OLRS Ombudsperson Section Investigation of Death Prompts County Board to File MUI on Neglect

An investigation by the OLRS Ombudsperson Section has prompted the Wood County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (WCBMRDD) to file a Major Unusual Incident (MUI) Report of neglect on the death of an individual with a disability. The individual resided in a residential facility and died while in a bathtub.

The Ombudsperson Section requested that an MUI report of alleged neglect be filed based on conflicting information in the initial Incident Report (IR) on the death and the individual's program plan and other documentation. The Ombudsperson Section requested the latter after reviewing the initial IR, which listed the death as unexpected, but noted that neglect was not suspected. Program documentation shows that the individual was to be checked every 10 minutes while in the bathtub, but the police report states that the person appeared to have been dead for 1-2 hours.

WCBMRDD filed the MUI report on alleged neglect at the request of the Ombudsperson Section. The Ombudsperson Section has also requested that the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Division of Legal and MUI Services conduct the investigation.

Article posted April 18, 2008