Lawsuit Claims Nursing Home is Responsible for a Fire That Killed a Disabled Resident

The renowned law firm Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, PA, is pleased to announce that they have started a lawsuit on behalf of the family of Ella Mae Johnson, a nursing home resident who lost her life due to severe burns sustained in a fire in her room at the 'The Health Center at Galloway' in Galloway, New Jersey. The lawsuit (Atlantic County L-1083-07) alleges that the fire and Mrs. Johnson’s injuries and death were caused by the nursing home employees’ carelessness and violation of regulations relating to patient care.

The fire erupted in Ms. Johnson’s room engulfing her in bed in the early morning hours of October 26, 2005. According to a fire department investigation, the fire was caused by a cigarette in Ms. Johnson’s room. Witness statements taken by investigators from the Galloway Township Police Department state that Mrs. Johnson, an amputee, was not permitted to have cigarettes in her room. Statements taken by investigators confirm that the nursing home’s staff was supposed to supervise her smoking and not allow or assist a patient in smoking in a patient room, the location of the fire that severely burned Ms. Johnson and caused her death twenty-five days later. Following the fire, investigators found no matches or lighters in Mrs. Johnson’s room.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of the Estate of Ella Mae Johnson claims compensatory and punitive damages from the owner and operator of the “The Health Center at Galloway.”