace caused a Stage 4 pressure injury to her right Achilles tendon, leaving the tendon exposed and requiring ongoing wound care.
• The complaint alleges negligence, medical malpractice, and violations of Arkansas’s long-term care resident rights statute. It accuses the defendants of failing to train staff on safe transfers for paraplegic residents, failing to use lifts or enough staff to move her safely, and cutting staffing and training “to maximize profits.”
• The defendants named are Texarkana SNF Operations LLC, which does business as The Cottages at Texarkana; Texarkana Assets LLC, which owns the building; Southern Administrative Services LLC, which manages the facility; and administrator Shelia Milam. They had not filed a response when the story was published. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Context

Transfers — moving a resident from bed to chair, chair to toilet, or bed to stretcher — are among the most common sources of injury in nursing homes. Residents who cannot bear weight or feel their legs are supposed to have a transfer method spelled out in their care plan, such as a mechanical lift or a two-person assist. When a facility is short-staffed, one aide doing a two-person job is one of the first shortcuts taken.

The second injury in this case is a reminder that medical devices cause pressure injuries too. Braces, splints, boots, oxygen tubing, and catheters can all press on skin for hours. A resident who cannot feel her legs cannot report that a brace is rubbing, which is why device-related skin checks have to be scheduled, documented, and done.

Bedsore.Law Insight

A Stage 4 wound under a brace is not something that appears between one shift and the next. Devices are supposed to be removed or adjusted on a schedule so staff can look at the skin beneath them, especially at the heel and Achilles, where there is almost no padding. In cases like this one, the key records are the transfer instructions in the care plan, the staffing on the day of the injury, and the skin checks — or the absence of them — under the brace in the weeks after the resident came back from the hospital.

If your loved one depends on staff to move them, ask exactly how transfers are supposed to happen and whether a lift is in the care plan. If they come back from the hospital in a brace or splint, ask how often the skin under it is being checked, and look for yourself when you can.

If your loved one suffered a fracture, a pressure injury, or another serious harm in a nursing home, Bedsore.Law can help you understand what happened. Call 844-407-6737 or visit bedsore.law/contact for a free, confidential consultation.

Source

Texarkana Today