A tragic incident occurred last year at an Orem senior living facility, where a former nurse and dementia patient lost their life after falling down a flight of stairs. Her children are now advocating for justice on behalf of their mother.
A legal complaint submitted towards the end of the previous year claims that on January 21, 2024, Ruth Ditty, a resident of Covington Senior Living, experienced a fall in an unsecured stairwell. Ditty, exhibiting significant early-stage dementia symptoms, sustained serious head and shoulder injuries following the fall.
A shocking lawsuit claims that she remained in the stairwell for six hours following her fall, until a family member visiting another resident discovered her.
“Believe it or not, rather than calling 911 or taking her to the emergency room, they just put her back in bed,” said Barry Toone, an attorney working with the Utah Senior Justice Project. Toone is one of the attorneys representing the Ditty family.
“I kept asking, why wasn’t she taken to the hospital?” said Scott Ditty, Ruth’s son.
Attorneys for the Ditty family claim that staff at Covington administered morphine to Ruth for pain relief, even though she had a known allergy to the drug.
Ruth Ditty succumbed to her injuries just two days following the fall, according to the lawsuit.
“We were still trying to get to the bottom of things, and we still just couldn’t get any answers,” Scott Ditty told ABC4.com.
The Ditty family claims that staff at Covington advised against placing Ruth in memory care. In a surprising turn of events, individuals found themselves compelled to shell out an additional $440 each month for two-hour wellness checks.
“When she fell, she was laying at the bottom of the stairs for six hours. That’s three wellness checks that were not done,” Ditty said. “They stripped her of her right to live. They stripped her of her humanity.”
Toone reports that the case was initiated in November 2024 and is presently undergoing the discovery phase of the legal proceedings.
