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Man sues nursing home in wife's death Woman strangled when strings of her nightgown caught on bed rail By CHRIS BRISTOL An Eagle Point man has sued for more than $675,000 over his wife's death in the care of a Medford nursing home. Frank Vetter accused Three Fountains Nursing & Rehabilitation Center of negligence for his wife's death in 1996. According to the lawsuit, the 47-year-old woman was strangled when the strings of her nightgown got caught in the rail of her bed. Vetter's attorney, Dennis Richardson, said Sonia Vetter had been "convalescing" at the nursing home for about six weeks when she died. He declined to be more specific. He also declined to be more specific about the circumstances surrounding Sonia Vetter's death. At issue was "whether the arms (of her bed) were up or down," and whether she was adequately supervised, he said. Vetter seeks $25,000 in medical and funeral expenses, $150,000 for "pecuniary" loss to Sonia Vetter's estate and $500,000 in non-economic damages for pain and suffering. The woman's death was an accident that had more to do with the type of gown she was wearing than neglectful care, said Jean Glanz, acting administrator for Three Fountains. Glanz claimed that Vetter tied his wife's gown the day she died. She added that after the accident, the nursing home began using gowns with snaps instead of gowns with ties. The lawsuit was the fourth against the nursing home in five years. The first three were dismissed, according to Jackson County court records. It was unclear from the records whether money changed hands in the first two cases. Both alleged wrongful death. The third case, involving non-fatal injuries suffered by a wheelchair-bound patient during transport in a Metro Taxi van, was settled in July for $10,500. In an interview Monday, Glanz expressed dismay at the timing of the lawsuit. Thursday is the grand opening for a new $11 million assisted-living wing called Waterford. "We had a number of conversations with the family after this happened, and we did not get any bad vibes from them," she said. "For it (the lawsuit) to hit us this late is quite a surprise." Glanz is also a vice president for the nursing home's Beaverton-based parent company, Touchmark Living Centers Inc., which owns and operates more than a dozen nursing homes and congregate-care facilities in the Northwest. Glanz complained that litigation involving long-term care is up 400 percent. Meanwhile, she said, Three Fountains received "perfect" surveys from the state in 1996 and 1997. "Our track record is very good," she said, "probably as good as any in the valley if not the state." Karen Hampton, Medford branch manager for the state Senior Services Division, said Three Fountains typically generates fewer complaints than other nursing homes in the region. "Some of the other nursing homes have been going through some rough times, and Three Fountains has been really pretty stable and seems to be clicking along," she said. "I don't think they (Three Fountains) are any worse than anybody else around here," she added, "and even seem to be better than some." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA